This page offers the most essential gear for filmmakers working alone or with very small crews.
The Gear Page is not paid or sponsored by anyone. It reflects the companies and products that I use and trust. To keep models and prices up to date, the lists are hosted on Amazon, which means I may get a few pennies if you decide to purchase something. Thanks in advance for your support!
Hardware
For simplicity, all the gear is organized into three kits:
The Travel Kit
This ultra minimalist kit consists of the most essential items for travel and lifestyle assignments, the same tools I’ve used in 64 countries around the world.
Travel assignments require extremely light and compact gear that must fit in one backpack, and maximum a carry-on bag.
The “Up and Running” Kit
On travel assignments most of the work is done with available/natural light and only essential sound (like interviews) is recorded on location.
This list includes the most essential items for people getting started, or who are currently shooting video but want to upgrade some gear. Lenses, mics and lights are fairly typical items. Size and weight are important, but not super critical.
The “Cinematic Look” Kit
I recommend this kit for anyone involved in run and gun scenarios like documentaries, education and training, weddings, red carpet premieres, product launches, and sporting events.
For more experienced filmmakers who want to enhance their video productions, and are willing to invest in bigger and more rugged tools.
The “Cinematic Look” is perfect for high-end corporate gigs, music videos, and even short films.
Software
Here are some software recommendations, in no particular order.
- DaVinci Resolve – The free video editing software I’d recommend for anyone getting started.
- Alex Audio Butler – A powerful yet simple to use audio plugin.
- Causality – Interesting Scriptwriting app.
- Shot Lister – Useful Shot List app.
- Hedge – The software I use to backup memory cards and drives during production.
- ChronoSync – The software I use to backup my computer and hard drives.
- Easy Release – Great app for model and property releases.
- Artlist – A well curated music and Sound Effects Library
- Frame.io – My favorite platform to review and deliver files and projects.
- BlackMagic Disk Speed Test – Free app to test the speed of your hard drives.
- Moment App – Smartphone app that offers great video features and controls.
- Adobe Premiere Rush – Decent smartphone video editing app. Its main strength is the interaction with Premiere Pro.
- Quik Video Editor – Fast and easy video editing smartphone app.
- Lee Filters – Handy app to decipher the hundreds of Lee filters.
- Sun Surveyor – Very useful during location scouting to determine the sun’s trajectory at any given time.
- Rode Reporter – Free and handy audio smartphone app.
- Snapseed – Free and powerful smartphone app to retouch photos.
- Dropbox – By far the most convenient cloud storage for documents. Get 500MB for free with this link.
Books
Here are the 21 best books about the craft of cinema and filmmaking. If you know of an amazing book that I’ve missed please recommend it to me.