I’m often asked what kit I use for certain shots or what’s in my film making kit that I wouldn’t be without. A lot of these questions come from people making films with their mobiles, so I have put together this guid to show you what I use.
Here’s my list of things I use regularly and trust when out making films. This is only a small section of what I have, but these are my essential video kit. I have included links tot he items on Amazon and if you buy the products using the links below I get a very small amount of commission from the price you would normally pay Amazon. It’s pennies but it helps me to continue making great films
Mobiles
Tripods & stabilisation
The Handheld tripod 3 in 1 is essential for anyone using their mobile to film themselves. It gives a nice steady shot when in tripod mode and can be used in selfie mode when out and about. The detachable button can be used to start/stop recording and take pictures
DJI Osmo is a great, full packed gimbal for steady shots when moving. It’s also great for timelapse and motion lapse footage. If you move around with our mobile a lot, or prefer handhold shots you need one of these
Sound
Lapel mic ready to plug straight into your 3.5mm jack on your smartphone. iPhone users will need a lighting port adapter such as the one below.
Rode Wireless Lapel Mic is useful for recording your voice in noisy places or when you are a distance from the camera. You will need an 3.5mm adapter for your phone to use this with a mobile (see ‘KingTop 3.5mm splitter’ below).
Convert any standard microphone and any headphones with a 3.5mm jack to work with your mobile. This cable plugs into your phone’s 3.5mm jack and give 2 sockets, one is for a mic (like the Rode lapel mic kit above). If needed the other socket can be used for headphones.
Convert the lightning port on your iPhone to work with 3.5mm connections. Please note, this will not work with standard 3.5mm mic plugs (such as the rode wireless kit above), a cable such as the headphone & mic splitter cable above is needed.
Light
Neewer 240v constant lighting kit
Neewer LED lights with barndoors
DSLR
Tripods & stabilisation
Joby GorillaPod for DSLR
Tripod Ball Head to go on top of the GorillaPod
Tall Tripod with flexible head configuration for range of shots
Camera & Lenses
Canon 80D DSLR – versatile camera for film and stills with 18-135mm lens
Prime24mm wide lens
Canon 50mm Prime Lens
Canon 70D – backup and additional angles
Sound – DSLR
Rode VideoMicPro
Zoom H1 recorder. This stereo recorder can record high quality sound which is stored on to an SD card. It has it’s uses in video production but requires more advance editing software to use it on video tracks