Focus Features

The first decision we had to make right out of the gate is whether to run out and buy the latest camera.... There is always something better, faster, higher res. Colin and Michelle (the No Impact family) were about to start a year of buying nothing new so we decided to use the gear that we had, which happened to be the DVX100a. It was 2006 and we had just seen Iraq in Fragments, which was so beautifully shot with that camera, so we knew it could produce a solid cinematic image. We saved some money and we didn't have to learn yet another camera and work flow. 

The next issue for us was lights. Our subjects were going to turn off the electricity in their 9th floor apartment in the middle of the year and live by natural and candle light. It was important to us that the viewer experience this transition with the family. We decided that the best way to do this was to use only available light. This meant that when the No impact family were eating by candle light that we made sure they had several candles available. We also slowed down the shutter in the camera and increased the gain to make it more light sensitive. It was a gritty look, but it was real and we hope that comes across in the storytelling.

The film was largely shot with a one person crew. No sound man, no gaffer, no PA. This made our decision to forgo the use of cars in the making of the film seem logical. Usually I threw the camera and my wireless mic in my backpack and took the subway to shoots. It was easy until our subjects began riding their bicycles everywhere. As a cinematographer, I would ordinarily get those smooth tracking shots of someone on a bike from the back of a car (usually an SUV). That was not an option. At first I hired a pedicab (bike cab) to ride me around, but I found that they were more concerned about my safety than dodging potholes. Finally, I learned to shoot from my own mountain bike while cradling the camera.

For years, I have been obsessing over all 9v batteries that get thrown away after a day of shooting. Years ago this led me to find a company that recycled batteries, which is much better than just tossing them... but there had to be a better way. So I did some research and found that there was a new breed of rechargeable 9v lithium battery on the market. Over the course of 16 months I used the same 4 batteries instead of the estimated 250 I would have used.

We were thrilled to partner with Oscilloscope Laboratories for the distribution of No Impact Man. They were very supportive in helping us think of innovative ways to keep the impact of the film low long after we were done with production. Thus we decided to release the film digitally through a DCP (digital cinema package). This is basically allowing the film to be downloaded to hard drive and projected digitally. This greatly reduced the amount of stuff created for our 20-city-plus release. No massive film prints and thus no chemical pollution in the creation of those prints. And for the DVD Oscilloscope is dedicated to using recycled packaging.