The Gear You Need to Shoot Your Own Indie Movies (2023)
It’s by no means been simpler to produce your individual movies, quick movies, and even feature-length films. While video manufacturing isn’t precisely an inexpensive interest, you don’t want a movie studio to get studio-level photographs. No piece of apparatus will routinely make you expert with a digicam, but when your expertise are struggling in opposition to the constraints of your surroundings, these instruments may open up some prospects for you.
Update December 2022: We added extra details about tripods and an audio gear part.
A Good Tripod
More than nearly something you’ll want a superb tripod to maintain your digicam, no matter digicam you’re utilizing. Finding the fitting tripod is usually a little bit of a entice, as a result of it’s straightforward to discover a very low cost tripod–you can stroll proper right into a Target and get one for underneath $20—and once you’re first beginning out, perhaps it is best to. But as your wants develop, you’ll discover that not all tripods are created equal.
For starters, some very fundamental images tripods are designed with static photographs in thoughts, however when taking pictures video, you might have considered trying extra motion capabilities. A superb tripod for video might be in a position to rotate freely and easily with out sticking. You can also need to search for a tripod with a swappable head, so you should buy the fitting head for the photographs you want quite than attempting to adapt your photographs to your gear.
I take advantage of this Ok&F tripod ($90) that has each a ball head–for freehand motion–and a flat rotating mechanism for panning photographs. This offers it quite a lot of flexibility with out a lot bulk. It additionally makes use of a regular Arca Swiss quick-release plate, which can turn out to be useful in case you improve your gear over time. Check out our full studio gear information right here for extra tripod suggestions.
Stands, C-Stands, and Assorted Clamps
Making positive all of your tools is in the fitting spot–and maintaining it there–is such a posh and essential activity that it’s a whole career in Hollywood. Don’t fear, in case you’re working a small (or one-person) manufacturing, you may nonetheless get away with fundamental setups, nevertheless it’s value studying concerning the numerous varieties of substances you need to use to place your lights and microphones.
Tripod stands are universally helpful for positioning issues like lights, and so they’re extremely low cost. They’re normally sturdy sufficient to maintain up LED lighting panels, GoPros, microphones, or different small units. You in all probability received’t need to use one as your digicam’s essential tripod, since they normally solely have one screw on the highest that doesn’t present for a lot digicam motion. Plus, they knock over fairly simply, so that you don’t need your costly digicam perched precariously on prime of it. But for a lot of the opposite gear in your set, they are often actually helpful.
C-stands are a step up in case you want one thing sturdier, and particularly in order for you to dangle gear overhead. On prime of extending upwards, you may connect extension arms to them that permit you to attain out horizontally (or at an angle) over your topics. This is especially useful for, say, mounting directional microphones that work higher once they’re positioned above a topic, because it focuses on the sound of the topic it’s pointed at whereas not selecting up as a lot environmental noise.
