As part of Video Marketing Week, Wistia's own video producers Chris and Trevor went to Facebook Live to share tips for shooting on an extreme budget as well as the gear they love most. From using nothing but your laptop’s webcam to leveling-up your videos with LED flex lights, Chris and Trevor don’t hold back when it comes to sharing their greatest video production hacks.
Shooting on an extreme budget
If you’re thinking of incorporating video into your marketing strategy, you need some type of camera with a record button. Now, many small companies may not have access to a DSLR camera. Luckily, you don’t need a fancy camera to start making videos–your laptop is a video creation tool that’s right under your nose. However, if you just open your laptop and start recording, chances are you’re not going to achieve the greatest video quality possible.
Use your laptop
When you’re shooting with a laptop, start by getting it up on a stack of books so the camera is just above eye-level pointing down. The most flattering angle is when the lens is slightly pointing down at you so you’re looking up as opposed to looking down at the camera. Interested in more tips for looking good on camera? Check out this post. Additionally, don’t record your video with a window behind you. Turn around and face a window for the natural light to illuminate your features. We promise you’ll avoid looking like a silhouette!
Let’s talk audio
Audio is another story. If you want to level-up your game shooting video on a laptop, think about investing in a Blue Yeti USB Microphone. Your audio is going to sound infinitely better with a microphone than the audio picked up by your laptop.
The all-in-one option
Inspired by shooting video using a laptop, we created a friendly webcam recording tool called Soapbox here at Wistia. It’s a freemium Chrome extension that helps you create sleek presentation videos as well as make your 1-to-1 outreach feel more personal. Chris believed he could improve the quality of any laptop’s webcam when shooting videos with Soapbox. So he set out to build an all USB-based tool he dubbed the Soapbox Station. Learn all about the professional-quality, mobile video studio here.
We set up Soapbox Stations in multiple spots around the office. Doing so helped our team elevate their video quality and feel confident that they’d look and sound great every time. All they had to do was walk up to a station, plug the USB into their laptop, and start recording. If you’d like to build your own mobile video studio, all the tools Chris uses for the Soapbox Station are available for about $400.
Shoot with a smartphone
Another one of your greatest allies when you’re just getting started with video is none other than your smartphone. Our smartphone of choice is the iPhone, and we wrote a whole post about how to shoot video with one here.
Your smartphone’s camera is something you most likely have on your person at all times. But, getting a balanced shot can be tricky. For a simple fix, look no further than a handy-dandy tripod. We use the MeFOTO SideKick360 smartphone tripod adapter, which can angle horizontally or vertically. Wondering why anyone would want to shoot vertically? Just look at Instagram. With the introduction of IGTV, vertical video isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. For tips on how to tell an effective story with vertical video, check out this post. And, for using the IGTV channel to your advantage, Trevor tells all in this post.
Lastly, you can even enhance the audio on your iPhone. Consider picking up an XLR microphone adapter, which will enable any professional microphone to show up on your phone.
Gear we love
Now, let’s get into the gear. At Wistia, our go-to camera for shooting video is the Canon 5D Mark IV. What’s so great about a Canon 5D Mark IV? Well, it’s great for shooting on your own, and it has facial tracking autofocus–meaning you can easily set it and forget it without worrying about being blurry in your video. Chris praises this camera for being very kind on any talent–it simply produces pretty shots. Another camera option with 1080p outputting is the Canon 6D Mark II, which is an incredible camera to start leveling up when you’re on a budget.
As for our favorite lens, we go straight for the 24-70mm. Unfortunately, it’s on the more expensive side. For a thrifty option, a 50mm lens is coined the nifty fifty, and we believe every videographer needs this lens in their collection.
Our favorite audio
The downfall of DSLR’s? You can’t depend on them for capturing crisp audio in your videos. To fix this dilemma, you’ll need an audio recorder like the Zoom H5. By plugging a microphone, such as the Sennheiser ME66 shotgun microphone, into an audio recorder, you can channel the signal out into a cord that goes into your camera. You’ll no longer sweat having to sync your audio while you edit!
Tripods in our toolkit
It would be amiss of us if we forgot to mention tripods. A tripod is a key integral part of the whole setup. We use Manfrotto tripods, and we believe they’re the best, cheapest tripod that’s sturdy durability-wise. It has a center column you can raise up and down without moving the legs. Being able to adjust the level or the pitch by twisting the center column to get the camera level saves hours of time.
All in all, the Manfrotto brand is middle-range. Keep in mind different tripod companies have different proprietary tripod plates. Over the years, we’ve stuck with Manfroto so that our cameras and different lenses all have the same plates. Essentially, our gear is always ready-to-go. We suggest picking a brand you like and feel most comfortable with to build your kit out that way.
Lighting for our videos
For a majority of our shoots, we’ve used compact fluorescent lights. However, we’re moving to LED-based lights–specifically, Westcott Flex Lights. They’re square-shaped, dimmable, adjust color temperature, daylight balance, come with diffusion material, and they’re flexible. If you’re traveling with your lights and moving them around a big office, they’re lightweight and easy to lug and pack into a suitcase. You’ll get the same light output and wattage that any big lights have. If you want to get a lighting kit for under $100, we’ve curated our own Down and Dirty Lighting Kit to share with you. Learn more about it here.
We’ve come to a conclusion, friends
We’ll have you know that we tried all of this gear before we bought it. Chris can’t stress this enough–you have to try it before you buy it. Over here, we rent from Lens Pro To Go in Massachusetts. With a little Google search, we’re sure you can find a place near you, too. When you’re not sure if you want to make the investment and especially if you’re iffy about the brand, rent the gear for the shoot.
We hope you’ve found our video production tips for shooting on an extreme budget and our breakdown of all the gear we love helpful. Now, get out there and start leveling up your videos!