Gear.
Gear: it's not everything, but it is something. In the video production arena, you've got two sides of the coin: while we often want to dazzle potential clients with our flashy new cameras and drones and fancy do-dads, we also want clients to know that it's NOT about the gear. It's about the person behind the gear, the creative mindset they bring. The gear in their hands is less relevant when their creative talent is strong.
Well, neither side of the coin will work all on its own. An inexperienced crew with hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment will film footage that looks like it came from—you guessed it—an inexperienced crew. Conversely, a Hollywood crew with 50 years combined experience can only go so far with an iPhone and a selfie stick.
Still, we do lean more on the side of creative talent; therefore, we're generally going to talk more about our people and final products rather than the gear we use to create it with (unless we get something brand new that we're kid-in-a-candy-store excited about and have to publicly nerd out about). So this week’s posts—and ONLY this week’s posts—will be gear heavy, just to give you a general idea of what we'll show up to set with. And, of course, this gear will change as time moves on. So without further ado, here is what we’re working with:
CAMERAS:
Years ago, we started in the Canon camp. Most of our earlier videos were shot on Canon DSLRs such as the 6D, 7D and 5Dmkii. This was a time when the quality of small-form-factor camera bodies was on par with much larger, bulkier cameras. From there, we transitioned to Sony cameras as Sony was beginning to introduce even better quality (including 4k video) into even smaller camera bodies. During this time, the smaller the camera was, the heftier the cost. Sony put a lot of bang into those little cameras.
Today, we're filming almost exclusively with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4k. These are classified as cinema cameras because they feature in-camera elements that create an image similar to what you'd see in a movie. Fun fact: if you are on set with us, the image you see coming straight out of this camera may look ugly and “flat” with very little color. This is because we're shooting in what's called a RAW format. Essentially, this allows us the flexibility to manipulate and add/subtract any color we need to in the final edit, which gives us the most room to adjust the final image to look exactly how we want it.
For drone shots, we use the DJI Mavic Pro 2. To this day, my mouth still goes agape when I see the quality coming from that drone. You'll love it too.
Additionally, we occasionally incorporate things like GoPros or iPhones when we need a unique perspective for a quick shot that's not conducive for using a larger camera.
LENSES:
Believe it or not, lenses are more important than cameras. A great lens on a bad camera will outshine a bad lens on a good camera any day. Sometimes lenses are referred to as "glass” since that's what they are at their core. They come in high quality glass and low quality, cheap glass. The most short-sighted thing to do is have a great camera only to put cheap, low quality glass in front of it. The image the camera records is only going to be as good as the glass it passes through to reach the camera. We mainly use the higher end (often called red lined) lenses, which have a long history of superior quality and build. Most recently, we've moved into what's called cinema lenses. And, like the cinema camera mentioned above, these lenses are designed to create a more cinematic feel/look that is aesthetically pleasing.
AUDIO:
For interviews, we typically like to use a boom microphone positioned directly over our subject. This not only allows for great audio without a mic visible onscreen, but it makes for quick change-ups when we're interviewing multiple people since we don’t have to re-mic each new person. When the situation does call for it, we have wired lapel mics that we can place on the subject’s collar. These are higher end mics that record directly into a recorder that we place in the subject’s pocket.
LIGHTING:
Lighting is one of my favorite parts of the process (and we'll go into a typical setup more in-depth in future posts). It's challenging but also rewarding to be able to walk into a "plain" room and completely change the feel of it simply by how we light it. Most people are amazed at what a difference proper lighting makes. Most of our lights are made by a company called Aputure, who makes lights that can fit in the palm of your hand all the way up to lights that could rival the sun! And one of the best things about using these lights? They’re much safer than they used to be. Once upon a time, if you accidentally touched one while it was on, you’d get a third degree burn. In fact, back in the day, lights like this put off so much heat that starting fires was a real threat if not managed properly. Not so today, thankfully.
OTHER GADGETS:
From time to time, we'll employ other tools to get just the right shot. These could be things like camera stabilizers or sliders which give a smooth, steady feel to movement/walking shots. Tripods are typically used for interviews, and sometimes we use a monopod (a tripod with only one leg) to create a steady yet slightly "floaty" shot.
In future posts, we'll show you examples of how we set all of this up and place equipment in just the right spot to create the best image possible. And, of course, if you are ready for us to put our talent (and gear) toward creating an amazing video to move your customers to action, click below!