You'll need interviews. Best is to have somebody else interview the subject, and instruct the subject beforehand to look at the interviewer, not at the camera.

For a sitdown interview, make at least the subject wear a lapel mike if possible. Depending on the acoustics, this may be sufficient to pick up also the interviewer, but better is to have a separate lapel mike for him or her, hooked up to the other channel (you can separate and position these two sources in editing).

Use soft sidelight wherever possible, having them sit near a window is my easy favorite, obviously without any direct sunlight coming in.

Bring a few collapsible reflectors, such as those from Photoflex. I like their 5-in-1 for compact flexibility (see their site).

Planning what you want beforehand is important, but I don't think you can plan out 100% before being there.

Have the interviewer educate himself about the subject first, so he/she can ask the best questions. Some chatting beforehand helps relax nervous subjects.

I think there are some good books on shooting documentaries, but they are pretty high level, meant for the most expensive productions, and not everything there will apply in this case.

The light in the Congo is pretty good, but don't forget to take a sun deflector to fill in the dark skins and strong shadows. You didn't mention your sticks (very important) and if no lavaliere take long mic lead and a simple boom (like a mic stand that extends) and a hand-held interview mic. AND if you have not filmed dark skinned people before practice some skin exposures before you take your best shots. Good luck with the good work.

If you do nothing else, by all means do this:

Buy a copy of "Making Documentary Films And Reality Videos" by Barry Hampe.

Read it cover to cover three times. Take notes as you go.

You can make a good boom from a standard paint pole, the kind you attach a roller to in order to reach high spots when painting houses. These telescope, are lightweight, and MUCH less expensive than actual booms. Get some foam insulation, the kind used to wrap pipes---it comes in long, split cylinders with a hole in the middle. Tape this around the boom to make it thicker (easier to grip) and to reduce noise against the boom, like your wedding ring clicking against the metal.

You have to modify the end to accept the mic, but it's not too difficult. In a pinch you could simply tie the mic to the end of the boom with bungee material, rubber bands, or similar. Though it's better to rig the end so you can more solidly attach the mic!

Never fail to wear headphones when shooting!

HTH---
John

if you have not filmed dark skinned people before practice some skin exposures before you take your best shots.

Be careful not to measure the exposure by dark skin and then lock this. Result? You get grey skin. 18% grey to be exact.

Better is to use a greycard and measure off of that, then close down a little bit depending on the situation (because video is way more tolerant of under exposure than over exposure).

If you don't get enough detail in a dark face, don't open up the iris. Add a reflector, or some extra light, or reposition the subject so you get some reflection in the face.

In filmmaking, it's a common trick to add some blue light to lift the shadows to where they still look like shadows, but have enough detail.

I didn't even mention artificial lighting, because it is so easy to abuse, for that wonderful deer-in-the-headlights look...

I have an old Cool-Lux Mini-Lux that I bought at B&H in 1991, and it is still working perfectly. Very compact, can run off 12V/11V/220V with suitable bulbs, can be used with a battery belt if needed, can be used handheld, on camera (booh-hiss) or clamped to just about anything. The built-in diffuser can't overcome the laws of physics for a small light source, best to just let it hit a reflector if you can.

Thanks for the advice guys. As far as the reflectors and boom mics...I am a one man band and probably won't be able to use these pieces of equipment. For nat sound i'm just using a shotgun mounted on the cam (I know..yuck!) But for interviews I'm going to try to use a lav.

I've been warned by many about shooting dark skinned people. It's going to be tricky because I won't have any reflectors or artificial lighting....just what God provides.

Thanks
Jeremiah

If you cant use any lighting,or reflectors,, make the outdoors and the sun your very good friend, proper placement of the subjects you will interview will be crucial , but can definitly look well with some careful positioning. Good luck ,and be safe .

a circular polarizer filter would be in my kit for available light interviews...does a great job of controlling shiny highlights on skin...that and a small reflector...I've shot many interviews outdoors and a reflector makes the shot everytime...I use a simple, small, silver/white...ziploc bags to organize and moisture-proof stuff. shoot lots of establishing shots, medium shots and detail shots and local viz. and don't be shy!
Good luck!

God is a great provider of light - unlike many architects. So I second Winrock's suggestion of going outdoors (in the shadow) to get the good shots.
However - the great American poet Smokey Robinson once said (about songwriting) that he started off by asking What is going to touch peoples' hearts about ...(whatever the subject of the proposed song was)?. Asking yourself the same question, you might come to - instead of just showing shots of some medic attending an eye disorder - showing a story about a person coming to the clinic with an eye disorder, wondering if the journey would be worth the effort, and talking (to camera or not - this is not essential) about the consequenses of either outcome. In short: get to the people whom they are going to help, not (so much) the helpers.
Do not worry too much about dark skin. Look for the hearts. Theirs and ours.
Tor

QUOTE: "...I am a one man band and probably won't be able to use these pieces of equipment. "

In the forest in wait for wildlife you can do it yourself (that's what I do) but this is a human interaction fast paced unfolding drama. It really does take two to do what you are doing. Do try to solicit one of the team (or a local when you get there) to be your assistant.

You need someone to hold the white card for white balancing. Someone to organise crowds you are shooting. Someone to hold a light reflector or do an interview. Someone to watch what is happening and informing you of some spontaneous happening around a corner you need run to. Someone to hold your bag so stuff does not go missing while you are shooting.

All the previous contributions to this thread contain excellent advice. You said that you've never made a documentary but didn't say how much experience you have (you might normally shoot features). Obviously we assume that you're thoroughly familiar with your camera and associated technical issues. Also you didn't mention luggage limitations, or the facilities available through your group. You've said that other members will be too busy to lend a hand, but that might not be so in all instances.
An assistant is a tremendous help and you should try to recruit a local helper. They'll be useful in arranging things with other locals.
In terms of minimum equipment you should consider a reflector essential (even though you might think you won't be able to use it without assistance). If you can't carry one, then consider improvising with aluminium foil or other material (that you can carry) and cardboard (or other locally available). You need wind protection for microphones (fuzzies etc). You need a light but rigid tripod. You need a shoulder mount for mobility. Lights you will probably have for night shooting (pressure lamps, candles) but you could carry 12v flourescents that you can hang from bushes etc -- check colour characteristics before you go.
In terms of approach there are basically two ways to go. You can write a treatment before you start and/or or you can create the story in post. I presume you're not familiar with the locale or the work, so any prepared treatment could prove disappointingly difficult to shoot. Watch other documentaries of similar subject, which will guide your own mind-set. Each day review your day's footage and consider how it will cut in post. If you're shooting on the run, make sure you've got a story. Look for gaps and what you need to fill them. Get lots of cut-aways -- you can't have too many. Don't be shy in getting your shots. In setup situations give positive directions to subjects and helpers. But probably you know that already.

edit: nearly forgot -- take a separate sound recorder (cassette, disk or iRiver). This will enable you to record continous sound where the camera audio is interupted between shots. Makes for much greater fluidity in cutting any form of group activity. The audio can flow naturally using the shots you have plus cutaways covering the visual gaps. In this situation only a shotgun mic on the camera can give you audio that makes for difficult editing. If you use a flash memory recorder such as an iRiver you'll have to be able to download it before it fills. Obviously you're taking a battery charger suited to available power sources.

Have fun.

AND if you don't have a sound recorder as Serena suggests then let the camera continue to roll while you change pose/position/re-frame etc, that way you will retain continuous sound for post.

Sounds like a fun trip. All the above comments are certainly valid, but all you really need is (1) decent, reliable camcorder, (2) supplies, and (3) motivation.

I did my first three documentaries with just a Sony TRV8 and not much else. Had a decent fluid-head tripod (Velbon) and about two hours of tape for each day of the trip. I came back with the tapes used up and months of editing ahead. But, it was a labor of love, so the time passed reasonably quickly.

The format for the documentaries was kinda like Ken Burns, with separate chapters for the various days and simple white-on-black chapter titles. Lots of handheld walking-with-the-people stuff, which usually necessitated the use of a stabilization program like DeShaker. You're lucky to be shooting in HDV--you'll be able to stabilize with abandon and not lose any sharpness upon downconversion to DV and subsequently DVD.

Make a conscious effort to be absurdly smooth, slow, and gentle with camera movement.

Direct sunlight is your enemy when it comes to interviews. Do them in the shade.

Going into a project it always look kinda scary to me. Coming out with many hours of footage, it all just kind of comes together. You know what good shows are supposed to look like, since you've seen then many times on TV. It'll just come together in a way that is wonderfully satisfying to experience. No gimmicky transitions or tricks--make it just like you see on TV.

You're a lucky guy, and you're going to have fun.

I've done a couple of similar projects with my wife's non-profit organization: Give a Kid a backpack. There's a web site here, but the videos are not up yet:

http://givebackpacks.com/

The projects I've done so far were with a VX200, but production wise I'm sure these tips will still apply. I now have an HVR-A1, but I didn't when I did these projects.

If you are a one man band, you should get a Rode Videomic. It will give you the best on camera sound you can get IMO and the whole assembly, shock mount and all, will hardly weigh you down at all. I would also recommend getting a wide angle lens, a nice soft camera travel bag, extra batteries, some of those premoistened eyeglass cleaner towellettes and some clean lens polishing cloths as well, and my favorite cheap camera support, a spiderbrace from spiderbrace.com. The last thing you need to be doing is lugging a tripod around in the jungle!

I would just use autowhite balance as well. You'll be outside in the same natural daylight the whole time. Believe me, you won't have time for niceties like white balance. I wouldn't bother with things like polarizing lenses or reflectors either. Everyone else will be busy and you will barely have time for the interviews let alone any kind of prep work. This project will be viewed on regular TVs mostly from DVDs that you distribute, not blown up on a theater screen. Autosettings will be just fine.

I use an attenuator cable with the Videomic so that I can use autolevels and not worry about the audio. This is the one I use except that I had them make me a short six inch version (which they did for no extra charge):

http://microphonemadness.com/products/mmatatcab.htm

I never use headphones or set levels and yet the audio always comes out crisp, clear and useable, the first time I heard it, I was amazed at how good the audio came out. Much better than I've often heard and yet it was pretty effortless.

Another thing you need is a good set of waterproof hiking boots. Keeping track of where you're stepping when you're trying to get a good shot solo is not easy. It's not like you're going to have someone guiding your steps while you are shooting A good set of boots will keep your feet dry and protect you from sprained ankles through the mis-steps you can't avoid when doing this kind of gig solo.

Don't forget that if you want good shots of kids, turning the viewfinder backwards so the kids can see themselves turns on the viewfinder and makes the kids come alive. It will do the same thing with adults who aren't used to this technology.

Bringing along a bunch of disposable cameras is also a good idea. Outdoors they look just fine, and other people in the group will be happy to take pictures with them. Still pictures from these disposables will look great with motion pans and zooms and mixed into your final project. They will also make nice cover and menu artwork.

Remember to get pictures of peoples faces and not their backs. In a mission type project, what a donar type audience wants to see is the happy faces of people receiving the aid they donated as well as the efforts of people who took part in these efforts.

You also want to get a certain amount of b-roll: a pig wandering around the street, the villiage as you are entering, children playing sports in a local field.

Driving shots will look jumpy but can be smoothed to the point that they are useable with Virtualdub and Deshaker. As you're shooting, get as smooth footage as you can, but be aware that a zoomed in shakey handheld shot can be rescued with deshaker if you've made your best effort at shooting stability.

A good video can really help in getting support for this type of project. It is extremely rewarding work!

Record any musicians that are part of the community. Record sounds of agricultural stuff. Audio is a greater part of video making that people tend to forget it.

Can I come too?

Grazie

You also need a fuzzy windcover for your mic. Rode makes one specifically for the Videomic.

Actually, instead of the Videomic, you could get this mic mount:

http://www.cavision.com/audio/suspension/SSC9040.htm

And an XLR to 1/8" adapter like one of the ones found here:

http://www.equipmentemporium.com/videoaudio.htm

The simple XLR to 1/8" adapter found about 2/3rds of the way down the page would work fine.

For a mic you could use a shotgun for outdoors:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=400806&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

or a cardiod/hypercardiod for a combination of indoors and outdoors:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=68315&is=REG

or

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=73098&is=REG

Of course, all this wouldn't really sound any better than the Videomic, but it would keep the hotshoe open for a light like this:

http://www.digitalquest.co.jp/dqi/dqi_e.html

Color...lots of color

...and for that it helps vastly to have a circular polarizer filter for outdoor shots, it gives a punch and saturation to the color that cannot be duplicated in post (in spite of what some people claim).

Of course it only works if the sun is out, because there isn't much light polarization under a cloudy sky.

A CP filter can also do double duty as an ND filter in many situations.

Tiffen makes the most popular CP filter, about $50 last time I checked, but if you can afford it, get a better one. The difference is not vast, but clearly visible in a side-by-side comparison of DV shots from the same camera (I tested this with a Canon XL1).

Jeremiah, after all this input it will be interesting to read your review on your return. At this stage you probably have developed your ideas of how you're going to approach the task and this will help in sorting through the various things each of us has mentioned (not always in agreement!).
Grazie made a very good point that you shouldn't concentrate on video to the detriment of audio, and in this a separate compact audio recorder can be a lot of help. You can put it down (with omni-directional mic) in the middle of a group and just let it run (I use a Sony Professional cassette recorder for just this, which is analogue (ie old) and excellent). Syncing with video isn't a problem.
The CP filter mentioned by a couple of people is very useful (even if only as a ND) and it really lifts scenes with clouds and blue sky as well as any with water. Also a haze filter. And certainly always have a filter mounted to protect the lens. Dessicant bags to dry out the camera when it's in its case.
Image steadiness is important so you need to be serious about that. Going full wide helps but handheld on stationary subjects doesn't cut it (much more acceptable if the subject is jumping about). Deshaker is remarkably capable but it's use is time consuming and while the end result is good it's not perfect. In many instances the need for mobility will preclude using a tripod (I think you won't be in jungle) so review other suggestions for body-mounts. However don't leave out the tripod if you can take it because it will make a big difference to any longer focal length shots. Alternatively, look to something you can clamp to a tree or a small bean-bag you can put on a rock or mound. Less flexible but easier in the luggage. When shooting using the LCD screen be careful about level (ie the horizon does need to be level) -- obviously I'm reporting an error I've made!
A wide angle attachment for the FX/Z1 is quite expensive but would be a useful thing to have.
You'll need earphones of some sort when reviewing your footage and using them while shooting will help avoid some errors. Nevertheless you have sound level bars in the viewfinder (unless you use auto) so you can monitor levels visually (another thing to watch). An assistant really is useful, but you can manage without (at the expense of making more errors).
The hints about clothing are to be noted. A cinematographers jacket (lots of suitable pockets) is great for all those extras -- consider heat/humidity.
Microphones and wind protection. The built-in camera mic works well but picks up every touch (zoom motor, changes in hold and so on).
As mentioned by Laurence the auto functions are effective and when you're working under pressure their use can reduce errors. I find the auto focus unreliable in certain types of shots and prefer to manually focus unless the dynamics of the situation preclude that (not even an assistant will be able to assist much here). You don't want to let auto functions overide shutter speed and gain and personally I use full manual control on exposure (with some exceptions). Frequently you won't have time to manually white balance, but don't just assume you can fix it in post (better result when done in camera). Watch for scenes with a colour caste (shade, reflected coloured light, sunlight through canvass, etc) and do a quick WB.

I'll be very interested in how you make out. You'll be able to provide pointers to those of us who haven't been film making in the Congo.

Serena