How to setup a home studio within one million rupees #3

6.     Lights

                 Within our scope 3 point light set up can be used in home studio. Key Light is the main and strongest source of electrical light. Back Light is used to separate the object form background and it shows the scene look more three dimensional. Fill Light is softer than key light which cross the key light to fill the shadow crated by our main light source.  Also the sun light and reflectors can be used for various purposes.

Cowboy Studio Soft box lighting kit

Cowboy Studio Soft box lighting kit

7.     Monitors

Sometimes we have to use better monitors to watch output while editing videos. Real colors may not display in our desktop monitor. At least RGB or YUV color monitors can be used in our home studio.  Also it should be compatible with player/recorder.  

Dell U2413 RGB Monitor

8.     Cables

If we are going to use a professional audio setup with our camera, XLR cables may need to connect our camera and microphones. Firewire cables essential for transfer high quality audio from our camera to computer. 

9.     Other

In addition to that we will need storage devices (external HDD, DVD, Blu-Ray disks) Blu-ray burners, Speakers, Headphones, Light reflectors, extra batteries for camera, SD cards, tripod and other connectivity cables. 

How to setup a home studio within one million rupees #2

2.      Microphones

The in-built microphone on our camera will work all right for home use. But here we are intended to reach semi-professional level; we have to buy some smart microphones for better quality sound. Basically there are three types of microphones available in video industry. Shotgun microphones are good for pinpointing the exact audio under noisy backgrounds. Also there is tiny little microphones call Clip-on (Lapel) Microphones. These are great for capturing consistent audio levels. Handheld microphones are easy to use and wireless types are available in market.

3.     A Player/ Recorder

Player recorder is useful for play back and record video again and again.  Though there are facilities in our camera to play back, it’s not a good practice to use all the time. Camera is used for only record not to play back. Otherwise it may reduce the life   time of the camera. I/O ports should be compatible with other components.

How to setup a home studio within one million rupees #1

                                  Here we are going to setup a basic home video studio within one million rupees. Before going to buy our equipment it’s better to have an idea about most important features of the components. Here I have listed the main equipment with their importance that may be use in a home video studio. 

                     1. Camera

                     2. Microphone

                     3. Player / Recorder

                     4. video editing computer

                     5. Video editing software

                     6. Lights 

                     7. Connecting cabals

                     8. Other

1. Camera    

There is no way to start digital video production without a camera. Therefore camera will be the most important equipment which using in the studio. Before we buy a camera there are several factors to think about. First we have to decide our purpose whether we are going to use it as professional level, semi-professional level or home use. Within one million rupees it’s better to move semi-professional level. Output parameters of the camera may be Composite, S-video, IEEE 1394 or HDMI. Video standards are also important because PAL is the predominant video standard using in Sri Lanka.  In PAL mode 25 frames are transmitted each second and each frame is made up of 625 individual scan lines. So we have to move to the PAL standards rather than choosing NTSC and SECAM.