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Essential Equipment For Video Production Companies

Essential Equipment For Video Production Companies

Many people wonder what equipment is essential to start their own video production company. Part of this is because there constantly seems to be new, shiny equipment and fads on the market. Even so, if you want to run a successful video production company like www.ajkellyproductions.com, there’s some gear you’ll need. Here are some recommendations of the equipment you’ll need for the various types of video production gigs.

You won’t need a lot of gear to get started. However, there are some essentials that you should have. You can always buy more equipment when you need it. Of course, renting equipment is also a great option, because it allows you to test out new gear before deciding to pay the full price for it.

A Camera

If possible, you should go with a full-frame camera. This will help you avoid the question of how full-frame will affect your crop-frame lenses in the future. The best camera for this is the Canon 5D Mark II or its newer brother, the Canon Mark III. However, Nikon and other brands also offer good options.

Camera Lens

Lenses

You need to consider what type of shots you want to capture. This will affect your decision as to which lens will work the best for you. Some of your options here include:

  • A walkaround lens that’s great for shooting most situations would be the Canon 24-70mm 2.8.
  • For close-up shots that don’t have the blown-out depth that makes people look like elves, choose the inexpensive Canon 50mm 1.8.
  • When you need to shoot longer range stuff, it’s a good idea to put a little extra money into getting a lens with stabilization. For this you’ll want the Canon 70-200mm 2.8.

Stabilization

While you may be like the many other amateur videographers who think it’s cool to shoot with a handheld camera, to get a real professional video you need to use a stabilizer or tripod. The Manfrotto MT190X3 is one of the best on the market today. You’ll also need numerous fluid heads to go with your tripod, but if you’re just getting started, chopping and changing the same one is an option.

You may also want to eventually invest in some sliders as well. Prices have noticeably decreased on these lately. Nonetheless, this is an awesome equipment although nonessential. The best on the market are the Konova brand, especially the Konova K3 slider kit.

Video Production Equipment

Computers and Storage

One of the biggest disagreements amongst videographers comes when discussing computers, because there’s always the debate as to whether you should go with a PC or a Mac. If you’re going to go with a Mac, the MacBook Pro is a great option. Make sure to get as much RAM as possible and the largest screen size you can afford. These factors are both vital to good video editing. Eventually you may want to get an iMac with a 27-inch screen though.

A great MacBook Pro alternative is the Microsoft Surface Studio 2. It has a Kaby Lake mobile processor and Nvidia Pascal graphics – making it quite a powerful and great PC for video editing. It comes with a great PixelSense display that supports a Surface Pen that’ll give you an entirely new way to interact while editing video. Software support is also great since it runs Windows 10 and the 2TB SSD will give you lots of room for storing video footage.

Regardless of what computer you choose to go with, you’re bound to need some additional storage. For your money, the LaCie Rugged and the Transcended Military tested hard drives are best. If you’re looking for a larger storage solution that you’re not going to be moving around with you, check out the G-Tech drive.

Memory Cards

Your camera of choice will need a high-quality memory card. If you buy the Canon 5D Mark II you should look at Compact Flash cards. Both the SanDisk Extreme and the Ultra ranges come highly recommended. Of course, these are just a few of the many choices you’ll have available to choose from. Regardless of what brand you choose, there are a few things that you should always remember:

  • Never buy a cheap card simply because you think you’re getting better value for your money. You don’t want to be cheap here, because you need a reliable card, not one that’s going to become easily corrupted.
  • You don’t want a memory card that’s more than 32GB capacity. Because when you put too much footage on one card and don’t upload it to your hard drive you’re just asking for trouble. Remember, the chance of losing your video or it becoming corrupted is an ever-present reality. It’s important for you to take steps to guard against such issues. During most shoots you’ll typically have some downtime to use for backing up your footage to a hard drive. Make sure you make good use of such time.

Sound

Unfortunately, most people undervalue sound, but it’s one of the most important elements of your film. While people will still put up with the occasional grainy footage, hearing terrible audio is akin to someone scratching their nails down the chalkboard. Since you don’t want to put your audience through this, you should get a RODE video mic to put on top of your DSLR. This will make it easy for you to record sound as you travel around an event. While it won’t always guarantee you high quality sound, it will get you some decent background hubbub sound.

Essential Equipment For Video Production Companies

Lighting

A basic SDLR attachment LED light for your camera is great for the entry level videographer. One of the best bargains for this type of lighting is the Neewer 160 dimmable LED light. However, if you want something that’s a bit more advanced you should go with the Neewer 2x 160 Dimmable Ultra High-Power Panel Digital Camera / Camcorder Video Kit. This is a great kit that comes with the lights, lighting stands and a soft box. Both setups will help with your image quality, especially in low light situations. Regardless of what you choose here, make sure it’s easy to use and efficient while giving you high quality.

Hopefully this information about video production equipment is helpful. This should include all the essential equipment you’ll need to get you started as a videographer.

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Reviews

PlayStation VR Review: Great Virtual-Reality Experience on a Budget

PlayStation VR Review: Great Virtual-Reality Experience on a Budget
10tech score

The PlayStation VR gives you a brilliant virtual-reality experience on a budget. The recent price drop of the PSVR, almost 25 percent of its original cost, is a solid reason to get involved in virtual-reality. If you aren’t someone that likes to just sit on a couch for two to twelve hours with just a remote, and would prefer to have a more active, immersive experience, then this PlayStation VR review is the one for you.

The Best of Three Options

There are three VR headsets currently available to consumers, but truthfully the PSVR is the one you are most likely to want to buy. This is a rare case of a product living up to the hype, even though it does not have a huge library of games you can use it with. Last year’s release of Resident Evil 7 was already a down right spine chilling game, but as soon as you play it with the PSVR it truly brings the game straight to your own living room and scarier then ever. Don’t forget though, in order to enjoy this exciting and awe-inspiring gaming revolution you will also need the DualShock 4 controller, a PlayStation camera, and a PS4.

PlayStation VR Pros and Cons

Like I had said before, there are three VR headsets that are in this battle for virtual-reality. There is the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and the PSVR. The PlayStation VR is much cheaper by far and doesn’t have any hidden price tags after buying it. There are no update requirements that need to be installed or a computer that needs graphic capability to be able to function with virtual-reality. The PS VR is a well rounded smooth virtual-reality experience and works with all PS4 consoles. But even though its 120Hz refresh rate gives you smooth visuals as you look around in the game, the resolution is just a bit disappointing.

PlayStation VR

If you were to go buy a PlayStation VR today and you went to try and use it, you may be wondering why it wont work. The PlayStation Camera is not included in the box and so isn’t the DualShock 4 controllers. Well, if you already own a PS4 then I am almost certain you have the controller ready to use. But in the case of getting a PlayStation Camera if your console didn’t already come with it, then you do have to buy it separately.

Now you might be saying, “I thought you said no hidden costs?” The reason why this isn’t a hidden cost is that several retailers are selling it as part of a PSVR bundle pack, since it is required to use the headset, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble tracking one down. Don’t make the mistake and buy the bundle pack thinking you need the upgraded second-generation version of the PS Camera if you already have the original, because that will work just fine.

PS Virtual-Reality Bundle

If you have the three requirements already at hand, then you are ready to go. There is no PC involved, no hassle of having to upgrade any of your rig’s components, and you don’t need to have a significant amount of space cleared in your living room to use the PSVR. Sony does recommend you sit about five feet away from the PlayStation Camera, but since this experience is primarily a seated experience at least you wont need to move the furniture around every time you want to play.

PlayStation Move Controllers

These motion-control wands were originally released for the PS3 after the huge success of the Wii, but they didn’t receive much love as they had barely any games that actually support them. It is definitely worth noting that the PSVR supports Sony’s Move controllers as well. If you have a few wands laying there, collecting dust on the back of your shelf or old cupboard, now would be the perfect time to bring them out, as several PSVR games are using them to great effect.

No do not worry, they are not essential controllers, but if you would like to have the very best VR experience possible, then I recommend you track some down. Most games that do support them, for instance, use them to act as a pair of disembodied hands. They allow you to interact with your environment far more naturally than you would with just a DualShock 4 controller.

Setting It Up

Much like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the PSVR headset is also tethered. In terms, there is a long cable that trails from the back of the headset to the main control box and in turn plugs into the back of the PS4 console. Since this is mostly a sitting down experience, you will unlikely get your legs tangled up in them. Be aware though, that if you do have this set up in your living room (which is usually your busiest room in your home) with kids or pets coming in and out, it could cause problems with your VR experience.

PlayStation VR Review: Great Virtual-Reality Experience on a Budget

There are two cables that trail from the back of the headset: one of which is the HDMI cable and one proprietary connection that can either plug into the bundled extension lead, or straight into the main control box. After simply connecting your somewhat annoying wires into your console, there is finally the PlayStation Camera. All you need to do is plug it into the PS4’s rear aux port and place it in front of where you would like to sit. Now this is vital, for this is the device that is responsible for tracking your head movements via the blue lights on the front of the headset. All in all, it is truly a painless set up compared to the HTC Vive, you will be up and running in less then 15 minutes.

PlayStation VR Overall Review

I would give the PSVR a five out five-star rating. It is an amazing virtual-reality experience. The PSVR to me has the best gaming VR experience. Although some may feel differently, I believe the PlayStation VR is the best-value virtual reality headset, especially with its price drop. This is a must have for the price, couldn’t be more satisfied.

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