Creating A Video Studio For Under £1000
The information below gives you details to create your own video studio. What we all like about videos is that it’s able to be used across various mediums and converted into different formats with ease.
Videos are also a lot less difficult to follow and easier on the eyes.
If you are working on a critical video that is going to be used across TV for example, we would advise shooting that type of content in a professional studio, but for the vast majority of SME’s a quiet space with a plain wall background is totally fine.
Equipment You Will Need:
· HD Camera / smart phone
· Microphone
· Lighting
· Stand/Tripod
· Backdrop
Your Camera:
The camera you use is, of course, the most critical component of studio. The good news, is that you don’t need an incredibly elaborate camera to shoot high-quality videos; any camera that can shoot in HD and which has an input for an external microphone will do a great job.
Your smart phone can also be used to good effect, just make sure it is set to HD recording and has that essential 3.5mm external microphone input. I use my Android phone for nearly all my personal videos with an external mic and that does a pretty good job!
Your Microphone:
Nearly as important as the camera you use is the microphone you use with it. When shooting your videos, you must always have the end-user in mind, and if the person watching your videos has to struggle to understand what you’re saying, you’ve lost them.
We recommend that you purchase both a wired and a wireless microphone. Of course, you can begin with just the wired version but once you begin to really branch out with your videos, the freedom of a wireless mic will be invaluable.
I personally have had excellent results with one of the cheapest mic’s available on the market the Lavalier lapel mic which produces great audio. I then use the free audio software Audacity to fine tune the results.
If you want to try a wire free system there are plenty to choose from; always read the reviews and do your own research and as always you generally get what you pay for.
Your Tripod:
A solid, portable tripod is important. There are a huge number of options available to you here, but do ensure you get one that is tall enough to be able to record you standing up! Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised!
Diffused Lighting:
Poor lighting can kill a video shot faster than just about anything else. It’s essential to have some diffused (indirect) light pointing at your shoot. There are a few different ways to get this effect, and the good news if you’re handy is there is a low-cost DIY option.
Do-It-Yourself Diffused Lighting: You’ll need to purchase three of the brightest clip-on style book lights that you can find, and three white laundry baskets. Clip one light to the inside of each basket, so that the light shines down on the bottom. Then you’ll need to hang each basket so that the bottom is pointing toward the subject of the video shoot.
Softbox Lighting Kits: The advantage to these kits is primarily in their convenience: Everything is ready to go, right out of the box but these can be expensive.
Backgrounds and Backdrops:
The final (although no less important) consideration for your studio is your background or backdrop. For the sake of variety, it’s good to plan for more than one option here.
Natural backgrounds don’t have to be forests and landscapes, but simply your own “natural habitat” – your lounge, the pub, outside in the park …wherever you feel most comfortable and the noise is acceptably low.
By shooting in as many of these locations as possible, you’ll keep your videos more interesting than if you’re shooting behind the same desk for every one.
Backdrops are great for longer videos, and for videos that you plan on using for more than one audience. We recommend having both a black backdrop and a green backdrop. The green one will double as a green screen, which will make post-production editing much simpler.
Once again, for your backdrops we have a DIY option and a ready to go option.
For DIY, purchase “true black” and solid green sheets. You can use something as simple as
clothesline and clothes pins, or curtain rods with fasteners to hold the sheets up. For a more indepth look at how to create an effective green screen, take a look on YouTube for a wealth of “how-to” videos.
Portable green screen packages are readily available online, and are less expensive than you’d expect.