Essential Equipment for Video Production

If you’re a video creator, you must have the essential equipment to be able to bring your vision to life.

You also need to make sure that you pick equipment items that are most suited to your filmmaking needs and budget.

In this post, we will highlight the important items that should be on your checklist and how to choose them.

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Camera

Having a good camera is the most crucial item when you’re a video creator. Whether you’re shooting music videos, documentaries, or feature films, you must choose the right camera that’s suited to your needs.

But how do you choose the perfect camera for your next project? Let’s take a quick look:

• Project goals: Think about what, where and when you’re shooting. For example, if you’d like to film at night and include slo-mo shots, you should look for a camera with excellent low-light and slo-mo capabilities.
• Budget: Whether you’re buying or renting the camera, you must look for options within your budget range that also cater to your specific goals and needs.
• Technical specifications: Some examples of technical features that you should consider are: sensor size, low-light performance, frame rate, lens compatibility, audio inputs, portability and power options.
• Netflix compatibility: Although this isn’t essential, using a camera that is Netflix-approved will ensure that you’re shooting at the standard that they expect.
• Hands-on testing: Most camera shops and rental houses will let you test the camera before you purchase/hire it from them.

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Lens

Lenses are an extremely important part of video production and can completely change the look and feel of your footage.

There are 6 main types of lenses which include:

• Fisheye (4-14mm): Used for creative and abstract scenes.
• Wide Angle (14-35mm): Used for landscape and architecture videography.
• Standard (35-85mm): Used for street, travel and portrait videography.
• Short Telephoto (85-135mm): Also used for street and portrait videography.
• Medium Telephoto (135mm+): Used for sports, wildlife and action videography.
• Super Telephoto (300mm+): Used for sports and wildlife from a distance and astronomy videography.
• Macro (35-200mm): Used for close-up shots.

You can also choose whether you’d like a zoom or prime lens. Zoom lenses are the most common, however, prime lenses are perfect if you want to keep the same focal length throughout the video.

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Camera Light

Getting a camera light can help you fill in dark spots or brighten your subject.

If you’re filming something that doesn’t let you use a traditional 3-point lighting setup, for instance, a run-and-gun documentary, having a camera light is great.

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Microphone

If you’re recording audio, making sure that you have a good-quality microphone is essential.

For cases where you’re shooting outside, we would recommend a wind muff for your microphone as it will stop wind noises from ruining your audio.

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Headphones

A good pair of headphones will allow you to hear and be able to adjust the audio levels in your production.

If you have multiple audio sources, for example multiple people speaking to each other, having a pair of headphones will help you notice if one of their microphones is too loud/quiet.

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Audio Recorder

If you’re recording audio and using a DSLR or a smartphone, you need an audio recorder.

There are ways to record audio through a DSLR, however, using an audio recorder such as the Zoom H6 is a much easier way to do so.

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Audio Cables

Having audio cables is very important if you’re going to be using microphones in your production.

Different types of audio cables include HDMI, USB, XLR and MIDI.

Many microphones nowadays are wireless however it’s good to have spare cables just in case.

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Gimbal

Using a gimbal gives a professional, smooth look to your footage.

If you’re doing videography for products, real estate or cars, using a gimbal is perfect for these situations.

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Batteries

It’s a good idea to keep a few spare batteries for your camera, lighting and audio setup.

As you may be shooting for an extended period of time, being able to change batteries in an instant is a must.

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Tripod

Tripods are used for many different kinds of videos and provide a still, steady shot.

If you’re going to be panning and tilting the tripod, using a fluid head is great as it is much smoother than normal tripods.

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Memory Cards

Keeping memory cards close at all times is essential for video production.

As with batteries, they will run out if you’re shooting for long periods of time and it’s a good idea to keep spares as you wouldn’t want to wipe a card that you’ve been shooting on.

The most common types of memory cards are SD and CF cards.

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Hard Drive

As footage and audio recordings can take up a lot of space, you’ll eventually need to upgrade to using a hard drive instead of your laptop’s internal storage.

You can always use the ‘cloud’ to store your footage, however, it’s also a great idea to keep a hard copy just in case things go wrong.

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Editing Software

Making sure you choose the right editing software for yourself is crucial for the outcome of your video production.

Depending on your level of skill and budget, there are plenty of tools out there to choose from.

For a professional, seamless editing experience, Premiere Pro and Adobe XD are our favourites.

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Conclusion

In this post, we’ve highlighted the essential equipment for video production, from cameras to tripods to editing software.

If you’re looking to hire equipment for your next project or discuss this post further, please feel free to get in touch with us.