Top accessories for cheap stylish filmmaking

Creating great content at an affordable price

You probably have some digital equipment of your own, but you're looking for ways to shoot with a great style at a minimal cost. Here's how you can pull it off.

Whether you shoot on DSLRs or pocket cams there are a variety of gismos and accessories that help you stay mobile, and give you added production value for very little cost. (This also includes maintaining your own equipment on the move.)

I'll give you a good example. If you're out and about, shooting stills and taking a wide variety of shots you can get yourself a Monopod that acts as a tripod without the weight. You can carry that around with minimal hassle and you'll get perfect steady shots. It's even possible to pan smoothly with it after a few practice runs.

Another great add-on to your kit is a Lens Pen. Your camera lens is always going to get a little dirt, and if you're out, having this invaluable tool means you can swipe your lens clean with little effort, and avoid the horrible smudge and dirt spots that appear on your edit timeline.

I can't praise Light reflectors enough. There's always a situation where the light is not strong enough, or you have too much light, and having good quality reflectors by your side is a definite advantage. HD doesn't forgive poor lighting, especially in a low contrast situation. Being able to provide your subjects with some reflected light, and in cases, blocking light, can really help you better expose your subjects.

If you really want to fine tune your shots, and create depth and atmosphere, you can get yourself a Professional Filter Kit to help you mask out UVs and enhance aesthetics of your shoots such as color saturation and contrast.

Of course there are many other tools out there that can help you fine-tune your shots, but these are some of the must-have's I think are worth getting.

Why I recommend these items

Having the flexibility to shoot high-end looking shots with a variety of cost-friendly tools is an ideal mindset to go with if you want to be creative and move quickly. Often a steady shot, or a smooth pan can convey so much more than a jolty hand-held attempt. It's those subtleties that make your content stand out and if you can create a truly professional feel to your productions, whether you are producing corporate videos or music promos, it's definitely worth that small investment.