Been baking in the hot hot sun! Didn't expect to be shooting outside much, but the cemetery that surrounds the shrine has actually turned out to be really interesting - people spend a lot of time tending the graves and socialising - its full of life. And its a better way of interviewing people since they're busy arranging flowers and cleaning - much better than stationary talking heads, and more relevant to the subject...

We've been shooting on the Canon 5D and its been a very different way of working for me. The images look amazing and it handles low light situations pretty well. The fact that it looks like a stills camera I think is also a lot less intimidating.

For sound we've hooked up a Rode VideoMic to the Canon's hotshoe whilst also recording sound externally on the Zoom H4 (with Sennheiser shotgun mic, usually on a boom pole). I was pleasantly surprised that the Rode didn't capture any sound off the Image Stabilizer on the Canon, though it did pick up a lot of ambient sounds - which is fine since we have the Sennheiser, which is more directional and will give a nice clean sound for the interview bits. And having two sound-recording sources definitely helps to calm the nerves!

A warning about the Canon 5D - if you're thinking of using it make sure you DISABLE the Auto Lighting Optimizer. If its enabled (which is the default) it will cause a slight flickering, which is specially visible in areas of low light. I noticed this problem in some of the footage and was really perplexed since the camera was on full manual... twas only after some googling and digging into the manual that it became clear that this function is something to beware of...

One more thing - the monopod we've been using is great! I really hate using tripods when shooting in an observational style, but handheld is too shaky - this gadget has three little feet that help to give added stability and is very quick and easy to set up - defenitely recommend it (Manfrotto 561BHDV).

Keep an eye out, we'll be posting some stills from the rushes soon!

Meanwhile, here's the broom cupboard we've been using to set up our kit and escape from the heat.