So I Bought my Canon T2i for shooting music videos, whatelse is an essential?

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PaDaddyof3

Active member
Im going to download Magic Lantern since i been hearing great reviews, does anyone reccomend a good book on lighting? Im going to be shooting urban music videos (rap and r&b) so alot of shots will be outside and also some inside infront of white wall background... Alls i got so far is my camera and kit lens. What are some other essentials you would reccomend a new guy like me to have??


also like i said if someone can reccomend a good book on lighting techniques id appreciate it! Dunno if they make one geared torwards music videos
 
PaDaddyof3 said:
What are some other essentials you would reccomend a new guy like me to have??
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Invest in a light weight jib. Even if you have to make one out of pipe from the local hardware. Smooth shots with an infinite number of camera angles and moves. Tripod shots will become boring alone and hand held will become hard to watch, but cut along with your jib shots will give you a lot to work with.
 
ROCKMORE said:
Invest in a light weight jib. Even if you have to make one out of pipe from the local hardware. Smooth shots with an infinite number of camera angles and moves. Tripod shots will become boring alone and hand held will become hard to watch, but cut along with your jib shots will give you a lot to work with.
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Every project has it's placed. If you want to show a nice wide shot it wouldn't make sense to use a jib. In my personal opinion a tripod gives you nice steady low angle shots with the artist interacting with the camera.

Tripod, Handheld and other trick shots are all used, but just to say do not use a tripod is a wrong advice in my opinion. Also using a wide lens is perfectly fine hand held in my experience.
 
A 75 dollar tripod from Best Buy can be used as a shoulder rig. Lock the legs together, add some padding and turn the head. Tripod shots are fine, just don't pan with the tripod-unless you want a slow pan. You can pan much faster with a shoulder rig without getting jello. Also buy or make a viewfinder. The one in these pics I made for $5. I recently bought one by CAPA on ebay for $50
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yup, probably because it takes years to master this stuff, some people are protective of that. I have been on here for 5 years and still don't know what I'm doing. I aint mad at ya for asking though. That's one way to learn.
 
yea by no means am i even trying to step on toes, i like the art, scratch that i love the art and i am creative so i wanna see where i can lay MY OWN foundation of style to things, i can clime a moutain on my own....... but I cant do that if noone point me to it
 
For music videos, I would invest in a light kit of some sort the best you can afford on your budget. Also depending on your style of shooting perhaps lens ring light.

A shoulder rig and Follow focus is nice and probably more critical than a stabilizer, as a nice shoulder rig can give you fairly steady shots as well as getting shaky if you want that.

That what I would get before looking at other things like jib or stabilizer, once your budget recovers and your skills grow then start looking at those toys.

If you are doing any kind of shooting that requires dialog, like narrative films then an audio kit IS a MUST!!!! (heavily discussed in other parts of the forum)

A nifty fifty lens will do wonders as you start out.

also a dual battery grip is awesome to give you extended shooting with out re-charging, not to mention if you get the right one with the slide out drawer you can change batteries without having to remove camera or tripod plate from camera.

oh yeah.. a good tripod is essential especially when panning.

just a few quick thoughts, hope it helps.
 
El Director said:
A 75 dollar tripod from Best Buy can be used as a shoulder rig. Lock the legs together, add some padding and turn the head. Tripod shots are fine, just don't pan with the tripod-unless you want a slow pan. You can pan much faster with a shoulder rig without getting jello. Also buy or make a viewfinder. The one in these pics I made for $5. I recently bought one by CAPA on ebay for $50
View attachment 30583View attachment 30582
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That's the way to think. Good one.
 
75 dollar tripod from Best Buy can be used as a shoulder rig. Lock the legs together, add some padding and turn the head. Tripod shots are fine, just don't pan with the tripod-unless you want a slow pan. You can pan much faster with a shoulder rig without getting jello. Also buy or make a viewfinder. The one in these pics I made for $5. I recently bought one by CAPA on ebay for $50
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Just don't back up too far against the wall, crew or actors behind you.
 
Alhough I don't do much in the way of music videos, the importance of good lenses is essential for anything you're doing. And they don't have to be expensive, pick up some good used glass, lots available.

I do a lot of interviews and promo videos. Here's a quick list of what I run:
Camera: Canon 60d w/ battery grip, extra battery
Lenses: Tamron 10-24 Lens, Canon 50mm 1.4 lens, Multiple ND filters, 3x3 filter holder
Tripod: Manfrotto 501HDV Head on Giottos Tripod Legs
Lights: 3x RPS Studio 15x15 Softboxes w/ Flo lights & Light Stands (whole system can be had for less than $600 new)
Audio: Tascam DP-008 Recorder, Audio Technica Perception 200 studio mic, Audio Technica Perception 170 Stick condenser, AKG Studio Headphones (less than $600 for system, new)
Specialty: Glidecam 2000 HD w/ forearm brace, Asus eepc netbook for offloading SD cards.

I have ran so much different gear over the past 10 years, including a Cammate Series 2000 32' Camera Crane (very cool but very expensive, see my avatar), dollys, Steadicams, all kinds of lights, huge sound packages, Full HD production packages. My videos have never looked better than they do today. It's not just about the tools you have, it's about knowing when and how to use them. Don't worry about having a bunch of extr toys and crap laying around because its not going to make you shoot better. Get things on an as needed basis, not stuff you want.

I have never been happier with my rig, even when I had 100x the amount of gear. My whole rig literally fits into a backpack and 2 cases, I can fit everything into the trunk of my Convertible BMW. I love the portability of everything. I love how quick I can set things up. And best of all, everything in my rig could be had for around $5000, and you don't even need everything I have to make great videos. Work on your skills, don't waste time on lots of toys you'll hardly use.
 
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