If you’re looking for something to buy with that Metamoney you earned through Producer Rewards, the last thing you should be looking for is a fancy professional camera. Don’t get me wrong, we’d all love to have a 3-chip, $2,000 camera with a 20x optical zoom, but it’s really not essential unless you plan to produce full time or are currently shooting video with your cell phone. Smart producers get the most out of the camera they have by improving the peripherals – shotgun microphones, better editing software, lighting equipment, etc. You may even consider throwing down some money on a video production course. The point is, web video resolution is still too low to worry about shooting everything in HD. If you’re going to spend, spend smart. 

You can be messy in your day-to-day life, but when it comes to your production equipment, safety and cleanliness are essential for preserving your gear. Keep your camera safe from bumps and scratches by storing it in a carrying case, and make sure to periodically remove dust/dirt with airjets, blowerbrushes, etc. Above all, protect your lens with a UV filter. It’s a cheap add-on that will really lengthen the life of your camera -- especially if you're fond of shooting outdoors.

You spent good money on your camera, now learn to use it! That slab of paper that came with it isn’t a doorstop – it’s your key to getting the most out of what you paid for. Read it. Study it. Hug it before you go to sleep. Whatever you need to do, just make sure that by the time you go to shoot your film, you know everything you need to know and more. Most people spend extra dough on camera features they never end up using. Don't be lazy like them.

When it comes to dialogue, there’s nothing like a boom mic for clarity of sound and unobtrusiveness. Boom mics are those fuzzy, often battery-powered microphones that you may have seen drop in frame in a bad video. They are directional in nature, meaning that they only record sound coming from a particular direction – making them ideal for picking up voices. The problem with boom mics is that they require a boom pole to hold them, which can be very expensive. For producers on a tight budget, however, there is a solution. If you have a shotgun microphone, wrap its cable around a long pole or broomstick, tape the end so that the mic doesn’t fall off and dangle it out of frame directly above your actor(s). You’ll get great sound and won’t have to spend much either.