CHAPTER 11
Your Video Toolkit
In This Chapter
• What should you look for when buying a camera?
• What camera and production accessories are essential or optional?
If you’ve ever spent time doing DIY work around your house, you’ll know how important it is to have the right tool for the right task. For example, it’s difficult to cut 45-degree angles on baseboards without a miter saw, just as it is hard to screw a Phillips-head screw with a flat-head screwdriver. Yes, you can do it, but it’s not easy and takes longer.
As important as it is to have the right tools, it’s also important to have good-quality tools. Buy a $1 paintbrush and some of the bristles will fall out, sticking in your paint, causing you to waste time picking them out. A few extra dollars will get you a better quality paintbrush that doesn’t have bristles that fall out and saves you time. That said, you don’t need to spend $20 on a paintbrush—that’s overdoing it.
Your video equipment doesn’t have to be ridiculously expensive, even though some may attempt to convince you otherwise. If you walk into a camera shop or search online for video equipment, the choices can be overwhelming. Does that camera cost too much? And how about the reviews? Some reviewers describe the camera as awful, while others say it’s the best they’ve ever used. The only way to overcome this uncertainty is to know what equipment you will need and what features you won’t be able to do without.
This chapter will discuss using the most affordable consumer equipment you can find that offers you the minimum features you need to make good video. You don’t need to shell out $1,000 to create polished video. In fact, you can do it for considerably less.
4 Principles for Selecting Video Equipment
This chapter is based on four principles. The first is to be brand agnostic but feature conscious. It’s not productive to start out looking for a Sony, Canon, or Panasonic. First look for features and then match them to a brand or model that suits your price point.
The second principle is about control. The videographer, not the camera, needs to control how the picture looks. Cameras come with all sorts of auto functions that certainly make life easier. But they can prevent you from making important decisions, such as who or what is in focus and how the shot should be exposed.
Third, simplicity is best. Today’s cameras offer so many features that it’s easy to find yourself spending more time trying to figure out the menu than shooting video. Many functions offered by cameras are mere bells and whistles that can make shooting for the average person more frustrating than it needs to be.
The fourth principle is that video is about the story, not your equipment. Some people are drawn to video because it offers a chance to play with a video camera. That’s understandable because video cameras are a lot of fun, especially for those who are technically minded. But we shouldn’t live for the camera; we need to live for the story. At the end of the day, your camera is just a tool that positions your viewer where he can see the action. It’s easy to be caught up in the toys rather than the content.
So let’s look at the gear that will help you shoot video. First we’ll look at various types of cameras. Then we’ll discuss camera accessories, production accessories, and editing software.
Different Types of Video Cameras
Cameras roughly fall into one of the following five categories (Table 11-1):
1. Embedded cameras: These cameras are built into devices like smartphones and tablets. Immediately available for consumers to capture video when the opportunity arises, embedded cameras have a picture quality that gets better every year. These cameras have small lenses and usually run on auto functions.
2. Consumer cameras: These are the cameras you have seen people recording family memories with over the years. They’re light, small enough to fit in your palm, and range in cost from $100 to more than $1,000. This range covers a huge array of features and quality.
3. DSLR cameras: These cameras were originally single lens reflex cameras. But now many have video functionality and audio capture built into them. A benefit of DSLRs is the ability to switch out lenses, something most prosumer cameras cannot do.
4. Prosumer cameras: Increasingly used by television stations and news crews, they’re between the consumer-level cameras and more expensive professional cameras used by network television. Prosumer cameras range between $1,800 and $4,000.
5. Professional cameras: These are the heavy-duty cameras used for filming network TV programs like Dancing With the Stars, the Super Bowl, documentaries, and dramas. They cost anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000, and that doesn’t always include the cost of the lens.
Most learning professionals are unlikely to have the money for a professional camera nor the time to learn all of its functions. Prosumer cameras will be out of reach for many too. Cell phones, tablets, or consumer cameras are likely to be the first option for most, while some enthusiasts will opt for DSLRs. Because of this, let’s focus on consumer cameras. However, this chapter will also explore how to get the best out of cameras embedded in cell phones and tablets.
Table 11-1. Types of Cameras
 |
Embedded Camera |
 |
Consumer Camera |
 |
DSLR Camera |
 |
Prosumer Camera |
 |
Professional Camera |
What You Need in a Video Camera
Talk to a television professional and she’ll tell you your camera needs an external microphone, manual controls, and detachable lenses.
You’ll remember from chapter 6 that microphones have to be close to the sound or person you are recording. But camera mics are usually mounted on top of the camera and are too far away to capture acceptable sound. So you will need an external microphone that you can position near the audio source. You should also choose the mic that best suits your purpose: shotgun, lavalier, or interview.
Professionals want to control how their picture looks. This is why they like to have manual controls on their camera. Auto functions take this control away and cede important production decisions to the computer chip in the camera.
Having a camera that allows you to use different lenses gives the camera operator much more control over how the camera handles depth of field, lighting, and zoom. Most consumer and prosumer cameras do not have detachable lenses.
As a learning professional new to video, should you look for all these features in your consumer camera? The first two are essential, but detachable lenses add cost and are probably more complex than the average learning professional needs.
What’s the Cheapest Camera I Can Get Away With?
When I was running the BBC’s television training department, I asked a senior camera specialist, “What’s the cheapest camera on the market I can use to get broadcast-quality video?” He turned to me and said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You should be asking, ‘What is the lowest level of skills you can get by with.’” Wise words. I meet a lot of people who have been sucked into buying an expensive camera and shoot video that’s worse than what I see shot on cheaper consumer cameras. The bells and whistles of your camera do not make good video. It’s how you use its core functions. If you want to become a phenomenal camera operator, don’t spend your time researching camera models to see which one does face recognition and which one makes coffee. Instead, invest your time reading up on how to use it to create visually engaging shots. Learn about things like depth of field and lighting techniques.
Buying a Consumer-Level Camera
When you search for a video camera make sure it has the following features:
• microphone input
• manual white balance control
• manual exposure control
• manual focus control
• manual audio control.
Microphone Input
Many cheaper cameras do not have a microphone input and rely on the built-in microphone. So keep searching until you find a model that has this input. Consumer cameras will almost always have unbalanced microphone inputs. (See chapter 6 for more details on balanced and unbalanced microphones.)
Manual White Balance Control
Your camera will most likely offer auto white balance—which will guess the white balance setting—or white balance presets for shooting indoors or outside in the sun. Don’t settle for presets or automatic. Keep searching until you find a camera with manual white balance, which can dramatically improve video quality.
Manual Exposure
Setting the exposure levels of your video—how much light the camera lets in, which affects how light or dark your video is—is a personal preference. All professionals develop their own approach and style, and auto exposure robs you of that control.
Manual Focus
Your camera has no idea who or what you want to focus on, so it guesses by using the auto focus. Often it will get it right, but you shouldn’t leave it to chance. Most models now offer a function called focus assist, which will help you get a sharper focus because it magnifies the image you are focusing on.
Manual Audio
Your camera should have manual audio control. This enables you to set the level once and ensure consistency throughout the recording.
Consumer Camera Accessories
You will also need some camera accessories to ensure professional shots:
• an external microphone
• a fluid head tripod with spirit level
• headphones
• SD card or recording media
• optional lighting kit.
External Microphone
The most common microphones used in video production are the shotgun and lavalier mic (Figure 11-1). If you are doing a lot of work on the run, a shotgun mic will be most versatile. If you are doing sit-down interviews or monologues, opt for a lavalier.
Figure 11-1. Shotgun and Lavalier Microphones
Most lavalier mics, which are also referred to as lavs, lapels, and clip-ons, are omnidirectional. They are best when conducting interviews with one person. They have a very localized pickup pattern and can help reduce the noise of background sounds such as air conditioning because they focus more on sound in the immediate vicinity of the microphone.
Shotgun mics have a hyper cardioid pickup pattern, which means they mostly pick up sound that is directly in front of them. Sounds to the side are less pronounced. Cheaper shotguns, which cost less than $100, tend to be less discriminating than ones in the several-hundred-dollar range.
Fluid Head Tripod With Spirit Level
It’s impossible to hold a consumer video camera very steady because it’s so light. So you will need to buy a tripod to ensure your shots don’t shake. A move every once in a while won’t hurt, but if your shots are consistently shaky it will look unprofessional.
Your tripod will need a fluid head. Standard photography tripods don’t allow for a smooth pan or tilt but a fluid head will. Make sure your tripod has a spirit level so you can set the camera level when shooting.
Headphones
You need a lightweight pair of comfortable headphones to hear what you are recording. Some cheaper cameras have miniature speakers built into them so you can listen to the audio if you play the recording back. But these are not good quality and headphones will be better. Also, you should listen as you record to be sure you get everything right the first time. Headphones with a cup on the earpiece will help isolate the recording from noise on location.
SD Card or Recording Media
It goes without saying that you’ll need recording media for the video. Most cameras these days record onto SD cards. You’ll need a ready stock of these, and a system to keep them labeled. It’s also a good idea to buy a case for your SD cards to keep them safely in one place. An SD card holder costs less than $10 and prevents you having SD cards scattered around your desk, or lost somewhere in your desk drawer or at the bottom of your briefcase. If your camera still records onto magnetic tape, make sure you have plenty of tapes and a system for storing them.
Optional Lighting Kit
Lighting equipment represents an additional layer of complexity, which is beyond the scope of this book. We’re concentrating on shooting in natural light. That said, the more light you have to shoot in, the better your picture quality. This is especially true for cheaper cameras. You can buy professional lighting kits, but cheap shop lights from home improvement stores can also do the trick when you’re stuck with an impossibly low lighting situation.
Embedded Camera Accessories
If you plan to shoot on your smartphone or tablet, you should invest in a few accessories to improve video quality:
• external microphone
• headphones
• phone stand.
External Microphone
The need for an external microphone applies as much for smartphones and tablets as it does for consumer and professional cameras. There are many microphones available, but they need a special three-ring plug to work with your phone. When you buy your device, make sure it is compatible with your phone.
Shotgun microphones for smartphones can cost less than $50. They work well when you are shooting relatively close to your subject or sound. Likewise, lav mics for smartphones are even cheaper. If you are using a lav mic, make sure the cable is long enough. If it’s only four or five feet, buy an extension, and make sure it’s compatible with both your mic and phone.
Headphones
Make sure you have headphones to listen with while you record and when you play it back. Some microphone devices built for smartphones will provide an input for your headphones. If your device supports other types of headphones, like Bluetooth, you can use these, although they may drain the battery faster.
Phone Stand
Just as a camera needs a tripod, your phone needs a stand to ensure you don’t end up with shaky video. Amazon has loads of choices—just check the size of your phone or tablet to be sure the stand will hold both its size and weight.
DSLR Camera Accessories
If you choose to shoot on a DSLR video camera consider adding these accessories to your video toolkit:
• tripod or stability control
• audio recorder
• lenses.
Tripod or Stability Control
If you choose not to shoot with a fluid head tripod, you can buy stability devices that mount your camera onto a brace that rests on your shoulder. These range from $200 to $1,000.
Audio Recorder
Most DSLR cameras offer audio capture. If yours doesn’t you will need to purchase a digital audio recorder. Chapter 6 discussed audio recorders in more depth. Consider getting an external microphone for your digital recorder unless you can get the recorder close to the sound without it appearing in the shot. You can also use your cell phone and cell phone mic to record sound.
Lenses
The greatest advantage DSLR cameras offer over traditional video cameras is detachable lenses. Once you’ve got the hang of recording video on a normal lens, you may want to experiment with zoom and wide-angle lenses. Zoom lenses change the focal length of the lens. If this is done when the camera is recording, it will make the viewer feel as if he is moving closer to or away from the action. Wide-angle lenses capture more of the periphery of the scene and are helpful when shooting in small spaces. Zoom lenses used on DSLR cameras tend to be different than those traditionally used on video cameras. They are generally varifocal rather than parfocal, which affects the way you would set the focus, something we’ll touch on in the next chapter.
Production Accessories
There are many accessories you can buy that will help you capture video. While you can do nicely with all we’ve mentioned so far, some of the following items can help you achieve certain effects.
Green Screen
Green screen—formally called chroma key—is a process in which someone talks in front of a green, or sometimes blue, backdrop and a computer replaces the green with a superimposed image. This is how weather forecasts on television have been broadcast for decades; the forecaster stands in front of a green screen and a computer replaces the green with a weather map.
You can buy a backdrop screen from most photographic retailers. The work of replacing the screen with another image is done with the editing software.
What’s So Great About Green Screen?
I discourage folks from using green screen unless there’s a very strong need. It takes longer to set up, is tricky in regard to lighting, and takes the computer longer to render. I’ve seen it waste more time than add value. One client shot a weekly motivational video in front of a green screen, presented by a senior vice president of his company. It would have taken him 10 minutes to take his camera down the corridor and shoot the video in the VP’s office. But he insisted it be shot in front of his green screen. Unfortunately, the green screen was almost always improperly lit, which took more time to key, and it took more time to render the file. I couldn’t see how the green screen made the video more effective or provided a narrative effect, because all he did was drop a generic office image behind him. But my client liked playing with technology.
Try not to fall into this trap. Don’t use fancy effects and fun toys simply because you can. They take time and really should have a narrative purpose.
Teleprompter
If you have people talking to the camera, it may pay to invest in a teleprompter. You can buy a simple teleprompter for as little as $500, while professional models range into the thousands. Some models have screens built into them, while the cheaper models will work with your smartphone or tablet. If you use a teleprompter that requires a tablet or smartphone, you will need to download a teleprompter app to display the text. There are a number of free and premium options available.
Storyboard Apps
If you’re not fond of drawing, you can download a storyboard app for your tablet or smartphone. These apps offer a range of objects and avatars you can use to block out your shots.
Drones
If you need bird’s-eye shots, consider buying a drone. Perhaps you’re creating an onboarding video and need an aerial shot of your campus. Maybe you’re doing a video about geography. Drones range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, but $500 can get you a good-quality drone with a mounted camera. More expensive drones have superior stability control and GPS devices to help you navigate.
Summary
When you buy video equipment, remember to look for the simplest product that will give you the manual functions you need. Don’t start by looking for a brand you know; rather, start by looking for the camera that offers the features you need. Just make sure you don’t go overboard on the features—many cameras are loaded with tools you really don’t need and often they rob you of the control necessary to frame creative shots. Make sure your camera has a microphone input and manual functionality for white balance, exposure, focus, and audio. Buy an external microphone and a tripod to avoid “shaky cam.” If you’re using a device with an embedded camera, get hold of an external microphone to ensure crystal-clear sound. Once you have acquired your video gear, you need to go out and use it. Chapter 12 explores how to shoot professional-looking pictures for your videos.