Video Production Equipment Choices

Whether you're the designated family videomaker or an experienced video professional, you'll come to a point where you have projects that require an upgrade of your current acquisition system. (By acquisition system, we mean the gear that you take with you on the shoot, as opposed to the VCRs and edit controllers you may have in your editing system.

When it's time for an upgrade, many beginners rush out to the nearest mall or video discount house, flash their credit cards and buy every new gadget they can think of. Without thinking ahead and planning their purchases, they end up with a closet full of expensive but useless stuff that won't work together and doesn't meet their videomaking needs.

Professionals, however, don't just go out and buy a bunch of stuff. They purchase video acquisition systems. They make sure they have all the video, camera support, audio, lighting and accessories required to meet the needs of their video productions.

In this article, we'll define four major levels of video systems, from the casual shooter to the corporate/production video professional. Then we'll take a look at the different types of equipment that make up a workable video system for videomakers at each level. We'll toss out some specific products as representativ samples of what you'll find at each price point.

With this information, you'll be able to make an informed choice about the videomaking equipment you need, rather than relying on a salesperson (or your own appetite for shopping) to choose your equipment for you. You'll end up with more than just a bunch of videomaking equipment; you'll have what the pros have--a video acquisition system.

Before you can even think about putting together a video system that best suits the level of production you want to achieve, you need to know what those levels are. You'll also need to know where your video projects fit into the overall videomaking picture. The four basic levels of sophistication in video production are the casual shooter, the serious amateur, the small-budget pro and the corporate/production video pro.

At the first level is the casual video shooter. This level of sophistication includes those happy owners of the family camcorder as well as those who make a serious effort to document their vacations and family gatherings with steady video. If you're one of these, the gear you're likely to find in your closet or car is a fairly good but basic camcorder and a tripod.

The next level of sophistication, the serious amateur, consists of videomakers who spend their weekends doing simple video projects for their friends and family, as well as creating the occasional movie for their own artistic satisfaction. If this is your level, your current video kit probably includes a camcorder with a few special effects, a sturdy tripod, a camera-mounted or external mike, at least one light and a few other accessories thrown in for good measure.

The small-budget professional probably owns a good 3-chip camcorder, a very solid tripod or other form of camera support, a wireless mike system and audio mixer, location lighting, gaffer supplies and a closet full of video accessories that have accumulated over the years.

The final level of sophistication for video production is the corporate/production video professional. This level includes those of you who produce corporate/industrial videos in a fairly well-equipped production facility. At this level, you should have at your fingertips a very good dockable small format camera, a color monitor, a high-quality tripod with fluid head and some other form of support such as a dolly, broadcast-quality mikes and mixers, full location lighting with a complete gaffer's kit and a utility dolly with a complete grip kit.

Now that we've gone over the four levels of videomaking, let's discuss the first step in purchasing a new system: planning.

When putting together any level of video production system, you must base your decisions on two very important points: what are your video production needs, and how much can you afford to spend?

When determining your production needs, ask yourself a few questions. Do you shoot most or all of your projects indoors, thus needing versatile lighting equipment? Do you mainly shoot outdoors, hiking to each location with only yourself or a friend acting as designated grip/pack mule? Do you make nature programs that require a lightweight yet rugged tripod with a very smooth fluid head and a camcorder with interchangeable lenses? Will interviews be a major part of your productions? If so, you may want to buy a soft light and other supplemental lighting equipment as well as a good wireless microphone system.

Your budget may help you decide whether you should buy the expensive wireless system or settle for a less expensive shotgun mike connected to the camcorder. With this in mind, read over the video production systems matrix. Keep in mind that every step up to a new level will more than double your investment in equipment and accessories. Take a hard look at the types of programs you would like to produce and the money you'll need to achieve the level of sophistication you desire; if your pocketbook can't accomodate the level of videomaking you d like to achieve, you may have some hard choices ahead.