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Hey all, I am traveling down to DC this weekend to document the Women's March and the scene surrounding Trump's Inauguration. Our team is very small (3 people total). Our cameraman will be shooting on a discreet camera and I'd like to do my best to keep my audio gear discreet. We aren't affiliated with any company or organization, we are filming entirely independently, for our own use. Our goal and focus is loose as this is the first piece of the doc we are shooting. We are hoping for general event coverage and some select interviews with subjects as we encounter them. I'm wondering if anyone has experience in these type of very high security environments - and more specifically, does anyone have experience shooting independently of a major production company at these high security events. Obviously, I have concerns about what gear I'll be allowed to walk around with. My gut feeling is to bring as little gear as possible. A Mix-Pre or other small mixer directly into camera with 1-2 lavs to capture interviews and an ambient shotgun mounted to camera. However, this is not my ideal setup. Ideally, I'd want to have my 744t with me, a shotgun mic on a boom pole and a wireless lav setup ready to go. I have strong reservations about walking around with my boom pole and shotgun mic. Are these breaches of security? Could they be construed as breaches in security? Same goes for the recorder... On a similar note: I have Lectro blocks 21 and 26 that I can bring down to DC. I imagine RF will be crazy at the event but in terms of legality - are there any special restrictions in place for an event like this? Any information is appreciated - links to restrictions, links to press restrictions, personal tales... Thanks for any info and knowledge you all can spare. This is my first time running into such a high security event with no press credentials. Trying to be as prepared as possible...and I assume I'll still be in for a surprise.

Hello all, I'm writing today to see the general stance on an 'indie rate'. I have been doing bag work for nearly a decade now and have generally turned down or priced myself out of all the indie flicks that have come my way. What can I say, I like my predictable 10 hour full rate days and have gotten pretty good at it. Lately however, I'm being asked more and more to quote on indie projects. Sometimes from regular 'corporate' clients who themselves are branching out. One thing that gets said to me often is 'you have to realize this is an indie project...'. As if that's supposed to be an automatic discount for my labour and equipment. So far I've held fast to my rates and when the money has been there I've taken the odd indie movie. Recently however, one such regular client has come to me about an indie and the PM they've got negotiating with me is using all the cliche's she has in her arsenal to get me to lower my rate. The problem for me is that I just don't have the equipment necessary to do this project properly without investing in some significant equipment upgrades. I love this group of people and would love to help out, but financially it's not making a lot of sense. I'm probably going to pass on the job and slowly add more gear to my kit so that the next time I'm in this position I might have a little more wiggle room to help out. That leads me to this: is there such thing as an 'indie rate', and when, where and why would you offer one? There are times when I think doing an indie might be fun for a week or when I'd like to help out a really good client who is trying something different. But I have a very hard time deciding when I should offer that rate as I'd hate the idea of losing out on fully paid work or selling myself short in general. I don't have to tell most of you how we as technicians don't have reels and really aren't in this for any sort of glory. So, do you have an indie rate, and how does it compare to your usual film package? Do you ask production what their overall budget is in helping to determine your rate? Should it be a certain % of their budget? Thanks in advance!

I'm directing my first feature in late Dec/early Jan, and still looking for the right person to handle sound. The ideal candidate should be Brooklyn/NYC-based and have his/her own gear. Though we're shooting on a relatively minimal budget, I've set aside a decent amount of money for sound. Send a list of your past projects w/links and an equipment list if you want to be considered for this project: derick@fstopimages.com Thanks, Derick