Budget DSLR Rig Essentials

K

Kieren Barnett

I have recently purchased a shoulder rig, and I already own a Nikon D7000 DSLR with a few lenses. This is the shoulder mount I've purchased. I'm not sure if it comes with the matte box or not.
pl244147-dslr_rig_shoulder_mount_support_system_stabilizer_follow_focus_m3_mottle_box_c_frame_upper_handle_follow_focus_whip.jpg


My question is, what essentials should I include on my rig for making my live action short films? My remaining budget at the time of posting is anywhere between $500 - $1000 AUD. I don't mind buying from ebay wholesalers, since that usually works out cheaper in Australia.

What I know I want is a microphone, if possible a shotgun microphone, although if it's better than my cameras built in microphone I'm not fussy. I don't need a monitor yet either, I can make do with my camera for now. So what else, exact product links please, would you recommend me get to set up my rig, within my budget?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Hmm, I feel like I'm channeling APE or Alcove here, but personally I would have started with the audio gear and skipped the whole rig. Do you have an audio recorder? Are you planning to mount the mic on the rig?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Well I need the rig for some steady action shots, and I'm really bad at DIY.

If possible, I think a microphone I can plug into my camera would work best, but if not, I don't have an audio recorder yet.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Audio Post Expert (APE) and Alcove Audio are our two resident audio experts, and are always making the case for greater attention and focus on audio rather than just picture. You've pretty much fallen into the typical position they're fighting against, which is putting most of your resources into the camera gear and leaving audio as an afterthought.

The quality of the audio hardware in a DSLR is very poor, so it's generally not recommended to run a mic straight into the camera. Additionally, mounting an external mic on the camera (or camera rig) will provide better audio than the built-in mic, but still poor audio overall.

The first key to capturing good dialogue is the distance from the mic to the person speaking - you want the mic as close to the speaker as possible without it being visible in the shot. The highest quality mic mounted on your camera 6-10 feet from your subject is going to result in worse audio than a cheap mic that's 1-2 feet from their mouth. To get in that close you generally will need to put the mic on a boom and have an operator who can keep the mic at a consistent distance and aimed properly. This is another reason to use a separate recorder; it will allow your audio person to move around as necessary rather than being tethered to the camera.

That's why I said I would have skipped the rig and started with audio - a basic starter setup as detailed by APE elsewhere will run you about $1500 (US), which already exceeds your remaining budget even if you don't spend any more of it on the camera rig.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yep, just echoing what's been covered, but it's time to spend some money on audio. If you want to make quality films, your audio gear needs to match the quality of your video gear (and you need someone who knows how to use it). Simply plugging a mic into your camera isn't going to cut it.

For starters (and this is but one of MANY reasons), you can't monitor audio on your camera. A camera rig isn't actually NECESSARY for making a short film. The ability to monitor audio absolutely is a BARE NECESSITY. By comparison, could you imagine shooting a film without being able to see what you're shooting? Same logic -- if you can't hear what you're recording, you're setting yourself up to record horrible, un-usable audio.

Now, that being said, I do have some advice that some might disagree with, or might find controversial, haha. Anyway, it is my opinion that when you're just starting out in filmmaking, you can't literally learn everything at once. Baby steps. Learn and practice one thing at a time. You've got the camera, you've got the rig. You're probably more interested in visuals, so for now, make that your focus. Keep in mind that you absolutely MUST learn and practice the audio side before your films will pass muster, but for the time being, I don't think it would be wrong of you to put off expensive audio purchases until later.

BARE MINIMUM -- you need an external audio recorder. A lot of low-budget indie filmmakers are using the Zoom H4n, though you can actually find something cheaper. In roughly the same price range, I recall that one of our resident audio experts, Alcove Audio, recommends different audio recorders, but to be honest, I don't recall why he's not particularly a fan of the H4n (something to do with recording levels I think?).

And with that audio recorder you will of course need a mic. Mics can be very expensive. Even on the cheap end, you're looking at spending a few hundred dollars for a professional mic. However, if you agree with me that it's okay to put off the bigger purchases until later, you can find inexpensive shotgun mics by AudioTechnica that aren't actually all that horrible. They're not even close to professional quality, but to be honest, your films aren't going to be anywhere close to professional quality for quite some time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top