Technology, Video

Cheap ass videos that look great.

Posted on by Shane Morris
13
Apr

Now that the entire world is socially distanced and locked down, I can’t shoot video the way I normally would. Yet, I still need to be able to shoot pre-roll commercials for my business. I need a camera that I can use, that doesn’t have some insane learning curve to make it work. (I love my Pocket Cinema 4K, but realistically, I don’t use it. I hire other people to use it for me. All those videos I’ve done? Those are usually REDs or a BMPC.)

Can you shoot and edit your own video? Yes. Embrace stock footage, find the best spot in your house or apartment, and write a treatment that you can manage.

Can you shoot great video at home? Absolutely. YouTubers do it all the time.

My cheap ass camera and lens: Fuji X-A3, and the lens kit it comes with. Then, get yourself a memory card. 32GB is nice, but 64GB is better. Find a deal. If you don’t like that, pick up a Sony Alpha refurb. If you can’t do that, find a used DSLR. They’re out there, and cheap.

Next, you need light. I got this LED panel for $40. Then, I paid $17 for a cheap ass tripod. That means, for about $350, you can get a respectable camera setup.

Audio time: There are two options here. I have both, because you’ll always (maybe) end up with the need for a clip on. So, I got this cheap ass clip-on lav. Then I got this DVR to plug it into. To finish it all off, I needed a condenser mic, for cheap. So I paid like $31 and got this on sale. If you don’t need a clip on, and you’re just going to recording in a small office like me, you can skip the DVR and clip on.

For under $380, you can shoot respectable video and record respectable audio.

Can you edit your own video? Absolutely. I use Blender for effects, and KDenLive for quick edits. You’ll probably end up on iMovie, or maybe Premiere. I don’t use either… because I use Linux, because… reasons. Both are open-source, free options. I pre-process my audio in Audacity. Just a bit of compression, a pre-saved EQ curve, and some selective pop-editing. Nothing major.

Alright. Cool. That was fun.