Help me build my video rig

F

Funkfish

New member
I have an intermediate background in film editing and a professional background in audio (Music Production Degree). However when it comes to filming there's still a little bit to learn. I understand most of the basics to capture good footage (Lighting, focus, WB, exposure)
I have a decent setup but there's a few more pieces I need so I was hoping some people on here could give me some advice.

Most of the shooting I'll be doing is for my day job. I'll be shooting conferences, interviews, elearning classes, and possibly making some marketing content too. I'd like to run at least two cameras simultaneously and be able to mic up multiple speakers at the same time. I want everything to look and sound as professional as possible. As for gear selection I have a bit of a budget but there's so much stuff we need that I'm trying to keep each item as affordable as possible.


What I currently have.

Canon XA20
Panasonic consumer camera that shoots at 1080p/60 and records to mp4
Canon 50D
Nikon D100
Nikon D3000

Rode NTG1 (Camera Mounted Shotgun Mic)
Sennheiser EW G100 lavalier kit
Sennheiser HD-25 Headphones
(2) Tripods still camera tripods (no fluid head)
(2) Lights with 70W 5400K E27 Fluorescent Bulbs and Day Flo Ez light soft boxes over them

What I think I need/want

Blackmagic pocket cinema camera (not sure what to get for lenses, maybe I can use the ones from our DSLRs?)
(2) Video tripods with fluid heads (don't know which one to get)
Lens filters (not sure which ones to get)
Gels
Green Screen
Background fabric
Roll of white paper for white infinity background (I forget what this is called)
Something to hold all this up
More wireless lavalier mics (not sure what the proper setup is to wirelessly mic up multiple people if my camera only has two audio inputs, maybe I need an external recorder too?)
Boom pole
Better shotgun mic for boom pole
2 more lights (not sure what kind to get)

That's all I can think of at the moment. If there's anything I'm missing or if anyone could help with specific things I need let me know.

Thanks!
 
First off, welcome to the forums. Second, I suggest going into each of the sub forums and reading through all the Sticky posts at the tops of those forums. They sometimes contain a ton of great info, and sometimes contain links to a ton of great info.

Then build up slowly. I suggest you not buy anything right off, rather buy as you need. And for more expensive things, try renting a different things to see what you like and what works for you.

For example, 2 more lights. Should they be LED, tungsten, more fluorescent? Do you need keys, fills, accents/kickers/hair lights? Why not rent different lights for different gigs so you can play with a variety and learn what you like? And visit the lighting sub-forums!

Same advice for audio gear. And visit the sub-forum for those Sticky Posts!

Tripods - there's a ton of advice (and opinion) on these boards in the Support Gear forums.

Anyway, welcome.
 
Thanks for the tip! The only problem is renting is great in a traditional environment, but because this is mostly for my day job the financials get complicated. Whenever I need to spend money I have to track down someone high up and get a budget approved, so renting all the time isn't going to be feasible. Also there's always last minute shoots where I would't have time to run out and rent gear. So unfortunately I need to have the stuff laying around. The good news is someone else is paying for all of it :)

So really I'm just trying to piece together a bread and butter setup. One problem I think I may run into is running shooting with an XA20 and a Pocket Cinema camera. I think I'll be able to get much better footage with the Blackmagic but apparently I'm going to have issues matching the two cameras. The XA20 was already purchased before I was hired :-/
 
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