DEIDOX Test Drives ikan’s P2P Teleprompter System
**UPDATE:
Coincidentally, this weekend on the Current Channel (you know, the one started by Al Gore, with a focus on documentaries) “The Fog of War” by Errol Morris came on. If you haven’t seen it, the doc reconstructs the Vietnam War through the eyes of Robert McNamara–the so-called “architect” of the war itself. In the interview, you’ll notice, Morris uses what we now know as the Interrotron method–and it really makes the interview with McNamara hit home. Thus Ikan’s idea to bring to you our own flavor–the P2P Teleprompter series. Not only good for basic style interviews and unique setups, it’s a powerful method for integrating interview-style journalism with Documentary footage.
Here’s an example of the p2p system in action in “The Fog of War.” If you’re interested in learning more, check out our p2p product website or watch out product video. DV.com also posted some data about our take on Morris’ Interrotron.
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Two weeks ago we got the chance to meet up with the guys from DEIDOX–Dave Mahanes, Producer & Brent Gudgel, Director. They’ve recently relocated from Pasadena, CA to Austin and wanted to swing by to discuss their next interview-style project, with plans to shoot on two Sony F3 cameras. We suggested they try our underrepresented P2P system, based off the PT4100 Teleprompter we manufacture. If you haven’t seen the output of that puppy, it’s definitely worth checking out.
So we packed them up in their SUV and sent them on their way to their shooting location in Dallas, about 5 years hours (gotta catch up on that sleep) from here in H-town. They were kind enough to give us their regards and some testimonial about the p2p41:
“Even based on our first day using the person to person setup, I’d have to say it was the coolest interview I’ve done in a long time. We took the rig with us on a location shoot in a chapel in the countryside. The first time setting it up (a “practice” run to make sure we could get it to work) was a bit involved, but the second setup (when it really mattered) went super smooth. 20 minute setup. 10 minute teardown.
As a director I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to get more authentic interviews from documentary subjects, and this was the first time I could try a person-to-person setup. The rig makes getting an authentic interview way easier than a more traditional setup. The interviewer can better connect to the interviewee in a fascinating type of hyper-reality interaction. Quite fun. In fact, our interview subject even told us afterwords that the person-to-person setup was now his favorite way to do an interview. All that to say, I love it and can’t wait to use it again.
The support team at Ikan are fantastic and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to work with their equipment. They have a true desire to help independent filmmakers produce the best films. Unfortunately, this is a rarity in the industry.” -Brent Gudgel, Director
One more thing. it is with misfortune that I am unable to insert the photos in this post–they will be added as soon as the final kinks in our wordpress are ironed out. Once that happens, I’ll have you some photos.
For updates on DEIDOX, follow their twitter (@deidox), visit the website, or check out their vimeo for new videos. You can also follow Brent Gudgel directly via @brentgudgel.
