- Being super woods in the day.
Being super woods in the day?
Wow.
All right, we're out in the woods today,
showing you how I film with very little gear.
But to show you how I film with very little gear
I had to bring more gear (laughs).
So it's a kind of a meta day out in the woods.
I'm basically filming myself, filming.
(upbeat instrumental music)
Back to filming, oh, can y'all even see me?
Yes, yeah, okay.
So I've been itching to actually make this video
on my channel for awhile,
because I've really noticed that my cinematography
has gotten a lot better on this channel.
Even over the past like year and half.
But subsequently, as my cinematography has gotten better
my gear has decreased a lot when creating these videos.
And I think a lot of that comes from the fact
that I'm wiser now.
You know, if things that are interesting to me,
or new gear that comes up,
I ask myself the right questions.
Thinking about things in terms of,
"Okay, if I buy this piece of gear
"when will I use it?
"Like, will I be able to immediately use it and see
"a definite impact from using it tomorrow?
"Or, is it just neat and I just wanna try it?"
Also something else that I've noticed
as a creative director and producer,
some of the best cinematographers
I've worked with they know how to do a lot
with very, very, little.
A lot of the work that I do with the production company
is very straight forward, really practical, lighting.
And so, you end up hiring a cinematographer
for their eye and for their capabilities,
and less about what equipment they're actually using.
And that's kinda the camp I wanna live in.
Especially, because in most documentary settings,
you don't want your subjects
to really pay attention to the camera.
You want them to kinda forget that it's there.
And even here on this YouTube channel,
I'll have people stop by and people jump in.
Trying to create an environment that feels
very comfortable so people forget about the camera
is really important to me.
Some of the best compliments I've gotten from clients
are, "Wow this was the easiest interview
"I've ever done for my business," or my entity,
or my organization, or whatever it is.
Or when they say things like,
"Oh, I didn't even realize you were still here filming,"
by the end of the day.
That's like the best compliment I can ever get
as a video producer, creative director, for the company.
Because that means that I really got them comfortable
with the camera, with the lights.
And part of that is about having very minimal gear.
And also part of that is about making sure
that because they're so comfortable
they're able to give a more authentic interview,
they're able to show and tell their most authentic self.
So I'm gonna go ahead and show you everything
that I keep in my camera bag when I'm out in the world,
sort of, running and gunning.
All of my immediate gear for making YouTube videos.
And the hope behind that is you will see that you don't
actually really need that much to tell a great story.
And/or if you're thinking about re-upping
or upgrading your gear,
then maybe you can see this and, you know,
make some sorta strategic purchases,
rather than going ham into it and buying
a whole bunch of stuff that you don't actually need.
So first off, I use the Wandrd Prvke 21L,
#NotSpon on that,
but I've used this backpack for the last year or so,
and I really like it for a few reasons.
One it's got a really flat and sleek design,
which really helps for me, I'm a petite person.
And so, backpacks that are really big and bulky,
and like, wide, really mess with my center of gravity
and I can't really wear them for too long
because I'm so small.
Two, it's a really minimal bag.
And I really like that because it forces me to think
critically about what I'm bringing.
(gentle instrumental music)
So in regards to the actual gear I use to film,
this is it.
Sure, I do have other lenses, of course.
Again, I work with clients
and sometimes you need other things.
But, for the most part, this is all I use
to make the bulk of the videos that you see
here on YouTube for sure.
I use the Sony a7 III,
mostly because of the awesome battery life.
Also, the bulk of my filming I just have two lenses.
I use the 17-28mm F/2.8 Tamron
and its sister lens the 28-75mm F/2.8 Tamron, as well.
Like I said, I shoot most of my videos with the a7 III
and my two lenses.
But to film myself filming, I brought my B-camera,
which is the a6500 with the road video micro,
the little guy.
One day I would like to have just two a7 IIIs
just so I'm super matchy, matchy.
But the a6500 is really an awesome camera,
it's just the battery life is like terrible on that thing.
So, yeah.
Something I will say is my last sort of super,
"I was trying to be cinematic," vlog,
where I talked about my 2019
and everything I had gone through,
I filmed out here in the woods then too,
and again this is all I use.
So I'm kinda trying to like recreate
some of these shots out here again,
in a different outfit,
so you know I really am doing it (laughs).
The biggest thing, when you're shooting alone,
to have a sort of like dynamic look and feel
is to combine a lot of stagnant shots with moving shots.
So you'll notice in that video that I figured out a way
to film myself walking.
In the stagnant shots, you'll notice that I start out wide,
and then I go medium, and then closeup, you know, so.
Think about, like actually figure out your shot list
before you start filming,
so that way you don't need to bring that much gear,
and then you're really succinct with your time,
which is really big if you're trying
to be consistent on YouTube.
I really love these two lenses combined together
because with them you essentially have wide, medium, closeup
between the two lenses.
So that helps you to have a variety
of different shots very easily.
My one piece of advice, if you're starting
to invest in your glass, as they say,
and be super snazzy with it,
is invest in a clear UV filter
for all your more expensive lenses at least for sure.
It's just you are inevitably going to come very close
to dropping your lens or dropping your lens.
Or, come very close to dropping your camera
or dropping your camera.
And so, putting that extra little protection on your lens
I think is worth it.
Especially, if you end up spending
$800, $900, couple thousand dollars for your lens.
Stretch it even further, spend that extra 65-70 bucks,
and get that clear UV filter for it.
Both of my lenses are the same size,
so I have one variable ND filter, as well,
that I use for both lenses if I'm filming outside,
so that way I can still use F/2.8 when filming outside.
I think if you're someone who really likes
shallow depth of field,
which that's something I play with a lot,
you'll definitely wanna a UV filter
so that way you can just manipulate the light
that much more,
and have that room to go F/2.8 or even lower,
if your lens allows it.
This microphone was actually something
that when it first came out I immediately knew I wanted it.
Like this was one of those,
"I am wise enough to see the value
in this piece of gear," gear.
And that's the RODE VideoMic Pro+.
I really love this microphone.
It's been out for awhile.
They probably have a new iteration of it by now.
But I really love the RODE VideoMic Pro+,
specifically, because it turns on and off with the camera.
Like just that little function alone, game changer.
Even if I know I'm going to a location just to film B-roll,
I still plug up my RODE VideoMic Pro+ to the camera
and have audio rolling.
Because again, the gear itself enables you to have audio
that is clear and crisp,
so why not just have it rolling.
That's also the editor in me, as well, in post production,
having good ambient sound and just playing around with sound
to evoke a mood or enhance the story.
You just can never have enough audio in my book.
So RODE VideoMic Pro+, cannot recommend it enough.
Back to filming, oh, can y'all even see me?
Yes, yeah, okay.
We're in Brackenridge Park by the way.
I love being in this park because the trees here are epic,
and I was Instagramming for a second.
I don't know man, it's something about the trees here
they just are like, they're kinda creepy,
but I like it, you know?
As much as I love going handheld
with a lot of things that I do,
and you can get a lot accomplished going handheld.
Especially, with the stabilizing technology
that's in Premiere Pro now,
which I use to edit all of my videos,
whether it be on here or for clients.
Just having a tripod, good ol' sticks, is really,
you can't go wrong with that.
I've had enough close calls
dropping my camera off of a monopod
that for the most part I bring a tripod.
Especially, because the way I'm starting to film
a lot of my YouTube videos now,
is I'm usually sometimes up to 50-100 feet
away from the camera and am recording
using my phone to control the camera,
so I really need just solid sticks to put my camera on
and know that it won't fall over,
you know, unless someone literally comes and pushes it.
Aside from my tripod, another thing I keep in my bag
is a little Manfrotto PIXI pod.
And I don't know what it is about these compared
to the GorillaPods.
I used to have a GorillaPod and used it a lot.
But then something in me just kind of shifted
and I didn't like using a GorillaPod anymore.
If any of you have any insight as to why you think,
you know, some of us are moving
away from GorillaPods let me know.
Because I really don't know why.
I just didn't like it anymore.
It was really weird.
Now I have a little Manfrotto PIXI pod,
I throw it in my bag, in the top.
And you'll be surprised how many times
you can be out filming and you think of a good shot,
and you just need to raise the camera off the ground,
like six inches, and not any higher.
And most tripods can't really go that low easily.
The other thing that's great about the Manfrotto PIXI pod
is to do the traditional vlogging style
of walking and holding the camera,
the Manfrotto PIXI pod is great for that.
Even day to day, when I go to the office,
this is all the stuff I just have with me all the time.
A lot of times with my tripod,
I'll just leave it in my car.
I don't necessarily have it hooked
to my backpack all the time, but it's in my car.
Truly at a moments notice, I can make a video (laughing),
with this gear.
In the comments below, let me know what piece of gear,
whether it's film related or anything else,
that was a game changer for you.
For me, it was getting the Tamron 28-75mm.
I don't know man, once I got that lens,
once I really figured out what I was missing
in my cinematography style and how the lenses
I had were limiting me,
and I realized that that lens could fix it,
it was night and day.
I felt like my B-roll for clients just got so much better.
My B-roll here on YouTube got so much better.
And I just really thought differently
about how I filmed sequences
and how I told a story just with the visual picture.
Also, shout out to my Patreon production team.
If you're interested, patreon.com/hallease.
There you get early access to videos,
as well as, private weekly vlogs from me,
where I talk about running the production company
and everything I've got going on in the background.
Otherwise, if you're new here, I'm Hallease (laughing).
Like, share, subscribe, so on and so forth, y'all know.
And I'll see you when I see you.
(soft mellow music)
(Hallease laughing)
(soft mellow music)
Nice.
(soft mellow music)