72% of consumers are more likely to engage with video content than text-based content. This trend is steering businesses towards embracing video marketing, but diving into video production can be daunting. What equipment do you really need to produce content that captivates and converts? In this article, you’re going to learn about the 7 video production equipment essentials for Australian businesses in 2024. If you use just these 7 pieces of video production equipment, you’ll be well on your way to producing high quality videos for your brand.  

The goals of video marketing and production for your company are likely to provide helpful information about your product or service to your customers to drive more qualified traffic down your sales funnel. 

🔎 Related article: The 7 Types of Videos to Help Sales Reps Close More Deals 

To meet the expectations needed to accomplish these goals, the video production gear purchased should give your business a professional look and feel. 

That means equipment that will deliver good picture quality, sound, and lighting.  

While the first thing that comes to mind when purchasing video production gear is the camera, in this article, you’re going to learn about that, plus the other elements that are equally important in making your production look professional. 

How Much Will This Cost Me? 

You might be thinking about how much all this video gear will cost. However, it’s hard to say exactly because prices can vary a lot.  

You could realistically spend an unlimited amount on gear if you really wanted to. On the other hand, you could find cheap gear and spend the bare minimum.  

If you want a high-quality production, we recommend setting aside $5,000 for buying good quality video gear.  

Below you’ll see our recommendations for specific video production equipment.  

Camera 

Considering all the elements of production, usually, the first thing we think to buy is the camera.  

When gearing up for video production, the camera often tops the list. The camera will likely have the most influence over the picture quality of your video.  

Today’s viewers have high expectations, particularly with advancements like 4K video, demanding crisp, high-definition experiences. 

DSLR cameras are a great choice, offering TV-quality visuals without the hefty price tag. Whether you’re shooting b-roll of your office or an interview with one of your subject matter experts, this camera will give your picture the look and feel of a professional production. 

On top of this, these cameras aren’t just for video; they’re great for still photos too, like company headshots or group pictures. 

For the camera body, you’re looking at spending around $1,800-$2,100.  

Here’s some of the DSLR cameras we recommend:  

• Nikon Z5 – $2199 
• Nikon D7500 – $1549 
• Canon EOS 6D Mark II – $1779 
• Canon EOS 90D – $1599 

The above covers you for the camera body, but you’ll also have to invest in a lens.

Here’s some examples of the best lenses to choose from.  

When you pick your lens, think about the shots that would work best for the types of videos you’re going to create as this will help you determine which ones you need. For example, if you’re filming interviews, you should pick a lens that captures facial expressions clearly, as this helps build trust and connection with your audience. 

Next, let’s move onto the tripod.  

Tripod

Think back to any home videos you’ve seen of yourself as child: Your parents were so excited to see their child accomplish something; they tilted the camera the wrong angle and completely missed the accomplishment. 

This is where a tripod comes into play.  

You will need a tripod to stabilise the camera for any video shoot. This way, your interview shots stay focused on the subject and your viewer is not distracted by wobbly camera work. 

Plus, excessive shaking or wobbling shows a level of unprofessionalism that you do not want in your video content.  

What should you look for in a tripod? 

When choosing a tripod, consider its weight and portability.  

You don’t want something too heavy that’s hard to move around, especially if you’re often on the move. 

Think about it this way: How distracting and inconvenient would it be to your office if the videographer was struggling to carry around a heavy tripod? 

A lightweight yet sturdy tripod is your best bet, just like this tripod.  

For a decent one, you’re likely looking at spending about $200-400. This investment ensures your videos look polished and professional, not like those shaky home movies. 

Next, let’s look at lighting. 

Lighting 

Let’s say you’re watching your favorite mystery or crime movie, and there’s an interrogation. The scene is dark, adding to the mood and emotional message of the video.  

The same is for your sales and marketing video content. That’s why the next element in achieving a high-quality video is lighting. 

Chances are you don’t want your videos to come off as dark and mysterious, you want to be professional, inviting, and educational.  

To achieve this, a basic 3-point light set up will do.  

A 3-point light setup will allow you to light the major elements of your set: the background (backlight), the subject matter expert (key light), and the area just behind that person to make them stand out from the background (fill light).  

When choosing a 3-point light kit, it’s important to keep in mind whether or not the kit you buy will allow you to adjust the level of light and the color temperature for different scenarios.  

To balance out the hues being given off by the lighting in the room or outside, an adjustable light kit is necessary.  

Here are two examples of lighting equipment you can use:  

• Neewer 2 Pack Adjustable Lighting – $218.99 
• Volkwell 2 Pack Adjustable Lighting – $139.99 

Backdrop 

We recommend finding a spot at your office where you can have a consistent backdrop; this will give your videos a more authentic, branded feel.   

However, for some workspaces, such as those offices with minimal branding, distracting colors, or just boring spaces, a green screen makes the most sense. This will allow you to put any background on your videos that you want.  

Most are affordable. You can find a variety of green screen setups ranging from $20 to over $100.  

We recommend reading the reviews of the solution that works best for you before making a purchase.  

An external recorder 

Bad audio is one of the top reasons people will stop watching your video, and when it comes to sound, there’s more than just the microphone that goes into getting a great quality audio recording. 

When using a DSLR camera, like the ones recommended, it’s common practice to separate the video and audio recordings.  

With this in mind, an external recording device produces a better-quality audio track than a mic and allows you to separate your audio recording from your video recording, which gives you more flexibility on what you can do with your audio.  

A Zoom Recorder is recommended as the industry standard and is the recorder we at RedPandas commonly used for higher-level productions. You can expect to pay $200+ for one. 

Lapel microphone 

Once you’ve picked a recorder, you’ll need a lavalier or lapel microphone. 

Think about great interviews you’ve seen: You don’t hear a lot of background noise; the SME sounds like they’re speaking directly to you as if you were standing in front of them.  

This is because whoever shot that interview used a lapel microphone to capture the audio.  

A lapel microphone is clipped to the shirt or jacket of your subject and picks up what is in the immediate range of the microphone. This eliminates the echo-y ambient noise you might get if you used a built-in mic.  

There are many different options available for this and thinking back to the beginning of this article, cheaper doesn’t always mean better.  

We would choose something that gives you the option to purchase two microphones, like this bundle so you have a backup.  

If you do a search on Amazon for lavalier microphones, you’ll find many options varying in price.  

Make sure you read the reviews of whatever product you choose. This will give you a good idea of the pros and cons of each of your options.  

Shotgun microphone 

We also recommend investing in a shotgun microphone to attach to your camera. Having this additional microphone will serve as a backup to your interview recording and capture better natural sound during b-roll shoots than your camera internal microphone will.  

This kit from Rode is an example of a bundle we recommend purchasing for about $300.

If you choose to look for a different kit, remember to look for a bundle that includes an XLR cable to be able to connect it to your camera. If you do not have a cable to connect the microphone to your camera, the camera will not record the audio on the microphone; it will instead record it on its internal microphone, which does not have the extended range that the shotgun microphone has.  

Depending on the camera you buy, you may need to invest in additional connector cables to be compatible with your DSLR.  

So, what’s next? 

So, now you know all the equipment you need to produce a high-quality video.  

However, when it comes to sales videos that help close deals, it requires more than just high production quality.  

Check out this article on how to close more deals with video.