For cinematographer Tom Bergmann, inspiration can come from anywhere, but especially from his world travels. As a documentary filmmaker and DP, he embraces his experiences as a still photographer and combines them with his narrative storytelling ability.

Canon’s CN-E Compact Zooms have been a great addition to documentary cinematography since their release five years ago. The image quality is superb and is a great choice for higher-end productions. They offer a comfortable size and weight, with a fast, consistent T2.8 aperture. This pair of lenses offers a great focal length range that will cover you in most shooting situations. Let’s take a deep dive into the look and feel of these two lenses.

Fujinon recently released the native Sony E-mount MK 18-55mm cinema zoom as an “ultra-compact, and 2 lb, 2 oz lightweight design lens that meets the needs of Super35 and APS-C sensor cameras.” The lens features “outstanding optical performance and low distortion with T2.9 speed across the entire zoom range, as well as fully manual lens rings for focus, zoom, and iris.”

As a documentary cinematographer, I am constantly struggling to decide which lenses I want in my kit for any given project. The options over the years have ranged from minimal to overwhelming. In the beginning, I was mostly restricted to DSLR-style lenses to interface with my EF or Sony E-mount cameras.

When working in a multi-mic scenario, something with the flexibility of the Sound Devices 633 - an audio mixer and recorder that can handle up to six audio inputs - is key to your success. Traditional camcorders offer two isolated channels of audio input. While this may work fine for two mics, the task gets tougher when three or more mics are in the mix.

Mark Benjamin has spent the last thirty years building his reputation as a director and cinematographer through his work in film and television. As one of our AbelCine Documentary Grant judges, we asked him to talk a little bit more about his career, including some of the inspiration behind projects such as the Peabody Award-winning series Brick City that he created with filmmaker Marc Levin.

Peter Schnall is a seven-time Emmy Award and Peabody Award winner who has been making distinctive films and documentaries for more than twenty-five years. We're excited to have Peter as one of our AbelCine Documentary Grant judges and he was nice enough to answer a few questions about his experiences working in the industry.