Need gear advice for a studio...

Hello everyone,,

So as of last week after two years of freelancing I finally got my first full time job as a videographer/editor and I'm pretty excited about it. The only catch(if you would call it that) is I was hired with a company that has pretty much ZERO experience with video production and I'm essentially the first(and only) guy in the new Media department. As a result of that I've been given the assignment of choosing all the studio gear that we'll be purchasing.

This is an AMAZING opportunity and but I'll be honest, I feel like I'm a little bit out of my depth. I've worked with cameras and lights and gimbals and all that stuff, I definitely wouldn't say I'm ignorant to the gear side of the business. But all my experience has been with rentals or with stuff that I used with the people I worked with. Basically I don't have much experience in actually BUYING the gear. Now that I'm being given a 20 - 30K+ budget to outfit a new studio I'm finding myself kind of overwhelmed. This isn't my money and I want to be making the best purchases I can for the cash I'm spending. Is there anyone here who can give me some pointers on how I should be organizing this out? Recommendations on the best kind of lighting kits to be looking at, which sliders are a waste of money, should I really be looking at the Canon C200 even though it only shoots in 8 bit 4:2:0, should I go with the Shogun Inferno for my digital recorder or would the Ninja flame be fine? These are the dilemmas I'm finding myself in. If there's any other creators out there that could give me a hand I'd be eternally grateful.

My biggest advice is learn what second hand markets are worth getting into. That 30k will go faster than you think... and being able to try things second hand and flip them if they don't work so that you don't lose too much $$$ will save both your wallet, stress level, and sanity. Go new when you absolutely know what you're getting and need the warranty, but it sounds like you've got some gaps to cover in your experience working with gear...

New absolutely gives you piece of mind, but it isn't always the best way to build up a studio from scratch quickly.

Your best bet, to list all the essential piece of gear, that you need, to obtain the quality results you're looking for. You may want to check out these forums. There are more people who work in that field, 24/7 / 365 and they will have a much better insight on what you need.

https://www.prosoundweb.com/forums/
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/
https://www.thephotoforum.com/
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/post-production-forum/

If possible convince your company to send your https://nabshow.com/2020/

NolanGrant wrote:Hello everyone,,

So as of last week after two years of freelancing I finally got my first full time job as a videographer/editor and I'm pretty excited about it. The only catch(if you would call it that) is I was hired with a company that has pretty much ZERO experience with video production and I'm essentially the first(and only) guy in the new Media department. As a result of that I've been given the assignment of choosing all the studio gear that we'll be purchasing.

This is an AMAZING opportunity and but I'll be honest, I feel like I'm a little bit out of my depth. I've worked with cameras and lights and gimbals and all that stuff, I definitely wouldn't say I'm ignorant to the gear side of the business. But all my experience has been with rentals or with stuff that I used with the people I worked with. Basically I don't have much experience in actually BUYING the gear. Now that I'm being given a 20 - 30K+ budget to outfit a new studio I'm finding myself kind of overwhelmed. This isn't my money and I want to be making the best purchases I can for the cash I'm spending. Is there anyone here who can give me some pointers on how I should be organizing this out? Recommendations on the best kind of lighting kits to be looking at, which sliders are a waste of money, should I really be looking at the Canon C200 even though it only shoots in 8 bit 4:2:0, should I go with the Shogun Inferno for my digital recorder or would the Ninja flame be fine? These are the dilemmas I'm finding myself in. If there's any other creators out there that could give me a hand I'd be eternally grateful.