Creating great video in the rainforest is a challenge and we have researched just how to do this for several months. There are a few key pieces of kit that we have decided will make the videos we make more watchable, especially as we will have to be compressing the quality by up to 99% for the satellite communications between us and the internet. Each day we intend to upload a summary of the day’s adventures and art in a 5-minute video that will be streamed across our media channels.
The first thing we realised is that the sound is actually the key ingredient in making any video. You can have poor video but if the sound is clear it will all make sense to the viewer and we are delighted that Samson has sponsored ‘Last Chance to Paint’ with the Samson® Go Mic Mobile system which includes a handheld mic and two lavalier mics.
It is all wireless, so even if a member of the team is off camera we will still hear them really well. To get to grips with the Samson kit we took it to the World’s largest captive rainforest at the Eden Project in the UK and you can hear the results in the video below.
The other key pieces of kit are solar chargers, solar battery packs and a DJI Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal to help us to create smooth footage as we walk through the rainforest.
We had to research a rig to hold the Samson mixer unit and the video shows how that all works too. The Samson Go Mic Mobile receiving unit is designed to simply attach to the back of a smartphone or a hot shoe on a DSLR.
but we have also found a way to use it on a gimbal, which is a great way to get perfect wireless sound and smooth footage.
The key to this was a Universal Gimbal Counterweight from Moment. The iPhone has to be offset to allow the lightning cable to plug in and then attach to the Samson receiver. The offsetting is a big issue for the gimbal but the counterweights fix it beautifully. The two pieces of rig to hold all this are easily available on Amazon, the tripod bracket and L shaped tripod adapter.
One of the key things we hope to do in the rainforest is to use the amazing art app Procreate to enable me to paint digitally. Procreate is the number one app for iPad and is a great digital paint box and drawing tool. Using it outside in a rainforest setting does have its challenges, but it also allows me to paint whilst on the move, such as in a canoe, and in the evening when it is dark. It will be a part of my working process and used to create new pieces of art in its own right too.
I discover in the video that I need to put the iPad on an easel if I am not sitting down, I ended up using Martha-Lilly as my easel for this drawing!
Another key piece of equipment is the clothing we will wear and Rohan have kindly supplied the ‘Last Chance to Paint’ team with a full set of their Insect Shield® clothing. We magically change into the Rohan clothing during the video! It’s amazing we managed to find the right spot to stand again to pull that fun moment off!
The Rohan clothing will help to minimise the risks of insect bites as there are multiple health issues and diseases that insects can transmit via their bites including malaria, dengue and yellow fever. The clothes also help to keep you cool by wicking moisture from the skin and they protect you from the sun as they have a very fine weave. I have used Rohan clothes for the last 30 years for all my painting expeditions and they really do make a huge difference.
I hope you enjoy the video!
John Dyer.