Video Content Creating Equipment

[sarahtonin]

So I just got a new job working in a company's marketing department that previously ignored marketing all together. We're trying to push out more content to social media, and the equipment to do so is currently lacking.

 

I would love some suggestions on all gear related to video creation. So cameras, lighting, sound, and anything else I could be missing. There isn't really a budget, but I don't think we need RED camera level quality just something that would look professional on socials. Max budget for everything would probable be around $3-5k

 

Thanks!

 

[Edit: For context, this is a SaaS company just looking to promote the product to more customers. For now, we're looking to just shoot around the office and some short testimonials and Q&A's to post to Youtube, LinkedIn, Instagram etc. I do want to be able to bring this equipment along to any conferences we will be at to shoot B-rolls or any substantial content. The marketing team is brand new, which is why I don't have a lot of context so, apologies. I am familiar with some camera equipment I've used DSLRs and mirrorless cameras in the past. But based on the equipment we already have in the office, it seems like 1-2 of us would actually know how to use any future equipment we buy]

 

[emosun]

A phone to shoot with and any computer if you want to edit on the computer. Otherwise you don't need much. Successful ads don't come down to equipment anymore.

[GuiltySpark_]

I feel like what you're asking is something someone getting paid to work there would need to know. That's a very large and very broad question. Are they still hiring? 

[Vilacom]

47 minutes ago, sarahtonin said:

So I just got a new job working in a company's marketing department that previously ignored marketing all together. We're trying to push out more content to social media, and the equipment to do so is currently lacking.

 

I would love some suggestions on all gear related to video creation. So cameras, lighting, sound, and anything else I could be missing. There isn't really a budget, but I don't think we need RED camera level quality just something that would look professional on socials.

 

Thanks!

You're really giving us extremely little to work with, a lot of the answer to this will depend on the experience of your team and what the company expects.  If all you're doing is some quick shorts or something like that then @emosun is completely correct, pick whomever has the best phone, throw a rhode mic on it and shoot when there is some nice light coming through a window or outside.  

The range of available equipment and options between that and a RED camera is expansive and different budgets will mean vastly different things.  Give us at least SOMETHING to work with and we can recommend any number of things but without that the best I can do is the same kind of meh platitudes.  Emphasize sound first unless you're literally shooting in a closet without lights, then lighting, then last is the camera.   

[ToboRobot]

Don't really know what to recommend because it would depend on what you are trying to do.

But maybe you could post a job posting for someone to be a consultant to recommend the equipment for your workflow if you aren't able to research this and apply it to your work yourself. 

[Lingwendil]

What kind of products are intended to be marketed? 

 

The setup you would do for outdoor/camping products would be different than what you would use to focus on, say, home goods and furniture. One could get away with a decent phone or a gopro, the other would need more of an actual shooting setup.

[sarahtonin]

1 hour ago, emosun said:

A phone to shoot with and any computer if you want to edit on the computer. Otherwise you don't need much. Successful ads don't come down to equipment anymore.

Yeah, I think for now that's our best bet. I guess I was thinking for future use cases

[emosun]

34 minutes ago, sarahtonin said:

I guess I was thinking for future use cases

use what you got and you'll know through usage what you need.

[Vilacom]

4 hours ago, sarahtonin said:

Yeah, I think for now that's our best bet. I guess I was thinking for future use cases

Until you really know what those future use cases are there's not much you can do to plan for them, there's plenty of kind of generic gear that could be solid purchases for just about any scenario but depending on the time frame you're talking about quite a few suggestions we could make might be replaced or unsupported. 

 

[Blue4130]

A quick and easy kit that will handle 90% of situations would be a micro 4/3 camera, 10-50mm zoom lens(or something in that focal length range), 3 lights and 2 lapel mics.

 

You could easily handle the majority of interviews/product shots/b roll with that kit. It would be quite a large step up from a phone and (in my opinion) easier to get repeatable consistent results.

[TheStarkster90]

I'll echo what @Blue4130 said, but I'll be a bit more specific:

 

1. 2-3 Godox M1 lights. They're regularly on sale for around $100 a piece. (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1552705-REG/godox_rgb_mini_creative_m1.html)

2. Rode Wireless Go II wireless mic set. It's about $300, but can be set up to record once turned on and it comes with a wireless receiver you can connect to your camera for scratch audio. (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1622642-REG/rode_wigoii_wireless_go_ii_compact.html)

3. For the camera, go used. Cameras last freakin' forever, and 1080p from a camera with good lighting will look amazing on a phone. A Canon M200 (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802777697-USE/canon_3699c009_eos_m200_mirrorless_camera.html) or something similar can run you around $350-400.

4. A tripod. No matter how little your cameraman may look like he's not moving, your video will tell you differently. A decent one will run you about $150-200 (the good ones run very far north of this).

Grand total: about $1200. That way you have plenty of money for things like DaVinci Resolve and a decent computer, or Adobe Premiere if you like pain like I do.

 

[Vilacom]

21 hours ago, TheStarkster90 said:

 

4. A tripod. No matter how little your cameraman may look like he's not moving, your video will tell you differently. A decent one will run you about $150-200 (the good ones run very far north of this).

 

I will never recover from buying my O’Connor 1040 lol, things you never would think could be expensive

[TheStarkster90]

2 hours ago, Vilacom said:

I will never recover from buying my O’Connor 1040 lol, things you never would think could be expensive

Could be worse. I have an El Cheapo $30 Sunpak tripod that has served me better than every $180 Promaster I have ever bought.  Those Promasters always break somehow in really stupid ways, whereas the Sunpak I expected to break at some point but is still functional enough for my needs.

 

Yeah, I looked at the price of that. Ouchie.

 

[Vilacom]

16 minutes ago, TheStarkster90 said:

Could be worse. I have an El Cheapo $30 Sunpak tripod that has served me better than every $180 Promaster I have ever bought.  Those Promasters always break somehow in really stupid ways, whereas the Sunpak I expected to break at some point but is still functional enough for my needs.

 

Yeah, I looked at the price of that. Ouchie.

 

I love the sun pak, i use a couple for anything from just random streaming cameras to my WR lighthouses, they really are great.  

Yeah the O’Conner…it still hurts, can’t deny the quality, it really is phenomenal, but yeah pressing order was a real kick in the balls

 

[TheStarkster90]

4 minutes ago, Vilacom said:

I love the sun pak, i use a couple for anything from just random streaming cameras to my WR lighthouses, they really are great.  

Yeah the O’Conner…it still hurts, can’t deny the quality, it really is phenomenal, but yeah pressing order was a real kick in the balls

 

For something that is cheap, I can wholeheartedly agree. 

 

I still feel somewhat the same way regarding my Sony a7 IV, but it was nice getting a crapton of features unlike in my Canon 6D that gimped a little too much from its feature set. Not as expensive as that O'Connor fluid head, but it's up there.