Welcome to the equipment page. Here you can take a look at all the equipment and software I use to make movies. This may inspire you to purchase some of the equipment for your own movies.
This is the camcorder I use. It is a Sony TRV320. It is a very good camcorder and I have never had any problems with it. It's in the Digital8 format meaning its on analog tape but you get just as good picture quality as you would a miniDV camcorder.
The SONY TRV320 camcorder.
A very important thing that makes video look like it was by an amateur is bad sound. From a few feet away the sound may be very clear, but the big problem is that your mike is stuck on your camcorder. I suggest a boom mike, which is a microphone on a long metal arm held over the people in the scene(out of the frame of course!) I also suggest getting a laviar mike, which is one of those little mics you see clipped onto newscasters shirts. These mikes can come in mono or stereo with the stereo mics costing more. You know the mike is stereo if it has two little mikes instead of one(mono). I have a Radio Shack® lavier mike. I also have an Audio Technicka ATR55 shotgun microphone. A shotgun microphone is a very directional mike. I placed a picture of the ATR55 below this paragraph. The mike offers great sound and can be puchased for only $65. Look on Yahoo.com or another website of your choice to compare prices. You can also mount the mike on your camcorder when a boom pole is not practical. The ATR55 offers "normal" range(for normal shots) and "tele"(for far alway from the mike recording.) The mike has a crisp sound that is crucial for an amateur videographer. Trust me, your gonna like the way it sounds!
The Audio Technica® Telemike™. It has a mini-plug at the end which will fit into any camcorder microphone jack. I suggest getting a mini plug extension cord if hooking up to a boom. You can purchase them at any electronic or audio store.Click here to listen to tests of the Audio Technica® ATR55 Telemike™.
ABOVE: The Audio Technicka shotgun mic on the boom I made. I made the boom from a regular microphone stand from Radio Shack and took the legs off. Presto! A perfect boom pole.
Remember to always have headphones available. This way you can make sure your audio is coming out right and there is no feedback.
Another item you might consider for your camcorder is a wide-angle lens. With a wide angle lens you can get a much wider view of the scene you are recording. The lens shown is a Sony® VCL-0637H. The lens has a very good wide angle view and has little to no distortion of the image. The one shown has 37mm threads which is what most consumer camcorders use, but you can buy them in others lens sizes if you need to.
The Sony® VCL-0637H offers a great wide view at a decent price.
If you see a shakey image, you almost instantly think of it as being video. A tripod is a must if you intend to make your video look proffesional(Not to mention to let your audience keep their lunch!!!!) Tripods can range from $20 to hundrends. A basic $30 tripod will do fine to stable the image, but if you want to do smooth pans or tilts you may want to look at some higher priced tripods.
Here are some pics of the camera boom I recently constructed. A camera boom aka: jib, is a long arm that can be placed on a tripod to get drematic shots that you see in movies. You can pan down the camcorder from very high to very low or vise versa or you can pan side to side. I consturcted the booom with some plans from e-bay®. I made it with 1inch thick alluminum tubing. I purchased everything at Lowes™ Home Improvement Hardware. It works very well and I may put some video of it on the web.
Radio Shack is a ® trademark of The Tandy Corperation in the United States and other countries. Audio Technica is a ® trademark of Audio Technica in the United States and other countries. "Telemike" is a ™ trademark of Audio Technica in the United States and other countries. Sony is a ® trademark of Sony Electronics Inc. in the United States and other countries. eBay is a ® trademark of eBay Inc. in the United Stated and other countries. Lowe's is a ® trademark of Lowe's Home Improvement Hardware Inc. in the United States and other countries. Apple and the Apple logo are ® trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. in the United States and other countries.