Equipment - Corporate Video

JohnBradbury

JohnBradbury

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Evening all, I’m looking for some advice.

I need to create some corporate videos, short interview type stuff, introductions to training material etc...

I’m looking for advice about the right camera and other equipment:
  • I’ll be self shooting so easy to setup and operate is a must (I’m also the subject of the video)
  • High quality (production quality)
 
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Most cameras (including higher end compacts) are capable of producing decent quality video now.

The three things that you will need to concentrate on are light, sound and editing.
 
I’m thinking this type of quality

View: https://youtu.be/jv80E_w7U8o


So pretty high end. It’s been a while since i’ve Owned a high end camera but I guess back then it would have been a 5DMKII. Not sure how the technology has developed since then?

Any lighting recommendations?
 
Way not try and get access beforehand to see where the interviews are taking place. Is there room for a tripod, how many are sitting in front of you in a line to get distance- is the room light enough. Do you have a remote mike and an extn mike lead to put on the interview table are you using a camcorder or DSLR.
or are the interviews done where they work? that could create additional problems ,so maybe an LED light on top of the camera/camcorder will help

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JohnBradbury said:
I’m thinking this type of quality...

So pretty high end. It’s been a while since i’ve Owned a high end camera but I guess back then it would have been a 5DMKII. Not sure how the technology has developed since then?

Any lighting recommendations?
Click to expand...

Honestly? Get someone in to shoot it for you.

Given the questions that you are asking, you aren't going to get close to that quality without A LOT of tuition & practice.

If it's for your business, invest in quality and don't try to cut corners!
 
This is my own little pet project to prove something can be done, so there is no budget. It’s going to be entirely self funded. So brining in a 3rd party is a none starter.

I have around £4000 I can commit to this.

The videos i’m Looking to produce will predominantly be computer screen recording narrated for training purposes. However I want the camera to create an introduction and summary for each video shot in an interview style.
 
If you are going to use mainly computer screens for the video's I would look at screen capture software, rather than video the screen itself. This may help reduce yor budget , but I have no experience of this type of software so can't really help. If you want some example of screen capture here's a link to some tutorials that Ripple training put on line. As you will see it combines live video with screen capture. I have no idea what software they use but it is a Mac based production company so the software is probably Mac based.
http://www.rippletraining.com/artic...54e2c04e669c7545fc163a5be41010118c80b7f0e0dc1
 
Hi Chappers,
It would be a mixture of screen capture using a product called ‘Camtasia’ and video introduction.
 
JohnBradbury said:
Evening all, I’m looking for some advice.

I need to create some corporate videos, short interview type stuff, introductions to training material etc...

I’m looking for advice about the right camera and other equipment:
  • I’ll be self shooting so easy to setup and operate is a must (I’m also the subject of the video)
  • High quality (production quality)
Click to expand...

Don’t know an awful lot about video to be honest but I’d be looking at Sony if I were you. A6500, A7III, A7SII etc
 
Or a Panasonic LX100, which has got 4K video and costs around £500.

If it's just for internet viewing, use a decent compact/ 4/3 and spend the rest of the money on lights, sound and software.
 
Go for a proper video camera, with proper audio inputs, proper timecode, proper viewfinder with peaking and zebras, hot swap media...

If in future you get a second camera, being able to lock them is a must.

Then buy a video tripod, decent shotgun and levalier mics, high TLCI LED lights.

4k? Why shoot in a 17:9 cinema format when your viewing will mainly be on 16:9 screens - it's just more work.

By the time you've budged a frame, viewfinder, recorder, audio unit, tc unit onto a DSLR, you'll be wishing you bought a proper camcorder.
 
Hi John,
Camtasia is perfect for what you want to do: it is very cheap on Mac, but for some reasons around $200 on Windows.
I agree with what said above: audio and light are the most important thing. For the camera you just need to figure out if you need 4k or not.
For audio, I would recommend a Lavallier, tiny mike that you fix on your shirt:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rode-Smart...41YcY%2BQ%2BvYL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
You can use your mobile phone as a preamp, or even better a zoom recorder:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoom-H1-Ha...pID=313MGXHb5AL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
This system is excellent both for off screen voice and for interviews, or talking heads.

For light these are fantastic and cheap and can be used with main power or batteries (better if you use two of them, one as main light, the other as fade light):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aputure-AL...810&sr=1-7-catcorr&keywords=aputure+led+light

For the parts where you talk, try to do them twice putting the camera at different angles, so that you can alternate the angle while editing. You can also add a dolly o zoom effect in post processing.
There is nothing more boring than a static talking head, so try to add a bit of action.
You can produce the quality of the clip you have posted with less than $1.500 of equipment
 
Thanks all, the comments and advice are greatly appreciated.

I’ve decided to add a little more to my budget so I can use the kit as my primary photo camera.

I’m currently looking at the Canon 1DX MII. I’ve seen some fantastic YouTube footage.

I’m going to do a little more research before pushing the button.
 
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I've used Camtasia to produce video tutorials for our members showing them how to use various functions of an online portfolio. I did the video first, then using a SD card digital recorder, recorded the narrative separately whilst playing the video. It's pretty intuitive but might take a few hours to fully get the hang of.
 
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