This is a behind the scenes look at filming a full week of VBS at our church, on purpose with cheap gear.
The whole setup, camera, kit lens, mic, and a second lens, came in under $1,000. That was the point. You don't need expensive gear to make something people want to watch.
Two videos out of the week.
A highlight video for Friday night that parents watch when they come back for the last day. And a longer edit covering the whole week for Sunday morning and social.
Two deliverables means I need more coverage than I think I do, and I need to be shooting for both edits the whole time.
A Sony a6300 with the 16-50mm kit lens, f/3.5 to f/5.6.
The kit lens is fine for general coverage. When the room gets dark, and VBS rooms always get dark, I switch to a 50mm f/1.8. It pulls in a lot more light and gets me tighter shots at the same time.
A Rode VideoMicro on top of the camera. Small, cheap.
I might not use much of that audio in the final edit. But having usable sound when a kid says something great is worth the twenty seconds it takes to mount it.
A $20 tube light. I found it through Caleb at DSLR Video Shooter.
For the money it's hard to beat. I use it as fill or as a hair light depending on what the room's doing.
I think about the opening and closing shots before I turn the camera on, because those frame the whole video.
Then I get establishing shots. Decorations, kids walking in, the room before it's full. Those set the scene, and you can only get them before things start.
The real footage is kids reacting, and you'll miss most of it.
Stay ready. Camera up, settings already right, pointed roughly where you expect something to happen. You still won't get everything, but you'll get more than if you're adjusting settings when the moment lands.
Switch to the 50mm when it's dark or you want tight. Both problems, one lens change.
Go manual focus when autofocus is hunting. In a busy room with kids moving through frame, autofocus will grab the wrong thing at the wrong time. Manual keeps it where you put it.
Shoot past a decoration, a doorway, another kid's shoulder.
It's the cheapest way to make a shot look intentional instead of documentary. Costs nothing, works every time.
If the camera settings part is where you get stuck, Church Video Made Simple covers the exposure triangle, white balance, composition and audio from zero.
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