The detractors of the Solo Video Journalist paradigm would have those who believe in being able to successfully and professionally produce quality work as a one person crew as not being possible.

Another case study disproves their argument.

Matthew Clift, an Australian videographer, has completed a 60 minute documentary that tells the story of an Australian grandmother who sold everything and ended up creating a campus that teaches over 6,500 Ugandan orphans - all while shooting in the Solo VJ paradigm.

MAtt is quoted  as saying:

“A One Man Crew…
I once read that if you try to do more than one job in the production process, something will suffer. Although there is no doubt there are many benefits to having a large crew, with today’s equipment, it is more than possible for one person with a limited budget to produce a high quality feature length doco.”

The bottom line is that the Solo VJ paradigm DOES work - it only requires the willingness to understand your limitations and work within them. Matt was able to shoot and produce a 60 minute documentary shooting standard def DVX100 cameras and a specially selected field production kit that would allow him to shoot solo. In addition, he edited the completed project by himself. Not all things went perfect though. He did have to send some of the audio to a sound professional to sweeten the sound due to technical issues, but overall, Matthew accomplished by himself as a Solo VJ what the detractors feel can only be done with a multiperson crew.

Once more, the Solo VJ paradigm shows what can be accomplished with sufficient planning and an understanding of what can and cannot be done - and the end result shows:

Check out the trailer and see for yourself, then read how he accomplished this project over at Ken Stone’s site.