Someone gives you £12.5k ($18,800) to buy filming equipment. What would you do?

[j.f.r.]

 

 I've made over 250 music videos and 20+ corporates through my own production company. We are small, but doing it every day. We focus mainly on creative development and ideas. Gear comes 2nd - but we wouldn't of got anywhere if we didn't buy anything and invest. 

​I just checked out your website, really good work and I never once thought you needed a "better" camera or any other equipment, at least not on that level......

Send me a personal message as I would like to ask you some questions, thanks

[Oliver Daniel]

I'm glad were in the same boat, most people need to realize that it isn't so much the equipment you have but how you use it. So yeah the C100 Mark II is your best bet. Then if you get somewhere around $75,000 move up to something like a Sony F55 or a Red Dragon or even that new Kinefinity Kinemax. Some clients may even want you to use 35mm film cameras, because it feels more organic than digital. Then when you get somewhere around $400,000 or higher I suggest getting the Sony F65, because not only would you be at the top of your game visually but also creatively. In budgets you got to leave some room for other things. It's like having me say that I have $50,000 a year to spend on myself and I spend it all on a Mustang instead of things like food, water, electricity, gas, living expenses, gifts, and entertainment. Also think about the equipment for the crew and they do have crews on weddings and music videos.

 

Funny you metion the F55. I'm a regular user of the FS7, but I was given an F55 for today's music video shoot. It had a shoulder mount and Sony EVF to get closer to the FS7 ergonomics. The F55 didn't improve our creativity and the quality at all. If we shot on the FS7, I'd expect the result to be very similar to the F55 footage. 

Ultimately, I prefer the FS7 because I don't need the benefits of the F55. The shoot could of been better, and this was nothing to do with the camera & gear choice. The pre-production logistics were frail and lost a lot of time. 

The best shots were actually on a BeSteady Plus gimbal and a GH3. The combo really caught the energy of the band. 

My point then - yes cameras are 2nd fiddle to everything else. Totally. But the right choice of gear can clearly influence creativity and set you on a path of consistent results. On a troubled set - a little GH3 and myself experimenting with it on a gimbal brought it all to life. Did I say I had an F55?  

 

[Oliver Daniel]

​I just checked out your website, really good work and I never once thought you needed a "better" camera or any other equipment, at least not on that level......

Send me a personal message as I would like to ask you some questions, thanks

Just about to turn in as up again tomorrow for Day 3 of a shoot. Thanks for the comments - I'll fire over a PM soon.