Tools You’ll Want To Have (Even If You’re Not A Pro)
In this post, I’m talking all about video tools for your production to create great video content. I’m going to lay out for you the gear that I think you need whether you’re a YouTube creator or a production professional.
Video Tools – Lighting
My first recommendation is all about lighting. I use these expensive light panel lights for my professional shoots, but I must admit, in the studio we have another option. These are the Newer bi-color LED lights. I love these lights! They come in a two-pack with everything you need. They come with a soft box and the stands. They’re also bicolor which means that you can change the color temperature using a dial from warmer to cooler so if you’re shooting with more natural light, you can match the color temperature or if you’re trying to achieve a warmer effect you can do that too. The price on these lights is amazing and they’re available on amazon. We’ve bought this two-pack I think three or four times. We have a lot of these lights lying around and I must admit they do a respectable job.
Another light product I also recommend is a reflector, like the one in this video. This is something that comes in handy when you’re shooting outdoors. I broke out our reflector on a shoot just a few days ago when we were shooting outside and the way that we had the subject oriented the light that was hitting their face was kind of off to one side. A reflector like this comes in so handy for filling in the other side of someone’s face, but you can even use it with studio lighting inside as well. You’ll probably want one of these. It’s really fun to pull them out of the case, pop them up and then twist them up and pop them back down. They’re super handy and they don’t take up a lot of space. Plus, they’re not expensive at all. This is a must-have item!
Great Video Requires Audio Tools
Another product that I recommend is my Sony stick mic. This thing is absolutely amazing and it’s the kind of thing that you guys are always commenting on what microphone do I use. This one is also available on Amazon; here’s the link for the Sony Stick Mic. It’s great because it’s unidirectional meaning that it just picks up the sound of my voice as it hovers over my head. This is a great microphone it has served me well for years it’s a high-quality brand. We love Sony products so this one is a must-have for me.
Video Tools – Licensed Music
Speaking of audio, I also have to recommend the online subscription music licensing site Soundstripe. What I love about Soundstripe is that there are so many cuts of music on here. They have pre-sorted playlists for you that can help you find the music cut you’re looking for but my favorite thing about Soundstripe is that you can download what are called stems. If there’s a cut of music you find that you like but there’s something in there that doesn’t really ring your bell like a synthesizer or a vocal, you can actually download all the instruments individually and then just use the parts of the song that appealed to you. This is amazing and I use this feature all the time.
Another audio product I have to recommend are my Beats headphones. I love these headphones because they’re super comfortable to wear if I’m wearing them all day on a shoot. I prefer the wired version over the wireless version because of possible interference during a professional shoot. I want to make sure I’m only hearing what’s coming into the camera. Here’s a link to them Beats.
Video Editing Software Recommendations
Software is such an important part of creating videos, isn’t it? You know that I have to mention my all-time two favorite softwares: final cut pro and apple motion. If you’ve spent any time on my channel, you hear me talk about these guys all the time. Final Cut is a professional video editing software. It does everything you need it to do, and apple motion is a motion graphics software that is amazing. Let me tell you what I love most about these two softwares, beside the fact that I think they’re really intuitive and easy to use. They come at a one-time cost as opposed to that other brand that charges you every month. I paid $300 for final cut pro…ages ago and over the years through my business I have made hundreds of thousands of dollars with that 300 purchase. I don’t have an affiliate link for this, I’m just telling you the truth about what I like. I don’t have a relationship with Apple… I wish I did! Apple! If you want to sponsor me, let’s do it, but I’m just telling the truth. I love these two softwares. The updates are all included. They don’t nickel and dime you. Apple Motion is $50 (or so) and it does so much I have so many tutorials here on my channel. I will link to a whole bunch of them. Also, I am working on a paid motion course which is something a lot of you guys have asked for, so just know that’s in the works. If you’re interested in that, go to my website jennjager.com and sign up. I will let you know when it is happening, and I think we’re going to be doing pre-launch pricing, so you’ll get a deal on that as well.
Phone Software for Video Editing
There are a couple of apps that I have reviewed on my channel that I think stand the test of time. The first one is Video Leap. I think it’s great as a general editor for your videos, but it also has several cool effects that I like.
The other one is Vont, which is a great app for adding text to your videos. I have full tutorials and reviews on those on my YouTube Channel…and the links attached to each of their names will bring you to those videos.
Another app I recommend is this one here called Pro Movie that I talked about in my iPhone videography tutorial which you should check out if you haven’t seen this video. Again, the link to the video is attached to the name. It gives your iPhone camera so many more customizable settings like a shutter speed or color temperature it takes the standard iPhone camera and turns it into more of like a real professional video camera.
Backup and Storage
Let’s talk about storage. Storage is the bane of my existence. Is it the bane of your existence as well? We’ve been moving a lot of our archived projects from hard drives to the glacier on Amazon, which is a cloud storage solution, but you still need hard drives, and we have a lot of them around the office. I recommend the Lacie hard drive. I’ve been buying these up a ton and every time I go to buy one there’s more storage for less money. It’s kind of amazing! Right now, you can get ten terabytes on Amazon for think around $300, which is crazy, so I recommend these hard drives. They’re super reliable. I’ve never had a problem with these hard drives and I’m super into them.
Recommended Drone for Videographers
And my last recommendation for you is a big-ticket item, but it’s a newer toy around these parts. We are extremely excited about it! It’s the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. This thing is amazing! The picture on it is great. You can also set a point mark and have the drone fly around it automatically, so your moves are super smooth. It has a time lapse feature…It’s just an awesome product. The controller for this thing is sick so if you’re in the market for a drone and have a bit of a budget, I can recommend this product hands down. I love it!
I’m sure you’re wondering what I would recommend for a camera. To be honest with you, because I own a professional production company, we have higher end cameras than I think most YouTubers. I’m shooting this right now on a Sony FS5 and our other primary camera is a Sony FS7. They’re a little more high-end than you may need so I’m hesitant to make a camera recommendation because what I would recommend might be beyond most people’s budgets…plus, there are a lot of other creators that can give you good advice about that. I hate to steer you in the wrong direction but otherwise those are my recommendations for products that I think you could use.
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- Microphone: https://amzn.to/30kyeFc?
- Headphones: https://amzn.to/2RQhOPF
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