It wasn't that long ago that a state-of-the-art video camera (with 525-pixel resolution!) would cost about the same as a brand-new Mercedes-Benz. The cell phone you are (very likely) reading this on includes a better camera than most professionals had access to in 2001.
Of course, you can still buy a camera with a price tag worth a mid-life crisis sports car, but most of us will have to allocate our equipment purchases a bit more carefully. It's easy to just utter the dreaded word "budget" and add up a grocery list of gear that stops when it matches the number in your bank account. But there are better ways to allocate your resources using the same tried-and-true techniques used by zillion-dollar corporations.
The MoSCoW Method
One of the simplest is called the "MoSCoW Method." An easy, fool-proof framework for figuring out where to spend your hard-earned dollars. The MoSCoW Method breaks your budget down into four categories:
1. Must have.
2. Should have.
3. Could have.
4. Won't have.
The MoSCoW Method was made popular by software development gurus a few decades ago, but similar hierarchies have been used in accounting and military applications for years before we got a fancy acronym. This method easily scales up or down no matter what kind of budget you are saddled with.
Let's face it, if you ever wrote a numbered list of what you wanted Santa Claus to bring you for Christmas, count yourself among the ranks of dynamic system development pioneers. If you ever drove a $500 car and you needed to choose between getting the brakes in working order or painting a neon-green flaming skull on the hood, the priority would be pretty obvious (at least we hope so).
But some priorities are easier to rank than others. If you make a living delivering pizzas, a reliable vehicle (with brakes) is an obvious target for allocating funds. If you are a filmmaker, your camera is topping off that list.
In particular, photography is one of the deepest of all money pits. It is amazing the sheer number of gadgets and fiddly bits that you can attach to a camera. Some are essential. Others, not so much.
Here's a simple MoSCoW-style breakdown for a typical shooter:
Must have: camera (duh.), SD cards, batteries.
Should have: tripod, lights.
Could have: external microphone (We also think of this category as “nice to have.”)
Won't have: Articulated camera mount for '57 Chevrolet Bel-Air (Code: T; 1500 series only.)
Yes, we are being a bit flippant here. But there is some truth behind the dad jokes. Think about your “everyday carry” (E.D.C.). Those essentials that get stuffed into your pocket every time you leave your house. You need your keys, your wallet, maybe a pen. When you go out on a shoot – no matter how big or small – what are the absolute essentials? What are the bare-bones vitals you need to get pictures into that box? You should allocate your money with the same utilitarian focus.
But this isn't only for photographers. A video editor needs a computer and software at the very least. After that, you can start prioritizing storage, monitor upgrades and maybe a fancy suite of plug-ins that will help you composite neon-green CGI skulls on the footage of your $500 car (with a functional braking system).
Sounds oh-so-simple, but just because it's obvious doesn't mean it gets done. “What gets measured gets managed” is one of those aphorisms uttered by wood-shop teachers, drill sergeants and well-meaning dads since Noah built that big ol' boat. But even a great plan is useless until it's implemented.
You don't have to do this all at once. It's not a shopping list. You can spread out your purchases over months or even years. If a client insists you need some fancy camera boom for a shoot, renting is always an option. And while you might be well served in the long term by buying that gee-whiz camera mount don't be afraid of the DIY approach. A lot of slick-looking projects are held together with cleverly hidden wire, tape and rubber bands.
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Note From Tongal: "Buying Film Gear Without Going Broke" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Tongal. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
