Let’s agree to some assumptions and distinctions for dramatic effect—this is a blog for musical theatre pros after all.
I’m going to assume you live in a small space or have roomies. I’m going to assume that you are creative. I’m going to assume that your resources are limited, but that you do what you have to do to pursue your career. I’m going to assume that you don’t know a lot of things about a lot of things, but that your curiosity and commitment overcome fear. I’m going to assume you will figure it out.
I’ll make one distinction: You are a talented professional who has trained for a career in musical theatre. Why? Because that comes with pure discipline and commitment—which means you can learn most anything you put your mind to.
The primary goal of upleveling your filmmaking skill set is to get cast in projects as an actor. Musical theatre peeps have the added pressure of demonstrating vocal skills and preparing show-specific music for any role or show, so in addition to the fundamental skills and equipment you need for video and lighting, you need to handle added tech skills for recording and mixing vocals.
It is what it is. The sooner you get great at this, the better.
What do you really need?
Tripod and/or Light Stand
Smartphone Tripod Adapter
Microphone
Backdrop
Editing Software
Mixing Software
Everyone has a smart phone, so start there. You will need to invest in a ring light or other lighting options and I suggest you get a good intermediate or entry-level pro microphone. Backdrop? It can be your wall—and usually is.
It becomes a real drag setting up and striking your self-tape setups constantly, so the more planning you put into your shooting area, the better. You want to spend your time working on the material, not shuffling your living space around and bugging your room mates.
I will be breaking down everything on the above list with a simple, logical approach for this blog. I will also be including great links for learning resources and equipment ideas.
What if you didn’t have to take up room in your tiny bedroom or apartment for a typical ring light and tripod setup, but rather installed an LED lighting panel on a side wall with Velcro? Then you just turn it on for video recording and are still be able move it or use it with a tripod on location. Boom. What if you painted a strategic wall in the style of a blotchy-cool photographer’s backdrop in blue/slate/gray so you never have to setup a backdrop or pull furniture around? Boom.
Planning your bedroom or apartment video setup so that it is about the same repetition as making your coffee every morning will make it less of a burden and more of a professional routine.
A little homework goes a long way.
No matter where you are in your digital entrepreneurship journey, you will want to integrate the new demands into your life with the least amount of stress.
How? Stay curious. Curiosity cures anxiety about what you don’t know yet. Curiosity keeps you in the game to observe the changing industry landscape without getting angry. Curiosity saves the day when you have spent the last three hours trying to figure out how to line up your vocals with the music track in Garage Band so you can punch in one more take for the high note in the middle of the song.
Curiosity is a choice. And it adds a lot of fun to the journey.
VP
COMING NEXT: Learning About Light.