The ask
Tell the story of a record label that shaped a genre, using the people who were actually in the room. No narrator, no reconstruction, no JPEGs of album art.
The problem
Documentary is where budgets go to die. The traditional answer is a crew: a director, a producer, a DP, a sound recordist, a fixer in each city. Multiply that by 120 interviews and the film never gets made.
The only version of this film that could exist was one where the same person carried the bags, set the lights and asked the questions.
How it was done
- A two-camera interview rig that fits in hand luggage: a wide and a tight, both recording to the same timecode.
- Lapel and boom on separate channels, so a noisy room never loses an answer.
- A repeatable lighting setup: one soft key, one rim, one practical in the background. Every interview cuts together because every interview was lit the same way.
- Archive gathered as it came up in conversation, rather than a separate research phase nobody had budget for.
What came back
Two series, four episodes each. Currently in negotiation for distribution.
Why it matters for your job
Most businesses are not making a ninety-minute documentary. But the same method, one person with a repeatable setup making decisions on the spot, is exactly why a two-hour shoot in your workshop does not need a five-figure budget.