- All right.
Let's build a gear tree.
A few weeks ago,
I came across a video by Potato Jet,
where he talks about
the GearTree from Ulanzi,
which is basically,
a full YouTube Studio,
on one single stand.
I was immediately hooked,
because I am filming out of a fairly small room,
that also doubles as a guest bedroom,
so I can't have all my equipment set up at all times.
The setting up is something
that I really don't like
about the process of making videos,
because you know,
you have several light stands, lights,
the camera, mics,
and once I'm done,
I have to pull it all back down.
So, I was keen to have something
that's always ready to go.
The GearTree, Potato Jet used,
was on a fixed stand,
which wouldn't really work in this room.
So I needed something on wheels
so that I can tuck away into a corner
when I'm not filming.
And Ulanzi actually has a GearTree on wheels.
However, when I looked into it
they didn't ship it internationally,
or, at least not to Australia
where I live.
Because I couldn't order the gear tree on wheels,
I started researching and I found videos
by Peter McKinnon,
DSLR Video Shooter,
and Ben Johnson,
building their own YouTube Studio on one stand.
And I thought,
"I probably can figure this out for myself as well."
Even though I'm not really a DIY guy,
I find C stands, and grips,
and all that stuff quite intimidating.
But after a day of researching
and figuring it all out,
I had a list of things ready
that I wanted to order,
which has now arrived.
Now I didn't use the exact same equipment
as these other creators,
so I actually don't know
whether this stuff I ordered will work,
but I guess we will find out shortly.
Let's unbox.
Look at this mess.
Unboxing realness, right here for you.
Okay. What do we have here?
We've got a heavy duty, light stand.
We've got the wheels, three of those,
and then,
everything I have here in front of me,
which is two SmallRig Clamps,
one with a little Ballhead for holding phones,
we have two SmallRig Magic Arms in different sizes,
we've got a Quick Release plate,
and a camera screw and spigot kit,
two Grip heads, and a Boom Arm.
I actually don't know if I will be using these,
because I might just put the light
onto the stand itself,
which I saw some people do.
So I still got it,
in case I needed it for something else,
such as an overhead rig.
And the last thing is the Elgato Solid Arm,
where I'm gonna attach the microphone to.
Now, let's try and put it all together
and see whether it works.
If you're enjoying the video so far,
then you'd do me a massive favor,
if you give this video a "like"
because it would really help the channel out.
The build itself was relatively quick and easy.
First, I prepared the stand by attaching the wheels.
I was actually quite surprised
by the quality of the newer stand,
given it's relatively cheap
compared to other heavy duty stands,
and the wheels are really smooth.
I then tried to figure out
the right height for the stand,
which I ended up adjusting several times
after attaching my light.
After that, I started screwing all the grips,
and arms to the stand.
First, the Elgato Solid Arm,
which unfortunately, only opens wide enough
to fit on the thinnest pole
on the top of the stand,
which means it's a bit more limited,
but not a huge deal.
I then screwed the short Magic Arm
to one of the SmallRig clams,
which will be the one holding the camera.
To mount the camera,
I've used my SwitchPod Ballhead
which gives me a bit more flexibility.
I screwed the quick release plate to the Ballhead
and attached both to the Magic Arm.
Next, I set up the microphone,
which required one of the screws from the screw kit.
I used the second SmallRig grip
with the longer Magic Arm,
attached the screws,
so that it fits the size of my Rode VideoMic Pro+.
Then I mounted the camera,
and moved everything around a bit more
until it all fit,
and that is all I needed to do
to get to the final setup.
Okay, this is it.
I'm now filming from the gear tree,
or from my YouTube Studio on just one stand,
and this is what it looks like.
I've got another angle over there,
so you can see what it looks like
with the stand,
and then I can just wheel it around.
You know, if I wanna film into the corner,
and the sound and the light will be very consistent,
pretty similar.
And, you know,
and I can just wheel it
wherever I want it.
Excuse the mess.
But that's it!
Amazing. So stoked about it.
Super easy.
I'm actually surprised that it did work,
with all the stuff that I bought.
This is me now standing, but if I wanna sit down,
I probably have to put the clamps
somewhere else on the stand,
but I need to figure that out.
But yeah, exciting.
It works.
It actually worked.
All right, let me know what you think
about my version of the GearTree,
and if you have any questions
then leave them in the Comments below,
and I will try my best to answer them.
I put links to all the stuff that I talked about
and that I'm using for my gear tree
in the "Description" below.
If you enjoyed this video,
then check out the one over here,
'cuz I think you might like that as well.
Give the video a like
and subscribe if you wanna stick around,
and I will see you in the next one.
Take care.