With winter fast approaching, a lot of peeps are stacking up film gear for their next project this season. With the amazing advances in cameras over the past few years, there are now a ton of amazing choices for your main weapon - something for another article! - but just as important to your filmmaking skills, but often forgotten, is all the accesories you're going to need to get the most out of that camera. If anything, it is these tools that will not only let you take your skills to the next level but also help seperate you from the (ever expanding) pack out there.
Lucky for you I'm a cheapskate and happen to know a few tricks to getting the most out of that ever-precious budget while not compromising on quality. Check out this list below for a few of my favourite budget filmmaking tools and gadget you might want to include in your kit this winter.
Note: As with most things in life, in general you get what you pay for when it comes to cine gear. I'm not neccesarily saying the stuff below is going to last as long as something that cost 10x the price but reality being what it is, sometimes you only have so much to spend and it's better to get something than nothing. It should always be the goal of a pro filmmer to get better gear but until then, treat this stuff with respect and it should get you going for at least a winter or three.
1. Tripod & Fluid Head
There is absolutely nothing more important to your kit (after the camera silly!) than a decent set of legs and a proper video head. Stable and smooth shots are not an option ... if your video is shakey it will automatically be written off as amateur-hour. The go-to tripod/head combo is the Manfrotto 502 head and metal legs - which runs about $350 as a kit - and it's hard for me to suggest going with anything lesser than that but if you really can't swing the cash there are a few other budget options out there.
These Ravelli kits are $88 and $139 and have gotten a few decent reviews.
For $99, this Bescor system (pictured above) is even better reviewed (check 'er out in this in-depth video review HERE)
2. Cheap(er) Cine Glass
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, will impact the image you capture more than the lens on your camera. Along with the DSLR video revolution came the amazing ability to use photography lenses, which takes your image up maybe a thousand notches from a video camera (not a technical specification!) but alas, that shit ain't cheap! Especially when it comes to cine-optimized lenses (don't know what that means, google it cause it's really important!).
Going off-brand (not Canon or Nikon) used to mean sacrificing quality but that is no longer the case. There's lots of cheaper options out there that still provide optimal sharpness and color rendition. Here are a few options but keep your eyes open around the web as there are constantly new reviews and write-ups on every new lens to hit the streets.
Samyung/Bower 8mm Fisheye f/3.5 - At around $250 for the photo version and $280 for the cine version this is hard to beat - B&H Link to Photo version & Cine Version
Rokinon Cine Lenses - Manufactured in South Korea and distributed under a variety of brand names, Rokinon makes some incredible budget cine-style glass. Worth a closer look, some of their better reviewed lenses include some epic primes like the 85mm t1.5 ($350), 35mm t1.5 ($499) & 24mm t1.5 ($740)
3. Slider
A couple of years ago the "slider" really gained in popularity - mostly due to a few dudes figuring out how to build them really cheap. Basically a slider is just a short dolly that you can mount on one or two tripods or light stands. Super portable, they're the perfect way to take your filmmaking steeze up a couple notches as there are few things that make a shot more dynamic than a dolly move.
The "Zaza Slider" is the one that started the whole revolution and is basically a DIY solution where you order the rail and carriage from a technical supply company called Igus. You used to have to know some pretty specific model parts numbers but they seem to have figured out what's up and now have a page dedicated to making camera sliders HERE. They come in all sizes but for most the 100 cm section is plenty and is still super portable.
There are other more complete solutions out there ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.
Glide Gear 47" Professional Camera Slider ($149)
4. Slide Tracked
Taking the slider concept to the next level, you can get dolly systems that incorporate motors to move the camera by itself. This can be used to achieve perfectly even real-time moves or create super dynamic time-lapse shots that include dolly moves. Sure to impress every time.
Again, lots of great options out there - and this is a really fun DIY project for those looking to waste a good year of their life - but starting at $1000 or more, most of these systems are out of reach for the budget filmmaker. That's where Slidetracked - a Canadian company no less! - comes in. They make a very decent motorized dolly that starts at $325. It may not have all the bells and whistler but this is all you need to create "dolly lapses".
Slidetracked Roam Complete System ($325) - includes track, motor, cables, etc...
5. Budget Jib Arm
After mastering the dolly move, you will eventually find yourself looking to move the camera in more unique ways and will inevitably start thinking about a jib arm, or small crane. These puppies let you move the camera in two axis' and really step your game up.
There are literally hundreds of options out there for jibs, again ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.
This one of Amazon is rated for DSLR-style cameras and is super portable due to it's retractable design - and is only $159!
The CobraCrane from Steadytracker is a more pro option that starts at $329. Their Backpacker model is even more portable and starts at $369.
Google for more options (like this one on ebay for $388), there's way too many! One important note, you're gonna need another set of tripod legs to hold up the jib.
6. Budget Movi
Up next is something that really took the filmmaking world by storm a few months ago when it was unleashed upon the world, the Movi. Hailed as many as a "complete gamechanger", the Movi is essentially a robotic camera stabilizer that allows you to capture smooth-as-silk images while you run, jump, ride on the back of a truck or hang out of a helicopter. Basically the same thing a Steadicam does but in a smaller and more, well, robotic package.
The only problem? The damn thing cost $15,000!
Lucky for us it's actually just based on some rc helicopter parts that are actually (relatively) cheap and if you happen to know what you're doing you can build one for anywhere from $500 to $5000 depending on options and what camera you want to film with. That's not to say that just anyone can build one of these things, but if you happen to know someone who is into remote controlled helicopters and that kind of thing you're laughing.
What are the rest of us to do? Well like most things these days, as soon as one person comes out with something, everyone elses rushes to make cheaper versions of it - like these one from Defy Gimbal that start at $2500ish or the Lemur from MonkeyGimbal.com for $2000. There's even some super budget ones that start at less than $500 over on ebay, although I've been warned against these as the motors may not be powerful enough and you really have to get in there software-wise to get any decent results.
This is a pretty tech device, and you're gonna wanna do a ton of research before dropping in, but rest assured even something as rad as this is within the reach of the budget filmmaker!
-------------------
This list is just designed to get you thinking. Go do your own research and make your own decisions. One great place to find out this kind of stuff is on a great blog called CheesyCam, the dude who runs it is a master of finding cheap deals and tests out a lot of stuff himself.
So there you have it, some stuff to get you thinking about ways to step your filmmaking game up. But please, don't kid yourself into thinking getting any of these tools will automatically make you a professional filmmaker. They're just that ... tools ... and are only as good as the craftsman holding them.
Happy shooting!
