- In this video, we'll show you exactly how to shoot
top down videos like this
including the best options for low cost
and DIY overhead video gear that we recommend
to make it super easy
no matter what camera set up you're using.
Hey, it's Justin Brown here from Primal Video,
where we help you grow an audience
and scale your revenue with online video.
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And all the links to everything we mentioned in this video,
you can find linked in the description box below.
Let's jump into it.
A top-down camera angle is great for getting your viewers
immersed in what you're doing on a tabletop.
Like you've probably seen in a lot of cooking,
drawing, and craft videos,
or even tech reviews and tutorials
and is really not that hard to do either.
There's a few different ways to get the job done
depending on your requirements and your budget.
Starting with DIY gear that many of us already have
and ranging up to some more professional purpose-built gear
for a more permanent studio.
So we're gonna cover a lot of options here,
so make sure you're sticking around to the end,
to hear them all out to completion,
to make sure that you're getting the best one for you
and for your setup.
So the first option is a great DIY option.
It's not the best option,
but is good if you've already got this lying around
and that's using a standard tripod.
So what I'm talking about here is
instead of having your camera facing forward,
you're actually tilting it down to film
what's beneath the tripod.
And obviously here you wanna make sure
that you've got enough room around the tripod
to get the shot that you're after,
but depending on the tripod that you're using
and the camera that you're using,
you might end up getting the tripod legs in your shot.
Or if you're using a bigger camera, it could be unstable.
So you might need to use some sandbags or a counterweight
to keep it stable.
A step up from that one option number two
is using a tripod with a flippable head
or a tripod with a boom or extension arm.
This is actually a lot more common
in cheaper tripods than I thought.
So what I'm talking about is a tripod
where you can mount the camera underneath it.
So this is gonna be more stable
than just tilting your camera forward,
as it's going to be hanging under the tripod.
Now, again depending on the specific tripod
or the camera that you're using,
it is still possible to get the tripod legs in your shot,
but it's a lot less likely than just using a regular tripod.
So an example of a tripod like this is the SLIK video
sprint series of tripods.
You can literally just pull out the top piece
and mount it underneath,
and the camera is then hanging under there.
Option number three is using a microphone stand.
Now this is going to be great for a small camera
or a phone or a web cam,
something that's not got a lot of weight to it.
And the great part about using a microphone stand
is that you're not going to get any tripod legs
or anything in your shot underneath it
because the camera is overhanging
the area that you're going to be filming.
If you're gonna go with this setup,
I would definitely recommend using some sort of sandbag
or counterweight to make sure it's gonna be stable
and not going to tip over.
And you're likely gonna need an adapter
from your standard microphone mount to a tripod mount
so that you can easily mount your camera.
Now, this is something that you can pick up really cheap,
like starting at the 30 to $40 price point.
And obviously going up,
if you want something more professional
and maybe more stable,
but you can get some great results
with the cheap gear here as well.
Option number four is to use a microphone boom arm.
So a retractable arm to hold a podcast style microphone.
So this is something that you could easily
clamp to your desk and move it into position
and then easily move it out of the way
once you're done recording.
Now, again, this is an area
where you've got lots of options.
The cheap ones are gonna be perfect
for a lightweight camera,
something like a webcam smartphone
or a small point and shoot camera.
Whereas the more expensive ones,
the steadier ones will be better suited
for a heavier camera, like a DSLR
or mirrorless camera as well.
Let's just be mindful with any of these options
where you're going to be mounting or clamping
your camera to the desk.
If you knock or bump that surface,
it might actually shake the camera too.
Option number five is to use a dedicated
desktop camera stand.
Now, this is something that's made specifically
for this purpose of making it easy for you
to create top-down videos from your desk.
So this is a really simple solution
that you could just bring out when you wanna use it
and then easily pack it away afterwards.
And given the design, it's also unlikely
that you're going to get the mount in shot as well.
Now there's lots of options out there for this,
but Arkon makes some great ones,
and they start around the a hundred dollar price point.
Option number six is a desk clamp camera stand
with boom arms.
This is another one that's gonna be a really clean setup
because it's not gonna take up much desk space.
You're literally clamping this to the side
or the back of your desk,
and there is an arm that protrudes over your desk
where you mount your camera.
And this is great because it's height adjustable
and it can be configured up for different shots.
And some of the more professional options here
can hold some heavier cameras like DSLR
or mirrorless cameras no problem.
Now while there's lots of options here
my personal favorite are the ones from Elgato,
they are super stable and they'll hold
some heavier cameras as well.
Option number seven is using an overhead mirror.
Now, in some cases,
especially where it's not gonna be practical
to mount a big production style camera
or a big heavy camera,
it could be easier to mount a mirror above the area.
And then you set your cameras up on the ground
and you zoom into the mirror
and you're filming the reflection
of what's going on underneath it.
So yes, you still have to mount a mirror up there,
but you might be able to get away
with something relatively small,
but this can really get you around
a lot of the weight issues
with mounting big cameras up high.
And yes, the image will be reversed,
but it's something that you can easily flip back to normal
in your editing software.
Option number eight is using a tripod crane or a jib arm.
Now this is a more professional setup
of essentially what we looked at a little bit earlier
with the microphone stand.
Now, this is something where you can either purchase
a full, dedicated, complete unit,
or you can purchase just the add-on for a standard tripod.
It's not only just a great setup to get nice overhead shots,
but it's also a great setup
for any moving or panning overhead shots as well.
Now, while you can have this set up for filming solo,
ideally you'd have someone there manning the jib arm,
especially if you wanna have any of those movement shots.
And for this setup, you will need counterweights or sandbags
to keep it in position and to keep it stable.
Now, once again there's lots of options,
both cheap and expensive.
The cheaper ones starting at around
the a hundred dollar price point,
but going up to thousands of dollars,
depending on the setup.
Option number nine is to use a wall or a ceiling mount.
So this is where you were permanently setting up,
permanently fixing your camera
to the wall or to the ceiling.
Now with this sort of mounting setup,
you got lots of flexibility in terms of mounting options,
different weights, sizes, all to lock your camera in place.
And because your camera's gonna be mounted
to the wall or the ceiling you've got next to no chance
of having any camera shake in your footage
because it's off the table or it's off the ground.
Now, obviously with this setup, it is a permanent setup.
So even just to move the camera a little bit,
it's not gonna be an easy task.
Option number 10 is an overhead truss setup.
Now this is again another more permanent setup.
This is something that you wouldn't wanna be setting up
and packing up each time you wanted to create a video.
But, instead of just mounting cameras,
you also have the option here to use this truss set up
to also mount lights and speakers,
and to have all your cables managed as well
so that they're not in the way.
Now, this is once again an area
where there a huge range of options and prices,
depending on the size, the strength and the height required.
But you can pick up a truss set up
starting at a hundred dollars for something reasonable
and obviously going up to thousands.
So those are my top camera set up options
for shooting top-down videos.
Now I've got two quick tips for you to help you get the most
out of whichever set up you went with.
Number one is to use a zoom lens or a camera or a phone
with zoom capabilities so that you can zoom in,
or you can crop things out like the tripod legs
or things that you don't want in your shot
you can crop them out easily.
And tip number two will help you monitor
or see what it is that you're actually recording.
So, it could be that you're running an HDMI cable
from your camera to a TV or a computer monitor
so that you can actually see what's going on.
Or if you're gonna be recording using a phone,
you could mirror your phone screen to a TV
using a Chromecast or an Apple TV
or to a computer using software like reflector,
which is an amazing app
it will work on iOS on Android and Mac and PC,
and it will essentially mirror your phone screen
to your computer so that you can see what's going on.
So now that you've got your top-down videos sorted,
I've got two videos for you.
The first is a complete lighting tutorial,
helping you get your lighting dialed in for best results.
And the second one will help you get
the best camera settings for video,
no matter which camera you're using.
So check out the videos linked on screen,
and I will see you in the next video.