What equipment do I need?

theorymediaproduct
Jun 16, 2017
2 min read

As a Lecturer as well as a freelance media practitioner, student and I discuss equipment a lot and “what do I need”. Student being student’s want an Arri Alexa, yes because we all have £40,000 for a camera, but the real question is what do you actually need.

First assess the videos you make. Are you filming for TV or the big screen, chances are no and if you are hire them, don’t buy. For the most part small-scale music videos, weddings and corporate videos don’t need tens of thousands of pounds spending on them.

Everyone has personal preference when it comes to the types of cameras they like. Currently I am using a lot of Canon products and yes they have some limitations but I find the C100 easy to use and it does the job. Sony has been a favourite of mine in the past, good quality images and again easy to use. Budget is the main factor, work out what price range your jobs are, what kind of quality can you produce due to your skill level, what are people in your area willing to pay.

Once you worked this out you can then decide on the types of equipment you need and can afford. You can and should hire for the first few years or beg and borrow from friends knowing that they will ask for help at a later stage.

Basic equipment list would be:-

DSLR (image stabilisation in built if possible)

Microphone

Selection of lens’ (24P, 50P, 18-135 for example to ensure you have the range)

A cage or rig to hold it all together

This can be anywhere between £1000 - £5000 and this is where you need to make the decision of “what do you need” NOT “what do you want”. Remember this is a business and your way of making money. Do your research and ask do I really need 500FPS for wedding videos, or a 8K image for small music videos. Once you start your equipment will grow as you develop I have a mix of equipment from Go pros, Phantom 4 drone, C100, 4 handy cams, tripods mics and this has taken 10 years to develop and borrow. Just take your time. Equipment is forever changing so take your time and buy right for what you need it to do.