Video has long been one of the most expensive creative art forms in the world. To create the movies and TV shows which you know and love, production companies have to spend millions on the equipment they use. The cameras at the top of the market can be scarily priced, and the options you find at the lower end can be disappointing. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the best ways to shoot video for your own movies, without having to invest on the same level as a company which will make a fortune from their work.
The Cameras
This sort of process always has to start with a camera or two. Depending on the scale of your project, the number of people involved, and the time you have to make it, you may want to invest in a range of devices at this stage. The best way to buy a camera is through websites like eBay. While many of their offerings are second hand, this makes them far cheaper than new cameras, while also giving you the chance to shop for older models which may not be on sale. It’s always worth spending some time researching your options here, though the Sony A6300 is a great starting camera for video makers, offering 4K recording at a very compelling price.
Along with your main cameras, it will also be worth thinking about some extra devices, giving you a range of different options when it comes to shooting your scenes. Drones from www.myrctopia.com can be great for this. Not only do they give you the chance to capture footage which used to be reserved for helicopters, but they also make it much easier to film scenes with a lot of movement. More and more companies are relying on devices like this for professional productions, giving you the chance to work with similar footage to those at the very top of the industry.
The Lenses
Once you have a camera or two, you’re also going to need to think about some lenses. This is where cinema often gets really expensive, with very few options being affordable, and the range of focal lengths you need being very broad. You have two options when you’re trying to save some money on this, and you can find them both below. A lot of people find it hard to know what to buy when looking for this, making YouTube videos well worth watching when you have the chance.
Modern Prime: As the slightly more expensive of these two options, modern prime lenses are very simple. They won’t have any electronics inside, leaving all of the controls, including focusing, up to the user. Along with this, they won’t be able to zoom in or out, remaining at a fixed focal length. While this may make them sound hard to use, they are often designed for video, and will be very easy to pick up once you start using them every day.
Vintage: There are thousands of vintage lenses for sale on eBay at any given time. Like modern primes, they won’t have features like auto focus, electronic controls, or light metering, but they will be far cheaper. You need adapters to use these with modern cameras, with options like old Nikkor and M42 mount lenses being some of the most widely compatible with modern devices. This can be a very affordable way to build a collection which will worth with both full frame and cropped sensors.
Lighting
Light is possible the single most important thing to any kind of photography, including cinema. Without this crucial element, it would be impossible to capture footage, and having the right qualities in it can be very important, too. This makes it a good idea to have some options for lighting available for your recording sessions. Below, you can find some examples of the best options for this, ranging from the inexpensive to slightly pricier.
Camera-Mounted LEDs: When you browse a site like Amazon for camera lights, you will find dozens of options which sit on top of the device. With boards of LEDs which are powered by batteries, these sorts of products are great for video which involves close-ups of people and objects. If you want to record something bigger, though, they could cast too many shadows, and probably won’t work so well.
Softbox Setups: For those looking for something with a little more power behind it, softbox setups could be a better option, and they don’t have to be expensive to buy. These sorts of systems can bathe a room in light, all without using a huge amount of power. Of course, though, you will need to make sure that you are testing your shots before recording entire scenes, just in case the lighting looks wrong.
Support Hardware
Finally, as the last area to consider, it’s time to think about the support hardware you use. Tripods, shoulder mounts, and gimbals all come into this category, and are designed to make it easier to record quality shots which will look stable and smooth. Of course, though, like most of the gear you buy for your camera, getting the good stuff isn’t exactly cheap. The best way to achieve this goal is through websites selling second hand options. The best options on the market are all far too strong to be damaged in normal use, making them very safe to buy when they’ve been knocked around a bit.
With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to get started on the movie projects you’ve always wanted to take on. Of course, you will still have a lot of work to do, with actors, scripts, and loads of other elements to organize before you are done, but this will all be much easier once you have the gear to go along with it. This sort of project is a big one to take on, but it will be well worth it once you’ve made it to the other side.
