The shooting of this film remains a very special moment for me. Because that’s when I met Billy Bang for the first time. He was an unique jazz musician,and a very sensitive person. Unfortunately, Billy passed away on April 11th, 2011…

for two months and a half, it was like a road movie across Viet-nam. Billy could be unpredictable, so we had to be ready to shoot at any time of day or night. So I slept every night with the recorder by my side, just in case. For that film, I needed recording gear that was not too bulky, as it’s very often the case when shooting documentaries, but that was also good enough to record live performances, all this within tight budgetary constraints.

The film was shot with two Z1 Sony cameras. I used and Edirol R4. It’s very light, but not a top quality recorder, and it has two downsides. You need to add a preamp, because the built-in ones are not perfect for quiet, low volumes. And the hard drive doesn’t stand the hot weather very well. Furthermore, recording in 96khz quality can be a problem with that hard drive… I used wireless G2 Sennheisers with TRAM microphones, Rode NTG2 on perch and on both cameras. Plus a Rode NT4 XY stereo, an Oktava MK102 pair and a Shure SM58.

Synopsis

Billy Bang joined the American Army to fight in Viet-nam in March 1967. The experience left deep marks on him. Back home, he tried to forget nightmares and traumas with alcohol, drugs – and music. 40 years later, he decided the only way to heal his wounds is to return to Viet-nam, this time with his violin as his only weapon. Redemption Song is a film about this will to overcome and leave behind the traumas of war, through art and music.

Technical specs – IMDB

Directed by : Markus Hansen et Jean-Marie Boulet
Produced by : Loïc Magneron – Wide Management
Executive producer in Viet-nam : Dang Tat Binh – Feature Film Studio 1
Cameras : Markus Hansen et Jean-Marie Boulet
Sound : Arnaud Soulier
Editing : Joël Jacovella

Release Dates – IMDB