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How to to Mimic Professional Filming Gears

Caroline Laurent
Caroline Laurent Originally published Jan 12, 23, updated Mar 27, 24

The professional and expensive gears are primarily out of budget for starters. But there is no need to stop filming because household things will give good output.

In this article, you will learn 6 pro tips to make professional filming gear using cardboard, container, and tape. It will turn out into POV and barrel roll shots. Scroll more to learn the top ways, and then enjoy the rest with your audience.

In this article
  1. Things to Remember Before Making Gears
  2. Smooth Camera Movement with A Door
  3. Film Shots of Underwater
  4. Make Colourful Shots Without Coloured Lights
  5. Different Shapes of Light with Cardboard
  6. Create Point of View Shots
  7. Create a Barrel Roll Shot

Part 1. Things to Remember Before Making Gears

Before using tools for professional videos, you should remember some side effects and cautions to make everything reliable and simple. Read the below outlines!

Not Professional Results

You should remember that homemade tools will give you different results than professional gear because they are expensive for a purpose. But you can experiment and get fun during filming with these products.

Safety Measures

If you use any heavy or temperature-sensitive equipment, you should take safety before operating them.

Handle Carefully

Before experimenting, make sure that you are holding everything tightly. Ensure that no accident occurs during filming!

After taking precautions and understanding the output, it’s time to make tools and film!

Part 2. Smooth Camera Movement with A Door

With a simple mobile camera, you can make smooth shots of any action, like walking, running, and playing. There is no need to get any professional gear.

It easy to achieve by attaching a camera to the door. You can use duct or any other tape which is easily available in the home. Fasten the mobile phone to the side of the door with tape, as shown below!

attach mobile to door with tape

Moving the door while performing any action will result in smooth shots. Check out the final results below.

final look of smooth shots

Part 3. Film Shots of Underwater

Filming underwater is always a dream of any videographer, but we were limited to get shots from the water's surface. So now it's time to add more creativity to your video.

First, you need to take a transparent container or any glass container. Pour water according to your need in it.

Note: Ensure the container is light enough to put on the phone.

Then, place the container on the lens of the phone to make a video. Then, take care of the phone from the water.

filming underwater

Pro Tip: You can also shine light source in water and add glitter or colors to get more astonishing shots.

Part 4. Make Colourful Shots Without Coloured Lights

All filmmakers love party lights and want to add colors like that in the video. Different colored lights in videos usually represent different mood swings and enhance the creativity of storytellers.

Professional videographers use expensive lights to give these effects. But you don’t need to purchase any expensive gear. Because you can make colorful shots easily with colored plastic binder dividers, or you can also use cellophane wraps.

First, wrap the colored divider around the LED light or any light you use to shoot video.

Note: Check the light temperature after short intervals because it melts or burns the dividers when the light source gets hot.
wrap the led light with a green divider

Now make the video and try with different colors to add suspense, horror, and happy effects to the video.

final results after making colorful shots

The video still needs more creative effects and designs; scroll more to read exciting tips.

Part 5. Different Shapes of Light with Cardboard

To add a fantasy location in the video and make light effects in the form of shapes, try out easily available cardboard. Most of the time, aesthetic videos are made by these hacks, giving viewers different vibes.

Only a professional photographer and videographer know how to attract the audience to the shots by doing these simple hacks.

The interesting thing is that if light has more shape, it will precisely describe more about the scene's backstory, location, and context. Give it a try!

Step1 Cutting of cardboards

Cut the cardboard in any shape, whatever you want. We will experiment by cutting cardboard in window blinds shape.

Note: There is no specific recommendation for the cardboard, you can use any size or shape which suits you the best.
shaping of cardboard
Step2 Make shots in different shapes of light

After giving shape, now move the cardboard around the light source and make a video. It seems like the subject is sitting near the window and has aesthetic vibes.

Note: The more precise the cutting of cardboard, the more professional it looks.
final preview

Become more creative and make more shapes with cardboard because the audience always prefers new content in the market.

Part 6. Create Point of View Shots

After adding colors and shapes, now it's time to get some Point of View (POV) shots. Most of the time, viewers become bored by watching framing and filming coverages.

POV shots are mostly captured from a specific angle to show an object's characters. They are mostly seen in food commercials, and videographers of snacks just love to make these shots.

To make POV shots, there is nothing specific required. You just have to make a suitable position for the lens. Follow the below guidelines and capture it!

Step1 Cut ends of packet

To create POV shots of your favorite snack, first of all, cut down both ends of the packets.

Step2 Attach packet on a camera

After cutting, attach the packet of snacks to the camera lens or phone with the help of old-fashioned tape.

Ensure the camera is turned on, and then make a POV shot. Now, it's time to enjoy the rest part with the audience. Check out the final results, as shown below!

final preview of pov shot

Due to this, the food seems good, and you can notice the number of spices too. This one actually looks amazing!

What if we add the rotatory shots, too, in the video? For this, check out the last tip and try that!

Part 7. Create a Barrel Roll Shot

Barrel roll shots are the full axial shot by spinning the camera lens. Epic shots that formerly required costly gimbals and sophisticated techniques are now as simple as strolling.

It’s pretty easy to make a rotatory shot at 360° by using equipment easily available at home. Rolling may feel anxiety and disorientation. Filmmakers utilize it to confuse or unnerve audiences in movies.

There is no need to purchase expensive gambles to make barrel roll clips. Instead, try this hack by utilizing a power drill present at your home. Then, follow the below steps to give it a professional look!

Step1 Take equipment

First, take a camera lens or smartphone, whatever you are using to make a video, and a power drill as a gimbal.

Step2 Camera with drill

Attach the camera to the power drill with the help of old-fashioned tape.

Note: You should have a piece of square foam or soft block placed between the camera and drill to assist.
smartphone attached to the power drill

Now, it’s time to turn on the drill and ensure that the video option is “Turn On” in the camera. Then, enjoy the shots of 360° with your audience!

final result of barrel roll shot

Conclusion

Finally, you get a filmy video after performing above mentioned 6 DIY hacks without expensive gear. More creativity in a video attracts more audience, which makes you more prior in the videography industry.

You can also try more tools at home and share your ideas with others to get reviews on them and make better changes. Make sure that you are taking all safety measures and precautions.

Caroline Laurent
Caroline Laurent Mar 27, 24
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