Equipment Checklist for any Beginner Videographer

The film making industry may look like a very lucrative business as someone looking at it from the outside. However if you are planning to start making or directing videos, you may want to think about and consider the equipment that you will require. Creating your first video involves many different things, from having the right equipment to writing a compelling story. Most video production agencies have already gone through this process and checklist when they first started. So this may be considered quite a heavy investment for many as videography equipments do not come cheap. This will be a simple guideline and checklist of the important things that one will need to film their first professional video.

Of course, do understand that there is no one size fits all equipment in film making. Each person vary from their style and capabilities in the craft. And there are also many variables in this from budget to type of project.

Video Camera

The first and most important thing as a beginner or video production agency is the video camera as this is what will capture the film. Although there are many different cameras in the marketplace, it will be a hard choice when it comes down to picking the right camera. First, you will want to take into consideration of your budget, shooting style, and where do you intend to put the final film into. This will help you determine what kind of camera you will end up with.

There are many different accessories that can help support your camera and make it into a different camera altogether. The first will be lenses, and lenses come in many different sizes, styles, and features. It is more efficient to have a single camera supported by multiple lenses instead of the other way around. Batteries are also important especially if you are out shooting for a long day and you need to take various multiple scenes to make sure you get every possible angle and situation. So having a couple extra batteries with a charger does not hurt. Most video production agencies will always have a lot of extras just so they do not have to worry about the camera dying during crucial moments.

Stability of the video is also a crucial part in any film making as certain scenes may require no movement of the camera. Tripods will assist in this and there are many kinds and lengths. So depending on what kind of videos you take, you may want to choose your initial tripod based on that.

Audio Equipment

Audio is also a major part of any video if you intend to capture the original audio of the scene instead of overlaying another audio for it. There are many different mics that will be beneficial and catered to different situations. Attaching a mic to your camera will be good if you intend to have a more detailed close up shots. Although cameras do have a built in mic on their own, having an external mic will separate the pros from the amateurs. Your video’s audio will have much better clarity.

A shotgun microphone is a good investment which you can have that is built for many different situations. So this investment is a long term investment. With the shotgun microphone you will be able to get a boom pole and have a boom-mic setup. This will come in handy especially when you want to capture audio from a group interview, a crowd scene or quickly capture any professional audio quality similar to that of a video production agency.

Lighting

Lighting is what gives clarity and depth to the scene. Depending on your shooting location and situation, you may want to have sufficient lighting so that your camera is able to capture every detail possible while minimising shadows. If you plan to do your shooting only indoors, then a three point lighting kit will be sufficient as it is fully capable of lighting up any object. This is similar to professional or commercial photography as well.

Although your camera may come with its own camera light, sometimes it may not be sufficient. If you are shooting outside instead, you may just depend on the natural lighting and also make use of reflectors. Reflectors are able to turn pale and dull sceneries into more saturated and well lit environment in your shot.

This is just a basic guideline to any beginners looking to start their professional film making journey. This may even be useful to those that just wants to start a personal video log for documentation. Film making is considered a great art form and with more practise, overtime you will see improvements in your video filming and editing as you come across different equipments and styles along your journey.