Are you interested in how I produce WWTV (formerly 1337 Wine TV)? Well let me give you a little bit of insight about what I use to do it. Before I get too deep into this, I first want to let you know that I created a Behind the Scenes channel on YouTube just for that purpose. Check it out and subscribe to it if you like what you see.

CAMERA

OK, first. Let’s talk camera. Over the years I’ve used quite a few different cameras to produce the show. I currently use the iPhone 11 Pro as my main camera. 100%. Home and on the road. I finally retired my Canon VIXIA HF M500 at home and I’m very glad I did.

Smartphones now have the ability take incredible video. While they still have many limitations, for what I do, they are just about perfect.

I also have a DJI Osmo Pocket. It is a great little camera that shoots in decent quality 4K video. It has a built-in gimbal so you can get fairly smooth video. I like to use this for “B-roll” footage. I’ve also used it as a main camera when I travel.

CAMERA APPS

The iPhone’s native camera app is fine for the most part, but I use Filmic Pro on the iPhone. It provides professional level control over the iPhone’s camera. It also allows remote control via their Filmic Remote app.

I use my 2017 iPad 9.7″ to run the Filmic Remote app. For the most part this setup works very well. Occasionally I encounter issues. Usually with the remote app locking up but unlocking later. Sometimes, the actual camera app, Filmic Pro, will crash on the iPhone when being used with Filmic Remote. This issue was almost completely fixed at the end of 2019, but I’ve had a crash a couple times since then.

The Moment app, called Pro Camera by Moment, is a great alternative. It pretty much does the same thing as Filmic Pro. If I remember correctly its total cost is less than doing all the Filmic Pro additional purchases.

I’ve had a few issues with it for video in the past and it also doesn’t have a remote app. Unfortunately that’s a deal breaker for someone like me, but it’s still a great app. It has a feature or two that Filmic Pro doesn’t, and other features that may be better or easier to use.

For the DJI Osmo Pocket, I also use their DJI Mimo app. It’s primarily a way to control the Pocket when you attach it to a smartphone and take advantage of a larger screen. However, if you have the Wi-Fi module, then you can control the Pocket remotely. In some ways it’s easier and more stable than Filmic Remote.

AUDIO

For audio I use two different audio recorders. For home I use the Handy Recorder Zoom H1, and on the road I use its big brother the Handy Recorder Zoom H6.

With the H1 I use a fairly cheap lavalier microphone that’s really not available anymore. It’s listed as a computer lavalier that would be directly connected into a computer’s audio input. Those mics have gone up from about $1 to $10-15.

With the H6 I use higher end lavaliers that use an XLR connector instead of the 3.5mm the cheaper one uses. I have two different sets of 3. One set is omnidirectional while the other set is cardioid.

LIGHTS

A home I use a trio of NEEWER 160 LED lights that have adapters in their battery compartments that allow me to plug them in to AC power. I also have a set of daylight temperature bulbs in the small chandelier above the table I use. Lastly I use two LED Shoplights to illuminate my green screen.

On the road I have a smaller, but a little brighter NEEWER 176 LED light. With that light I use a large battery that normally gets me 3 hours of use at full power.

GREEN SCREEN

Not much to say here. I use a green screen at home. Most of the time. Over the years I’ve had better and better success in using it. Some of that is experience and some of that is improvements in hardware and software.

DRONE

During 2019, I purchased the Parrot ANAFI drone. I use it to take pretty videos of vineyards and other parts of a winery’s  property. It’s a competitor to DJI’s Mavic series. It has similar specs, but has a 180º camera that basically no other drone has. It can look straight up as well as straight down. Most drones can only look down. It’s not a huge thing for how I use the drone, but it’s more flexibility. 

COMPUTER HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

I have a Late 2015 27″ iMac 5k. It’s a base model with 24GB of RAM. So not a beast, but it does get the job done. I run a dual monitor system. The second monitor is a basic 4K monitor from AOC.

For editing I use Final Cut Pro X (FCPX). I have several plugins from Pixel Film Studios, FCP Effects, and FX Factory among other places. I mostly just use the built-in effects in FCPX, but occasionally I’ll use 3rd party. Especially 3rd party audio plugins.

That’s the main equipment I use. I do have lot of other equipment like tripods, backpack, cables, organizers, filters, etc. On the BTS channel, I’ve been slowly covering all the aspects of my production. Feel free to follow me there too!