Camera and gear for amateur movie making
August 13, 2016 11:29 AM   Subscribe

I'd like to start making amateur movies. I'd like the end result to look as professional as possible. Please help me gear up!

I plan to film in a combination of outdoor and indoor settings. I'm looking for recommendations on what gear is essential for making reasonably high quality film shorts. Total budget would be about $500.
posted by quantum to Technology (4 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
A used DLSR + tripod will do you just fine. Anything like, say, a Nikon 3100 upwards plus lens. However, I did some video shoots recently and the big thing that kept tripping us up was the audio side of things. You'll find it easy to get a decent camera at your budget (including some cheap lights secondhand too) but I think the really important thing is going to getting your audio right and that's going to cost extra.
posted by kariebookish at 11:40 AM on August 13, 2016 [3 favorites]


I just bought this Canon Vixia new for $400 (Canadian, including tax) at Costco.

It is not a pro-grade camcorder to which you can afix lenses etc. It does record HD digital files which are the equal of many a much higher end device. I can't really weigh in on its efficacy yet as I've only had it for a few days, but it seems a relevant price point.

but I think the really important thing is going to getting your audio right and that's going to cost extra.

Absolutely. Do Not Forget Sound. The movie Tangerine was shot entirely on Iphones. But one thing they didn't skimp on was sound.
posted by philip-random at 11:57 AM on August 13, 2016 [4 favorites]


Agreed, as a grunt who occasionally holds stuff while my husband makes things, that video is pretty easy to get right even at a budget price with all kinds of very accessible equipment, if you're careful about your lighting. Lighting is pretty easy (I linked his $50 umbrella kit in a post a few days ago) as long as you're willing to stick to easily lit circumstances.

But sound can't (as much) be fixed in post the way minor issues with shot and lighting can be. That's why ADR is still a thing, even on the biggest budget films. I'm guessing, from poking through my husband's equipment right now, that the single most expensive gear he owns, aside from the MacBook Pro, are the wireless lavalier mics (and that doesn't include the mixer he records into). I don't think the mixer cost even half that, though I think he might have bought that used off someone he'd worked with. But he does a lot of "people talking, not necessarily in a performative way, while they do things" videos and as long as you keep an eye on the batteries they never miss a thing and everyone sounds great, without the talking-people really needing to think about the mic at all. I know he has a wired mic that he uses for some things, and it was probably a high-end podcaster's mic at the time he bought it.

There are pretty robust markets for used sound equipment as people upgrade, and it's worth keeping an eye on B&H's used equipment, make a point of dropping by your local Guitar Center periodically, etc.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:13 PM on August 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


Don't buy anything before you know exactly what you want. A good option is to rent everything, from an outfit like lensrentals or borrowlenses or B&H or Adorama or preferably, a local shop that rents video gear if you have one near you.

The reason I say that is while you can actually take what most people would consider adequate footage on an iPhone, the things you need to get right are lighting and audio, as mentioned previously. Which means you need to think carefully about every scene and how you will light it and record it. Pretty much no building has lighting adequate for high quality video, and sound everywhere is awful on onboard camera microphones.

Consider what it is you want to attain when you say "as professional as possible." This is the set of tutorials I recommend to everybody wanting to get into still photography. Which is considerably less involved than video, and everything other than printing applies to video also. How much time and effort are you willing to put into this? This rabbit hole goes incredibly deep.

If you're buying or renting, the smartest thing to do is to try everything out before you buy it. Knowing how to use everything is crucial. Planning is crucial. You can get advice on what to buy on the internet, and I could give you specific recommendations, but it's all a lot less useful than going to a shop or rental company and trying the gear. Are you a student or do you live near a college/university? Many of those loan out equipment free or cheaply, or you can partner with students who can obtain it. That's the cheapest way to get good stuff.

There are a lot of good reviews and equipment round-ups online, but unless you know what you're doing or what you're trying to get exactly, they're not necessarily useful. Blithely suggesting that you buy X is more misleading than not.
posted by Strudel at 1:05 PM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


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