One of the most common questions I get asked is what devices and accessories I use to make my harp videos. The good news is that you don’t need expensive equipment to make great looking videos.
There's two ways you can make your videos - straight to your phone, or capturing the audio and video separately. I’ll discuss both, but first, here’s some handy equipment that will make your videos look much better, whichever technique you use:
(Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalise a purchase.)
Helpful Equipment:
Light - One of the most important factors is definitely light! You can use a super-expensive camera and still end up with a low-quality video if your lighting isn’t right. I used to just reply on lamps around my home, but in November I invested in a softbox light, and the difference has been dramatic! This is the one I use - EDSSI Photography Softbox
Tripod - Whether you’re filming from your phone or with a camera, an adjustable tripod is a massive help! Camera stands and tripods give you the flexibility to position the camera wherever you want it for the perfect camera angles. I just use this Amazon Basics tripod which is cheap and lightweight and let’s me film from a variety of heights and angles. If you’re filming with an iphone, you’ll also want a phone mount for your tripod - I use this adjustable one which let’s me film in portrait or landscape mode
A good all-in-one light and stand option is this one that has a ring light with a phone stand incorporated.
1) Filming Straight To Your Phone:
Pros- Easier, takes less time, less expensive if you don't already have recording equipment. After you learn some proper lighting techniques, you may find that your smartphone is fully capable of recording fantastic quality videos.
Cons- Less good sound and picture quality (the bass is usually a little lost) - To be honest though I now film most my things just on my phone and it’s pretty good (I have an iphone 8)
2) Filming the Audio And Video Separately And Then Combining It:
Pros: You can get your tone exactly as a want it and clean everything up through your recording software.
Cons: It takes a bit of time and can be tricky if you don't have a ton of experience editing tracks. You also will have to match the audio and video so everything is cohesive.
I do a mixture of these two methods, just depending on how professional it needs to look and sound.
Filming straight to your phone is definitely the easiest option - I just set my phone up on the tripod about 2m away from my harp, set up my softbox light and then get filming! Nice and easy!
When I want a better sound quality I record with a microphone into my computer. The basic idea is that you connect your harp to your computer and record your harp directly into a DAW. The big advantage of this method is that you can easily get the perfect tone before or after recording.
Here is a basic rundown of what you need to record directly to your computer:
You need to somehow connect a microphone to your computer. There' is a great microphone that plugs directly into your computer via USB that’s made by Blue Yeti - I know Grainne Hambly uses this and it sounds amazing! With this option you don’t need a separate audio interface, so it’s pretty cost effective.
The other option, especially if you’re using more than one microphone, is to connect to your computer via an Audio Interface. There are plenty of different interfaces with the main difference between them being the number and type of inputs. A simple audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is what I use, and is incredibly popular for producing studio-quality recordings at a low cost.
For microphones, again there are lots of different options and it massively depends on your budget, but I personally use either an Aston Spirit Condenser Mic, a Rode NT1A or a matched pair of Rode NT5s.
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
The DAW is the software you use to record your harp and then edit the sound. There are quite a few different options and each work in different ways. Apple have a free programme called Garageband which is great, and there’s also a free programme called Audacity which is very good. I personally use Logic.
If I’m recording this way, then for filming, I use either just my phone camera, or my DSLR camera - I use a Panasonic Lumix G7. Again lighting is really important!
Once you have all the equipment needed and you have it all set up, it’s time to record! Good luck!