New Video and Audio Studio Set-up, Looking for Thoughts and Feedback

[Mark Suszko]

If this is a “shopping list”, where’s the lav mics and where is the lighting gear?

Do you have a prompter? Do you have green screen gear?

What is the editing setup and the archival storage drive setup?

[Luke Shaw]

We already have Lav Mics and lighting gear. The lighting still needs to have some upgrades but we have enough as of now to really make this list a priority and be able to put that on the back burner until we get rolling. We also have access to green screen equipment and people who can fill in as a prompter on a need by need basis. In regards to the editing equipment I am pretty well versed in the software and demands the computer needs to meet and will be working on that list of upgrades for my company after all the gear gets sorted out. I am taking a compartmentalized approach to this upgraded segments at a time just to keep this organized.

[Mark Suszko]

You may want to take a more holistic view of the editing platform and cameras as a system, together.

[Eric Buist]

Some credentials before we start: I am a one-man-band video producer at a rather large company (72,000 employees across the US). I have also been one-manning as a freelancer for almost 10 years now.

I only see a couple of places that you are either spending too much or might want to re-think your purchase. Personally, I have been extremely happy with the Satchler Ace tripod. The head is great and the sticks are ok, but there are a TON of tripod options that are just as good at half the price of the one you selected. Seriously, you should not be spending almost $2,000 on a tripod. I would take that savings, get a second c-stand and a cart to help with moving equipment around.

For the boom cradle, look into something much simpler… https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/885688-REG/Auray_BPH_BOOM_POLE.html plus an extra grip head (which has so many uses it stupid not to have more) is the same amount, but much more practical and more industry standard.

Why are you getting the Zoom H6? How many channels are you planning on recording (and this isn’t DSLR land, you can run a cable into the camera…). If it is just for VO, save the money, get something that only has 2 channels and maybe a nice little preamp to make sure you have a hot signal coming in.

If you are going to be a one-man show, does it make sense to have a boom pole? If you are shooting the majority of your content indoors, do you need a blimp? Is the NTG 3 a good mic for doing interviews? I’m going to suggest something like this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/242661-REG/Audix_SCX1_HC_SCX1_HC_Microphone.html for a mic, throw it on a stand like this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/770263-REG/On_Stage_56985_MS9701TB_Heavy_Duty_Tele_Boom_Mic.html/pageID/accessory and call it good.

With a little budget savings, I would suggest you add things that either save you time (faster external hard drives, faster computer, faster card reader), make your life easier (like a cart), or add production value (slider, additional lights).

Have fun with it and let us know what you decide!

[Luke Shaw]

Thank you fro the time you took in giving me your feedback. I have made some tweaks to this list after posting on various forums and did decide to go with the Ace tripod for almost half the cost. Interestingly enough the cradle you recommend is the exact one someone else did too so i will be going with that as well. The main reason for the zoom h6 was to use as a audio interface now, with the ability to have more uses for it in the future if we did more field recordings with multiple mics of if we just needed an on the go voice over where we didn’t want to being all of our other equipment. I added a NT-3 to the list so we can have an indoor option but we do plan on having some outdoor scenes so we will probably need the boom pole and NTG-3 for those situations and I have access to help for booming when those situations arrive. My boss expressed strong interest in having enough equipment to allow for a very versatile workflow if we expand further. Thank you again though for all the time you put into that reply, I get off work now but will delve further into researching everything you said tomorrow. Have a great night!

[Eric Buist]

No worries! Happy to help!

I’m going to say it once more, for emphasis: Get a cart to move equipment. The less heavy lifting you have to do, the sharper you stay during your shoots. A good cart has been the best piece of equipment I have ever purchased. Period. Not my cameras, not my lenses, not my lights, not my computers, ect. It is my cart.

[Grinner Hester]

Any company that puts a student in charge of building their department is not a company that plans to be in business long. Go through the motions but pay close attention and ensure they owe you nothing week to week.