If you’re reading this article, you’re probably interested in ball head tripods, the advantages they can provide you with, and what the best tripod with a ball head joint is. If you want to skip down the page straight to our recommended ball joint tripods, click here ↓. But first,Read More →
Teleprompters used to cost thousands of dollars (and the really high end systems still cost that much), but today teleprompter cost has fallen dramatically to the point where you can get a good quality cheap teleprompter without much trouble. In this article we’re going to look at several different typesRead More →
Bounce cards, bounce disks and reflectors are extremely useful but often neglected tools for shooting video or photos. They may not be sexy or high tech but they can make a huge difference in the quality of your image by adding additional fill light. Plus because they’re not electric theyRead More →
This post contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Documentary filmmakers are a unique breed–I’ll admit it. Often we aren’t quite the same as other filmmakers since our interests lie in translating reality to film and telling true stories.Read More →
If you’re looking for help picking the best wired or wireless lavalier microphone you’re in the right place. In this mega-guide we’re going to walk you through what you’ll want to consider when choosing a lav mic and present several options that are suited for your particular needs. We’ve gotRead More →
If you’re looking for the best handheld microphone for interviews, you’re in the right place. In this article we’re going to run down some of the best “reporter microphones” and ENG microphones (Electronic News-Gathering microphones), the type you see reporters using on television. We’ll also look at some accessories youRead More →
Whether you’re shooting still photos or video, using a tripod can improve your results quite a bit. But if you’re carrying a bulky tripod around with you all day it can sap your energy and slow you down. Plus, traveling with heavy tripods can be a real drag. We’ve scopedRead More →
On camera video lights are extremely useful when you’re shooting with a DSLR or other video camera in a dark environment. We’ve rounded up the best on camera lights for video below. Candidates for best on camera lights for video: Neewer Dimmable LED on Camera Light for Video This onRead More →
Let’s say you’re looking for a photo tripod or a video tripod that’s under $100. There are a lot of cheap tripods to choose from but are any of them good? We’ll go through the top candidates below: Candidates for best tripod under $100: Manfrotto Compact Advanced Tripod Manfrotto isRead More →
Professional video lighting kits are often large, heavy, and bulky which can be extremely inconvenient especially when you’re traveling to a video shoot or have limited space to pack all your video gear in. Thankfully there is now a slew of small and compact video lights available which take upRead More →
There are many reasons to consider using an external video recorder for film and television. In some cases, external HDMI or SDI video recorders can serve as better quality recorders than the camera they are shooting on, in other cases they may be a backup dual system recording method, andRead More →
Not every tripod is created equal, and finding the best video tripod for your purposes can be difficult. Most tripods are meant only for still photography which means they both 1) aren’t meant to support much weight because still cameras are lighter than video cameras, and 2) still camera tripodsRead More →
Let’s say you’re making a documentary film. You have your subject and… nothing else. While there are plenty of generic film equipment lists for fiction films, documentary films often need specialized equipment. So here’s our complete documentary film equipment list. Some documentaries may need only a fraction of these itemsRead More →
Clip on lavaliere microphones or lav mics can be a crucial bit of your DSLR video kit. If you’re doing any interviews or documentary film work with a documentary film DSLR, having a wireless lav is essential, and if you’re making narrative (fictional) work, wireless lav mics can be usefulRead More →
Often the difference between film and video work that seems amateurish and work that seems polished and professional comes down to sound. The viewer won’t recognize well-recorded sound but they definitely will recognize poorly recorded audio. And nowhere is that more true than in omnipresent documentary narration. Note that allRead More →