Equipment Needed for a Music Video Shoot

Hey, it’s John Ricard, I’m in Miami right now. I came down here to do some onset photography to music video Odysseus Baby on Universal Records.

So we’ll talk a little bit about the equipment to use on music videos set, maybe talk a little bit about some of the difficulties you get when you are working on a video set. And I want to show some other people that you meet around you when you are working okay.

We’re going to start off first with the camera bag. This is the bag I used when I am traveling. It is a Tamrock rolling bag. They make two of these. This is the smaller one and I like this bag a lot. I mean it has a lot of stuff can fit in here.

For example, my laptop fits in this outer compartment, here it is a small Sony Vaio and I made my own little card reader here. I taped it on so it is always with me to something I do not have to remember to bring now.

To inside, we have a D2X body and D1X body and this would normally be a D2X body as well but I sold one of my D2X yesterday.

Anyway we have our 10 mm fisheye here, 2 SP800 flashes, two lenses here and normally that gives a cushion here to protect them but if you have 50 mm, 1.4 and the 35 mm F2, both of these are fast lenses and if it is dark onset it is great to have this.

The small, chargeable SC battery, clicks on to your waste and has a lot of power. It wastes virtually nothing and we have a 70 to 200 mm lens.


I see a lot of photographers when they work they’re constantly running back to the bag and taking stuff out and putting stuff back in. I do not really find that to be a safe thing to do because at any moment somewhere you can see you putting something in your bag and steal the bag or steal something from the bag. So I like to work in a way where I do not really have to keep running back to the bag. I am going to show you how I do that.

Here is the set up, we have a D2X with the 17 to 55 mm lens and an SP800 flash on one side. This is a little waste bag that is holding two batteries for the D1X body. This is a 50 mm lens at a 35 mm lens and these are the bag that’s holding the fisheye and it is big enough to hold the 70 to 200 mm lens which is currently on the D1X body. So everything is on. There is no camera bag at all and this bag will not be here if I still have my D2X body but since I sold it I have to bring extra batteries for the D1X because it is not great with batteries the way they do to this.

So really all you need is what you see here, to have a really complete setup and be able to work without having to keep the tracking the camera bag.

So this is the set up right now. It is a very large room. It actually serves as a gym and there is like about 8 to 10 cars and then there is a big moving crane. And the challenge is trying to get what I called the performance shot where I got the same shot that the crane is getting which could be the oddest performing here but it is extremely difficult. There are so many cool people and everyone is telling you to move and to get out of the way. It is extremely difficult to me on the shot.

Now this is another example of a performance shot. This one is a little easier to shoot than the one yesterday because you can see it is not to crowded by the camera position and since you are outside, there is a lot of place that you can stand in to get the shot without being in the way of the crew, so still not an easy shot but it is certainly a little bit easier than the one yesterday.

So sometimes, you get lucky and you get a performance shot that there is enough room for you to stand and then what you need to do with out getting in the way of other people doing what they need to do.

So this is an example of what we call a production shot. If you were the photographer hired to take pictures for the production company, we need a company that was higher to make the video. This might be an important shot for you but since I am working for the record label and we are really focused on the artist in the video which is like say maybe DJ Khaled Young Jeezy.

This really is an important shot for me. I did one quick version of it in the camera and that was it. It is not important shot for you, but if you are working for a production company this might be a really key shot for you because Production Company is obviously involved in the shot and really you spent about two hours on it.

That is too bad. So the question for you Jay is just to explain how this photography fit in to your job as an agent? How does being an agent help you as a photographer or by teaching?

Jay Lash: All of these composites portfolios. We give them two pictures so they can take for the casting. They give pictures to the cast director. A cast director says who took your pictures and that is also your agent so it is kind of two for one piece.

John Ricard: Right. So what is it that you are trying to shoot on set now? What is the key shot that you are trying to get?

Jay Lash: I just try to get a bunch of interesting behind the scenes to put in magazine like Ozone, Hip-hop Weekly, behind the scenes.

John Ricard: So you try to get the models or the artist or both?

Jay Lash: Everything. I try to get the artist for a certain magazines. I try to get the model for auto magazines.

John Ricard: Right and it kind of a bit of if you took this model has a shot for her own set, so it helps the modeling.

So here is the two artist and they are about to do a driving scene and this is one of those shot that is impossible to get. Okay, so it is screen shot for a moving truck. And I am not going to be on a moving truck, so although I got a quick shot of them talking here. I am not really going to get a key shot where they’re driving and maybe they are going to a different mood it’s not Miami and it is going to look a certain way in the background and when I am not getting that shot all I have is the shot that they’re talking to each other before they leave but there is no way around and it is because I am not on that truck.

Alright, so we have the two of the lovely video models here today.

Carmen: I’m Carmen Ortega.

Wendy: Wendy Rodriguez.

John Ricard: Alright, how do you guys find out about music video?

Carmen: We got a casting to an agency that contacted us. That is how we find out.

John Ricard: And in your case?

Wendy: Well I have lot of friends who contacts me.

John Ricard: Do you guys know of any video coming up next?


Wendy: I heard another video coming out and we got to start on Monday of shooting.

John Ricard: Right, now you see that is were we learn about videos. If you are a photographer, you make friends with the models. You talked to them you and find out who is doing the casting or who is doing a video. So tell me about being photograph, what do you like about it, or what is a good photographer would you be in photograph as a model?

Wendy: I guess it started for being able to like accentuate what you have when you are short, like you look taller that is a good photographer.

John Ricard Right, what is a bad photographer?

Carmen: I guess that is trying to get with you and unprofessional.

John Ricard: So we thank you ladies for talking to us and where we might find you.

Carmen: You can find me on my website carmenonline.com.

John Ricard: Just spell it for a second. Alright, we’re going to go visit that right now, thank you.

Carmen: Bye.