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Essential Video Production Equipment

No matter what you do or how good you do it, nothing can be accomplished without the tools of the trade.

We will go cover the most essential video production equipment, that you will need for shooting. It is important that you have core equipment that you will use most of the time. You can lose a whole day of shooting, just because you forgot or don’t have a necessary piece of equipment.

Lets go trough the list…

COMPUTER

Lets just get this out of the way. Computers are just a must have, in almost every profession today, and even if not work related, I don’t know many people that don’t have one at home. For video production you will need a good PC, that can run video production software reliably, and that can render with decent speed.

VIDEO CAMERA/CAMCORDER

First of you need to film and capture material, and for that you need a video camera. There is such a variety of them out there and you need to pick one that suits your needs and budget.

This can be tricky and you might need more than one camera or camcorder. If you are on a limited budget, try and aim for a best buy equipment, like the one that can fulfill multiple tasks. Here is good step by step guide on picking a camcorder.

LIGHTS AND REFLECTORS

Lights can play such a big role in video production or photography, and for you to create a quality video you will need good reflectors. You can play around with lights and they can completely switch the mood of a photo or an image.

Here is a great video that briefly explains lighting in a video, and how it effects a video.

Tripod

TRIPOD

Unless you want your video to look like an amateur high school video, than you better get yourself a tripod. Tripods have been around as long as we remember, and they help you create crystal clear images by removing any shaking(That is usually the case when shot using hands only).  With a tripod you can adjust the angle and the height from witch the shot will be taken.

EXTERNAL MICROPHONE

Although most camcorders have an built-in microphone, getting an external one is necessary. These built-in microphones are meant to be used till you get a real external mic.
Sound quality is extremely important, and often overlooked. The sound is what delivers the message in most cases, and no matter how good the visuals are, the quality of the sound must be inline with the quality of the video, if not better.

EXTRA STORAGE

This is a minor necessity, but can sure be of importance. You don’t want to interrupt shooting just because you ran out of memory. This can be a demoralizing thing, and easily avoidable. If you are certain that you will shoot for an entire day, make sure to bring extra memory cards, or any sort of storage that you need, to avoid unpleasant situations.

CHARGERS AND BATTERIES

We added this just as a reminder to always pack enough of chargers and batteries when going filming. Same as with extra storage, you don’t want to interrupt shooting or waste precious time, just because you ran out of battery. These are just the minor things that happen even to most experienced  people, that is why we mention it so you don’t make the same mistakes.

VIDEO PRODUCTION SOFTWARE

This requires a separate articles as this is a wide topic. There is a lot of great video production software out there, for every pocket, you just need to pick one that is right for you. This is also connected with the need for PC in video production, or in this case post video production. You need video production software to fine tune everything and add more details to your material. There are also free software solutions out there, they are not as good as the paid versions but for someone who is just starting, they can be invaluable.

 

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