“Owning gear not only made me a better filmmaker but also helped me understand various technical aspects, enhancing my ability to communicate with the crew.”
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For the past six years, we have produced a feature film every year. In the same period, we have made 12 short films as part of our Life Improvised series. This high output is resource and wallet intensive. But a big reason why we can produce so many films and keep costs down: we own and use our own film gear.
I recommend all aspiring independent filmmakers consider this approach. I didn’t always think this way. Initially, I rented equipment or hired cinematographers with their own cameras for my first short films and even my first feature. But gradually, I started investing in gear — a cheap boom pole, microphone, made in China redhead lights, and a secondhand JVC GY-HD101 camera.
Me and my first camera, the JVC GY-HD101.
I didn’t really know how to use any of this gear properly. I remember filming a talk at the Melbourne International Film Festival for a film producer and my footage being shaky and out of focus. But though I was inexperienced, owning gear allowed me to practice, learn, and slowly improve. It was an investment in myself and my craft and what I wanted to do as a career.
Over time, I upgraded — replacing redhead lights with LEDs, switching from the JVC to digital cameras, and acquiring better microphones and sound recorders.
Owning gear not only made me a better filmmaker but also helped me understand various technical aspects, enhancing my ability to communicate with the crew. I gained more respect for the various crew positions because now I knew how to set up a C-Stand or hide a lav mic on an actor or how difficult a tracking shot with shallow focus can be.
To me, this is the biggest advantage of owning your own film gear — it makes you a more knowledgeable filmmaker and more well-rounded as a director. And you can also become completely independent. You can be your own crew if you choose too.
One of the joys of filming our Life Improvised series is we can create a new short film wherever we are in the world without needing to rely on anyone else but an actor. Pack the gear in the car, meet our cast, and ready to roll with a crew of usually just Sarah and I. In fact, we are planning a short film shoot at the moment in Prague using exactly this approach.
This self-sufficiency does not apply only to short films. For our feature ForeFans, shot in Zagreb and Paris, we used almost entirely our own equipment, except for an extra lapel kit for a few days. This approach saved us thousands in rental costs and reduced the need for specialist crew members, saving thousands more. I was the DOP and my own gaffer and grip, the actors wore lapels, Sarah and I monitored the sound together, and our boom operator was a C-Stand.
Our boom operator was a C-Stand courtesy of the NEEWER Microphone Boom Support Holder.
Now, we don’t own the latest, most fancy, or most expensive gear. We are far from gearheads, and don’t chase the latest trendy camera or gimbal or fancy toy. I think we all know filmmakers like that who can talk your head off about gear and have all the latest gadgets but have little idea how to compose a decent shot.
Instead we use practical and efficient equipment, oftentimes picked up for a discount.
Our kit revolves around two Blackmagic 4K Pocket Cinema Cameras, one purchased secondhand. Yes, the 4k instead of the 6K, or the even shinier new 8K or 12K cameras. Both cameras produce quality images in 4096 x 2160 resolution, which is (still) more than enough to exhibit your films in theatres or on streaming.
Case in point, even a couple of films at the Cannes Film Festival this year used the BMPCC 4K. And though I wouldn’t say no to filming on an Alexa if I had the budget, the truth is it is not the gear that makes your film look ‘cinematic’ — it is how you use the gear. Our latest feature After the Act was filmed by an award-winning DOP on our cameras and some of the images he shot using only natural light are stunning. The BMPCC 4K cameras can be picked up for a bargain these days.
A raw still shot from After the Act, shot in natural light by DOP Dennis Noack with our Blackmagic 4K Pocket Cinema Camera and Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art series lens.
A Godox SL-150W light is our workhorse light instead of the more popular (and much more expensive) Aputure brand. This is coupled with a Amaran COB 60d, as well as a couple of different softboxes.
And we can’t get enough of the vintage Canon FD lenses we picked up at second-hand camera stores or flea markets — a 28mm and a 50mm — for a softer and warmer look with great bokeh.
Or the highly praised Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art series lens which is super sharp, as well as a Sigma 50-100mm, giving us almost a full focal range kit with only two lenses.
In the sound department we own a Tascam DR-70D 4 Channel Recorder to capture sound, as well as 2x Sennheiser SK 100 G4 Lavalier Kits. For the improvised nature of the films we shoot, the lavalier kits are crucial to capture dialogue. If we only relied on swinging a boom we would be in trouble due to never knowing who is speaking next. Too much dialogue would be ‘off mic’.
However, the aforementioned C-Stands and this handy boom pole support holder allow you to set-up a hands free boom mic for interviews or stationary scenes. This is one of the most useful and favourite pieces of equipment we own.
Here is our full gear list, which reflects years of accumulation and refinement.
If you feel like following a similar path and investing in some film equipment, remember, you don’t need to rush to build your gear collection. Start with what you can afford, experiment, and practice, and over time your technical and creative skills will grow.
Of course, another advantage of owning your own gear is that you can rent it out to other filmmakers, or even be a owner / operator and pick up extra work, helping to pay for the equipment and generate another source of income. We have done both in the past.
At the end of the day, filmmaking is a lifelong pursuit of learning and creating. While owning gear isn’t essential, it undeniably helps you grow as a filmmaker, giving you the freedom to create films whenever and wherever you want.
Written by Ivan Malekin