Tips for Filming Yourself with Cheap Gear + New Techniques

[Music] Hey, I'm Brandon Lee and in this video you're going to learn about some gear and techniques that you've definitely never tried before for filming yourself.

We'll talk about minimal gear, shooting tips, wireless monitoring, portable lighting, AI tracking, and even pulling focus. All right, so let's go ahead and

focus. All right, so let's go ahead and get started. This video is not

get started. This video is not sponsored. Okay, so let's start off by

sponsored. Okay, so let's start off by talking about the gear. When I'm filming myself, I want to keep things as light and portable as possible. I'll be using the Rokinon Remaster Slim lenses.

Probably the smallest full-frame lenses you'll ever find. They come in a three lens kit of 21 mm, 28 mm, and 32mm lenses. You put them in the lens base

lenses. You put them in the lens base like this and then attach them like any other E-mount lens. The focal range is a bit

E-mount lens. The focal range is a bit limited, but this is the only three lens kit that you can carry in the palm of your hand. For bright daylight shots, I

your hand. For bright daylight shots, I use this magnetic V&D filter from KN&F Concept, and it drops right on the lens like this. No need to screw it in. The

like this. No need to screw it in. The

last thing I want to bring with me when I'm filming myself is a full-size tripod. They're heavy, they're

tripod. They're heavy, they're cumbersome, you have to set up one leg at a time, so they take long time. So,

what I've been doing is exploring some portable alternatives that are a lot faster to set up. This is a KN&F Concept mini tripod. It's made for phones and

mini tripod. It's made for phones and other mini cameras, not full-frame mirrorless cameras. But I found that it

mirrorless cameras. But I found that it will support the A7S3 in some situations, especially if I'm using tiny lenses. I just like to use it because

lenses. I just like to use it because it's so small and so light, and it has a built-in tilt head, which can be used to go into vertical mode by mounting the camera sideways. To extend the tripod,

camera sideways. To extend the tripod, you just pull on it like this. It's

fairly stable at low heights, but if you take it to eye level, it will get pretty wobbly. With an action camera or an Osmo

wobbly. With an action camera or an Osmo Pocket 3, it would be a lot more stable.

A much stronger but also heavier alternative is the Ulanzi AT01 which I just picked up from Amazon. I think it's actually a discontinued item because I no longer see it on Ulanszi's website.

You extend it by pulling it up then twist to lock. Much faster than using a conventional tripod and almost as steady and it goes up to eye level, at least for my height. It's great for setting up a shot quickly and because it only has a

central column, it fits in tighter spaces better than a tripod would. And

here's Unulanszi flexible mini tripod that can be wrapped around objects. It's

great for railings, poles, whatever you can fit it around.

When filming myself, using an external monitor is really crucial since I usually can't look at the camera's LCD while I'm shooting. So, I use the Sony monitor and control app on my iPhone.

This app gives me complete control over camera functions, and it also serves as a 1080p monitor, so I can check my framing and focus. It works wirelessly, but for the most reliable connection, I

use a USBC cable. Monitor and control supports tap to focus, so I can just tap myself on the screen to make sure that I am in focus. If I need to step to a specific mark, I can set my phone down on the ground at that exact spot where I

need to stop and keep an eye on my framing as I approach the mark.

I can also do a focus pull and rack focus during the shot using monitoring control. Here's how I do it. First, I

control. Here's how I do it. First, I

tap on the background. Then, I set a far focus limit. Then, I tap on myself

focus limit. Then, I tap on myself and I set a near focus limit. This is

basically like putting hard stops on your focus ring so that you can't focus further than those two points in either direction. Then, I hold my phone in my

direction. Then, I hold my phone in my hand out of frame and I slide my thumb along the focus dial on the app to rack the focus during the shot. I can rack at

any speed that I want and it will always be tack sharp. Now, I'll give you some compositional tips. When I'm trying to

compositional tips. When I'm trying to make a space look bigger for a wide shot, I like to put the camera in the corner of the room. This allows me to put the entire space of the location in front of the camera so it looks as big

as possible. And it also has the added

as possible. And it also has the added benefit of making the camera less conspicuous to other people so they won't feel self-conscious and also they'll be less likely to steal the camera. Here's a couple of wide shots I

camera. Here's a couple of wide shots I set up in a train station. I used the monitor and control app to wirelessly check my framing and figure out where I should walk in the frame. Then I

triggered record within the app and I walked back and forth.

And here's a vertical version of the shot done the same way. I put the arch ceiling at the top of the frame and myself at the bottom to fill the entire vertical space with compositional

elements. Another compositional tip, I

elements. Another compositional tip, I like to put the subject, in this case myself, in a frame within a frame. So,

for this shot of me walking, I framed myself low and in the center. Then, as I walk, you can see the structure of the building behind me, creating many different frames, which guides the audience's eye to me. It's like putting

a picture in a frame. It draws the eye to what's inside. Here's a little trick.

If you're filming somewhere crowded, I set up this static shot of myself perfectly framed between the archways, but there were always other people in the area. So, what I did was I left the

the area. So, what I did was I left the camera rolling for a while. Then in

post, I created a second layer to the image where there are no people in the problem area. Then I made an invisible

problem area. Then I made an invisible split screen and suddenly I have the space all to myself. There's a lot of public places where you just can't bring a tripod. In those situations, the

a tripod. In those situations, the Ulanzi flexible mini tripod is really handy. I can wrap it around a handrail

handy. I can wrap it around a handrail for a profile shot like this. Or I can attach it to any vertical pole for a shot like this.

Here I'm wrapping it around the body of a bike to get an interesting composition looking through the line of bicycles creating frames within frames.

If you have an extension rod like this Shinewe carbon fiber rod that I also got from Amazon, which has screws on both ends, you can attach it to the Ulanzi mini tripod and create some sort of

temporary tripod type thing, which can be useful when you need just a bit more height.

[Music] And if you happen to be dragging luggage with you, you can create this setup here. It works just fine for a quick

here. It works just fine for a quick shot of myself walking. It's all about getting creative with what you have.

Sometimes my self shots need just a bit of extra lighting to make things pop.

And my favorite portable light for that purpose is the Gune Moolis X100 RGB light. This is the one that Cam Mackey

light. This is the one that Cam Mackey helped to co-design. For this shot, I put the RGB light on the Ulanzi AT1 tripod to create a backlight on the

water from this fountain.

It adds some much needed sparkle to make the water stand out from the background.

Self shots don't have to be static. One

option for camera movement without any special gear at all is to put the camera on a monopod or any extension rod, hold it at waist level, and just swing it around as the camera faces you. Here,

I'm turning my head the opposite direction of the camera movement to make the effect more dynamic. It also helps to have some sunflare in the background.

Some gimbals now include AI tracking modules, such as the DJI RS4 Mini. This

is great for filming myself walking around. To enable the tracking, I just

around. To enable the tracking, I just raise my palm. Then, I set my phone on the ground and do the double L hand gesture to pause the tracking, which allows me to reframe myself in the composition. Then once I'm happy with

composition. Then once I'm happy with the framing, I re-engage the tracking, walk to my starting point, and then I get the shot. I can get about a 5 meter range, even in low light, before the

tracking starts to lose me.

It can be interesting to place the gimbal further away for a more observational style of shot that doesn't look like a selfie, especially if you have objects in the foreground creating some sort of

obstruction.

Okay, if you don't have a tracking gimbal and you want to get a similar effect with just a tripod, here's a quick trick for that. Just set up a wide shot, shoot yourself walking horizontally, and then in post, reframe

it to a vertical composition, and then just reframe it to keep yourself in the center. Okay, those are my tips and

center. Okay, those are my tips and techniques for filming yourself. Hope

you found some useful and inspiring info. If you want to know more about the

info. If you want to know more about the gear that I use, there will be links in the description. Otherwise, please go

the description. Otherwise, please go ahead and subscribe for more, and I'll see you next time.