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Only the Essentials with Jakub Chlouba
If you’re in need of some palette-cleansing positivity on your timeline, we highly recommend Jakub Chlouba’s Being a Filmmaker series. Balancing the realistic process of being a working filmmaker with an infectious positivity, Jakub has been documenting every single step of his most recent project: journeying to Nepal to film Sherpa culture in the secluded Himalayas.
With tight limits on luggage and time, Jakub needed a camera setup that was lightweight, rugged and reliable. Shooting on the Kinefinity MAVO LF Mk II, we sponsored the expedition with our range of top camera accessories; such as our LeftField Baseplate, NATO Top Handle and KASBAH Hand Grips.
The project has been a passion project for Jakub for several years, drawn from a range of inspiration in his personal and professional life.
I’ve had this project in my mind since 2021, but my fascination with different cultures and peoples goes as far back as I remember. I’ve always had a longing to experience and document the Sherpa culture which is hard to put into words: something has just been pulling me into that region, and then through a chain of coincidences I connected to the right people and step-by-step was able to make this project happen.
Too many people wait for the “right” project to come their way, instead of making that project happen. Even if it means downscaling from the production standard you are used to, working on a film that matters to you just hits differently – don’t wait, bring your own projects to life!
There are many schools of thought when it comes to documentary filmmaking: some documentarians are closer to directors – who work closely with their subjects to intensely craft the best story – whilst others keep to the fly-on-the-wall mindset with minimal interruptions. For Jakub, his style was very much the latter, and the goal in Nepal was to discover the story of the documentary as he was filming it.
As this was my personal project, I really wanted to approach it in a way that feels the most authentic to me – which meant doing a very little research, especially on the characters, and rather immersing myself fully in the place and community while on the expedition. The Sherpa are a really fascinating Buddhist people, living a harsh life in remote regions like the Himalayas. I let the people and personal connections I created on the way lead the story.
The process was very organic but also quite challenging at times. For me that was the beauty of the project: complete surrender to what is happening and navigating it as best as possible in order to make a film.
Prior to filming any scenes, I like to meet the people and of course explain what I’m trying to create. I only decide to film them if they like the idea and want to be a part of it. When it comes to filming, I like to be more of a fly on the wall and just capture whatever scene we have decided to film.
I loved filming with the nomadic yak herders up in the Kambachen region (over 4,200m high). It was the most organic way of filming, capturing their everyday life, their connection with the animals and all of that in a beautiful light and monumental Himalayan setting. The second favourite scene was probably documenting a Buddhist ceremony in one of the villages, and spending time with the Buddhist Lamas.
I wanted the footage to come out as organic as possible, so I did very little directing while filming but I try to observe of how people react to the camera and make sure that everyone is feeling comfortable.
It’s easier said than done, however. Before embarking on the expedition, Jakub had assumed that the physicality of the project would be the greatest challenge: his plans involved severe mountain treks all around the village of Ghunsa at over 3km above sea level. And whilst the height did take their toll both during and after production, it was communication that proved to be the biggest roadblock.
Sherpas in the Kangchenjunga region spoke Tibetan which is far from any language I know. Immediately after arriving to the region I realised that the biggest challenge will be the language barrier.
As you can imagine, I wasn’t able to communicate properly and conduct in-depth interviews without understanding the language. This completely shifted the direction of the film and I struggled to find a new story.
Towards the end of the expedition, I figured the story out. I’m still confident that the final result will be a beautiful film, but it’s very different to what I had in mind when I arrived to Nepal.
We’d loaned Jakub a full KASBAH Ātman Shoulder Rig for previous documentary projects, but this one was different. The remote nature of the shoot kneecapped bringing any gear that wasn’t absolutely necessary. Jakub’s packing was limited to the clothes on his back, and the gear in his backpack.
There were a few reasons I wanted to keep my setup lightweight, and only bring the essentials. This was a solo mission so I knew that I will have to carry all my camera equipment most of the time, and that I would have to fit the whole camera kit into my backpack.
The Himalayas are also not an easy terrain to move in, especially with a heavy load, so I wanted to make sure that I only bring the essentials and keep my bag as light as possible. Plus, in my experience, too much equipment can sometime cause more headaches than benefits. For that reason, I wanted to go back to basics: one body, two lenses and quality rigging – so that I can really focus on the story rather than the gear.
You can only prepare so much for these types of projects: too much preparation and expectation can sometimes put you into a place of rigidity. In situations like these it’s important to stay open to change and be able to adapt on the spot, I like this way of working because to me it feels more organic and authentic.
In general I’m more of an intuitive filmmaker rather than someone who prepares a lot, that’s why I enjoy documentary filmmaker so much I guess. There were a lot of things that surprised me even though I thought I went into the project without expectations, sometimes I struggled but looking back at the experience I’m glad I encountered obstacles on the way because those helped me to grow – as a human being and a filmmaker.
The result was a rig that could be built up effortlessly from his rucksack, and transferred from handheld to tripod shooting in moments. For handheld shooting, Jakub held the camera from the top and side using a KASBAH Hand Grip and a NATO Top Handle. When it was time for steadier, static shots; the LeftField 3 Baseplate allowed him to seamlessly mount the entire rig.
As you can imagine, reliable camera gear is extremely important while working in remote locations. If something breaks on you, there’s literally no way to replace it. If this was a bigger production I could bring some spare parts, but this wasn’t the case.
If you are going on a solo documentary project, always bring gear that you can trust and that you know how to handle without thinking. This will allow you to focus on what’s in front of the camera rather than the camera.
I really wanted to make sure that the gear I brought wouldn’t let me down in the middle of the expedition. That’s why I love Bright Tangerine products so much: I take them all over the world and haven’t had a single issue with them.
You can watch all the (literal) highs and lows of the Nepal trek on Jakub’s YouTube channel: alongside shooting for the documentary, he still found the time to set up a camera and document his own personal journey for Being a Filmmaker – how did he find the motivation?
Sometimes I ask myself the same question [laughs] . To be honest I didn’t really have long shooting days: my goal was to only shoot in the best light during the day, and as my characters were regular people, I had to be respectful of their time. Most of them have never been in front of the camera, so I couldn’t expect them to spend a full day with me filming.
I will admit that it was challenging to give 100% to the documentary film and 100% to the Being a Filmmaker series for YouTube, but I found my flow over the few days. Reflecting on my shooting experience became a part of my routine, both for the audience and for myself.
Jakub’s documentary is in post-production with a release date estimated for the end of 2025.
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