Times of the Islands Spring 2021

astrolabe newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum
Mat Matlack films former Museum Director Michael Pateman on the beach at East Caicos.
Gear
When necessary, I travel light. Very light. I was the sole
member of the film crew. This would be run-and-gun
documentary filmmaking. Since the film’s budget didn’t
allow for extra days of travel, I had to carry everything
on the plane to ensure the equipment wasn’t delayed in
transport. I had all the typical things like clothes and toiletries
with me, but also cameras, tripods, microphones,
drones, etc. So, I had to be extremely selective of what I’d
bring. Here is the list of equipment I chose.
Sony A7iii with Tamron 28-74mm Lens
This was my primary camera. It takes great photos and
great video. There are cameras that do better photos and
ones that capture better video, but this Sony does a fantastic
job at both. The lens is a great all-around zoom that
has a 2.8 f-stop allowing it to capture decent images in
low light conditions like inside a cave.
Canon G7Xii
This is a small point and shoot camera. It’s perfect for
vlogging and I keep it on my belt for quick access like a
gunslinger with his holster. Throw this camera into automode
and it’s hard to miss the shot. This is critical while
on a documentary, especially when the travelling is part
of the experience you are documenting.
GoPro Session
This is an even smaller camera. It’s a little 1.5-inch cube. I
had to make a very hard decision to leave my underwater
housing for the Canon camera at home. There just wasn’t
room in the carry-on bags. I thought, “I’m going to one of
the most beautiful ocean locations in the world and I’m
not going to take my underwater camera housing. What?”
But, the GoPro Session was going to have to suffice for
any underwater filming. It does a decent job, and I knew
99% of our time would be on land.
Energen Dronemax
This is the unit that took up the space of my underwater
housing. We’d be on East Caicos without any power for
three days. I have several batteries for the cameras, but
not for three days of filming, especially flying a drone.
It’s heavy and it’s bulky, but it would allow me to charge
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