Over the last 5 years, I have played with a multitude of different tools when it comes to filmmaking. From a small stabilised Go Pro to a Red Dragon worth 20 bags (£20,000 for anyone not from London) (also, not an actual Dragon).
Although I don't have the best equipment in the world or the most expensive equipment, the starting point for any Videographer is important. Why?
Because it doesn't matter what you start with, just as long as you start.
You just need the basics to start. A camera, something to stand it up on and yourself.
2017 Budget: £600
Canon EOS 200D + 18-55mm kit lens + Rode VideoMic + Cheap Plastic Tripod = Kickass video
Canon 200D + 18-55mm kit lens = £450
The Canon 200D is an incredible starter camera. I bought it just after it had been announced and given that it was my first camera, I was incredibly impressed by how easy it was to use, the weight and the amazing photographic qualities of the APS-C sensor.
I would recommend the newer version of this camera to anyone looking to get into photography and videography. The Canon 250D came out in April 2019 and comes with an updated 18-55mm kit lens which is now image stabilised. That means that the glass inside the lens will move to try and eliminate any accidental movements and stutters when walking. The camera also records in 4K (although it has a quite significant crop factor compared to 35mm full-frame making the image similar to the micro four-thirds sensor (MFT or Four Thirds)).
Rode VideoMicGO = £50
This mic is something that I haven't really used too much. Although I bought it to use on my first project and then sparingly on other projects (similar to a lot of things that I buy, I get bored easily if it doesn't work or do what I want, lookout for a future post on useless items) the mic did its job for my first few projects and paid for itself.
My only complaint would be as it is a directional mic, your subject can't be too far away as you'll end up cranking the audio gain and the mic will pick up a lot of background noise.
After watching a few reviews and tech vloggers, they recommend the Rode Video Micro. The mic is on offer right now, so it is cheaper, smaller and comes with a dead cat (no I wasn't talking about that weird landlord we had at uni).
Cheap Plastic Tripod = £15
This is something that you shouldn't skimp out on. Although something cheap might get the job done, you will be putting your other expensive equipment at risk. It's like dressing up really nice in a fancy suit and wearing stilettos (Deffo not speaking from experience I promise). It's not that it can't be done and pulled off, but the more weight that you are putting on the top of the tripod and then extending it to the highest position, eventually, physics will cause it to be unbalanced and the tripod will fall destroying your most prized possessions.
I had an experience whilst I was interviewing a few people on a shoot. I had managed to convince 2 lovely ladies to join in and be a part of my video (Don't worry, I didn't have to pay them this time. I promise that first time was art purposes) and they were kindly waiting for me to prepare the shot. As I was talking them through what they had to say, I noticed that my camera was slowly leaning toward more and more.
Time slowed down. I could feel each heartbeat. My interviewees were giving their best take so far. As my new love began to fall, nothing mattered anymore. Nothing was important. I remember thinking "This is it...The end of the path I started us on..." (Marvel stole that line from me) "I don't think I will be able to send this back to Canon and claim with as a manufacturing fault... If I go back to Dubai and return the tripod do I think they'll just laugh at me?"
With the camera about to hit the floor, I moved quicker than Britney Spears and caught it just in time before it fell and smashed.
Note to self, buy a better tripod
First BIG Lens purchase - Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 £599
When buying my first professional lens, I didn't really know what I was looking for. For my dissertation film, I had used a variety of Samyang Prime lenses; the 24mm T1.5, 35mm T1.5, 50mm T1.5 and my favourite 85mm T1.5*. These lenses were sharp, small (compared to other more expensive cinema lenses) and the composition of the glass elements inside allowed the image to be punchy and full of contrast. As I was travelling to India for a family holiday, I didn't particularly want to carry a suitcase full of expensive prime lenses (a prime lens is a lens which doesn't allow you to zoom in. As a result, you are able to get more of an out of focus background and the images are sharper). My mum had also told me not to fill my suitcase full of useless things...(listen to your mum people, she's hardly ever wrong).
* (A T-stop value is an exact measurement of light going through the lens to the sensor of a camera. The T-stop value is normally associated with film cameras and professional film lenses as the measurement of light needs to be exact when changing lenses. An f-stop value refers to the theoretical amount of light passed onto the sensor, whereas the T-stop lenses are tested to measure the exact amount of light that is passed through. As a result, these lenses are expensive).
Comentários