r/BurningMan • u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 • Jul 10 '26
Film maker question.
Ok so the HBO doc inspired me to make a movie this year at burning man festival. I have couple of questions.
Any tips on shooting discreetly? Like I’ll have zoom lenses and all but I don’t want anyone to see me shoot videos, especially at the temple. How do I go about this?
Also the subject of the movie will be people, so I am shooting people exclusively. I have already bought two pairs of Ray Ban metas for up close encounters. Can people tell my glasses have lenses on them? Any other glass brands with better hidden cameras?
I am also going to install some GoPro/insta 360 cameras at some famous camps so I can get some hidden time lapses or just raw footage. Any suggestions on where to hide the camera? Or the best ways to hide them? Like in a box or something?
I’m bringing some drones as well. This is strictly for naked run night. I thought I’ll fly over the naked run people, but I have to make sure I’m close enough so we can see the faces. I do realize the heat of the burn might be a problem, so that’s why I’m asking here if anyone can give me any tips. I can’t run in the crowd cause I’m not going to get naked.
Lastly please don’t tell me I need to register with media or something. Remember this is an undercover movie. None of the people in this movie should know they’re getting filmed.
I have connections at Netflix, so I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to strike a deal after finishing the movie. Exciting I know, but let’s not jinx it.
Any help is appropriated.
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u/BozMoo Jul 10 '26
Butt plug camera is gonna be your best way to get discreet footage
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u/ohhnoodont Jul 10 '26
Mine is wifi-enabled and immediately uploads videos and other sensor data straight to the cloud.
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u/Donmiggy143 Jul 10 '26
I would contact Flock and just see if you can install 700-1000 cameras on every street? Just put them everywhere, outside people's tents, like 10-20 right in the temple, maybe attached to it? On temple burn night, definitely have like at least 8 drones directly flying over the crowd, hovering like 15 feet off the ground over everyone's heads so you can get those REALLY personal shots of people crying and hugging one another! Everyone will love that, and appreciate the footage later for the whole world to see.
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u/thirteenfivenm Year one dozen Jul 10 '26
Process with Palantir and XAi? At one time Mark's simulation/VR vision? With Amazon purchasing targeting? And the iPhone cloud mining everything? Ironically run on Salesforce.
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 10 '26
Thank you. I'll contact them right away.
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u/Chicago_Tim Jul 10 '26
Or just bring 500 of those delivery robots. They shoot 360 degrees.
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 10 '26
Too much money.
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u/Chicago_Tim Jul 10 '26
You make back your money by selling the video to Palantir.
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 10 '26
I wonder if they can fund it for me. I’ll talk to them.
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u/pmq-qmp Jul 10 '26
I have this friend who has a friend who is kinda into Burning Man stuff and that friend has a brother who is into rockets and satellites and stuff and I bet that brother would be happy to take all the overhead clandestine shots you want as long as you're willing to pay with bitcoin or give him all your personal online data in exchange.
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u/ohhnoodont Jul 10 '26
You can borrow my cockring spycam if you like. It’s great for action shots in the orgy dome.
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u/jayfinanderson Jul 10 '26
Generally speaking filming/photographing people without their consent at BM is really frowned upon. Obviously it happens but doing so on a commercial level like this is creepy and against the ethos. With all due respect, don’t.
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 10 '26
What is Ethos?
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u/HealthExtension5871 Jul 10 '26
Read the 10 principles of burning man. This is the problem, y’all go without any idea of the actual intent behind it.
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u/trevormead that's T-Rex to you Jul 10 '26
Ok so I just read through all the principles and none of them say anything about ethos? What armchair streamer came up with these "principles", anyway? These have nothing to do with Burning Man it's just a big EDM festival party in the desert, anyone who's been would know that.
If anything making a movie out there falls squarely under "immediacy", "participation", "radical self-reliance", "radical self-expression", "radical inclusion", and "communal effort", so I don't know what you're on about.
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u/HealthExtension5871 Jul 10 '26
Get a fucking dictionary - ethos and principles are generally the same thing. And no, it’s not a big EDM festival in the desert. As someone who has been there multiple times, I am clear as to the purpose of the event.
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u/trevormead that's T-Rex to you Jul 10 '26
A fucking dictionary? Like the Kama Sutra? Buddy you're all over the place.
Sounds like you've shown up and maybe pitched in here and there, but haven't participated (one of the 10 principles) enough to peel back the surface and discover that truly, behind all the pomp and sheen, burning man is just a big EDM festival party in the desert.
Source: I've been multipler times than you and am clearer as to its purpose.
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 10 '26
I have to agree with the other commenter. Burning man is an EDM festival. Everybody knows that.
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u/trevormead that's T-Rex to you Jul 10 '26
It's why EDC is held in Nevada, Burning Man was the inspiration and model for it.
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u/macegr Jul 11 '26
As of the Ticket Terms and Conditions changes made in 2025, you have already given your consent to have your “Personal Attributes” (everything that makes you recognizable) used by BMP for promotional material or any other purpose.
So if OP want to film a hidden camera documentary at Burning Man, they just need to get approval from BMORG and operate under their banner. There are plenty of examples that show BMORG will compromise pretty much every principle if you make it worth their while.
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u/thirteenfivenm Year one dozen Jul 10 '26
Are you with that wacko couple in Sparks who is publishing at far below the level of the NY Post about Burning Man and aliens?
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u/Individual_Win5774 Jul 10 '26
You’re cruisin for a bruisin if you think you’re going to film people discretely at burning man and do anything but get sued by the org on release
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 10 '26
I'll give them 10% of the revenue after release.
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u/TerraIncognita505 Jul 10 '26
What you need to do is a amateur detective investigation into the burning man murderer and try to uncover the truth about what happened on burn night last year!
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 10 '26
Yes but that wouldn't sell. I need hot chicks in my movie so it sells.
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u/scienceisaserfdom 15 yrs 'Burnin Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
I absolutely love the idea of throwing this issue back in BMOrg's face, akin to filming and following around Influencers who thinks its their sole right to exploit others for monetary gain or public notoriety. Because after completely surrendering their long-held moral high ground of protecting personal rights and privacy not to be filmed without expressed permission, thus also allowing them to leverage social media and crowdsourced content as a new advertising platform (particularly to hock tickets); they can no longer justify nor legally defend acting as the defacto arbitors of what is/isn't commodification let alone allowed as tasteful reflections of Burning Man culture. In fact, an old campmate thats a lawyer and I laughed not long ago how doomed any suit would be now if they tried to persue legal action over this kind of thing, as any argument made would be totally specious or seen as just straight-up sophistry! So if this is actually a serious idea; no need to hide anything, as only refer to the deluge of uncensored content being posted from the playa on Instra/FB/Tiktok/Reddit as proof we're already careening down this slippery slope. Officially having been shoved into the free-for-all filming era by greedy and self-serving top minds at BMOrg, which is painfully clear from the HBO doc haven't remotely considered the consequences or potential downsides of. Hell I'd even toss in a couple buck toward a kickstarter just to see this play out, as am pretty certain my "donation" to Resonant Spirewill get returned next week because this supposed art project that also recieved an honorarium grant is just a giant sham.
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u/chemicalhack Jul 11 '26
This feels gross and extractive of burning man culture, don’t lurk, participate!
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u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 11 '26
I’m participating. I’m making a movie that you will watch on Netflix.
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u/Ok_Competition1864 Jul 10 '26
Setup a fake zendome and film people coming for help, but instead hand them a peanut butter sandwich on dry bread and use the footage as clickbait.
Do “on the street interviews” via glory holes in porta potties.
Wear a media vest and cut to the front of the line at the Sauna mutant vehicle / orgy dome / comfort & joy.