“Gear Doesn’t Matter”

It does. This is a saying that is thrown around in the videography community time and time again, but it is ultimately a false statement. Not completely, but mostly.

Let me break it down, say you hire me to film a multiple day video company conference where the objective is to create multi-cam clips of key note speakers while also delivering crisp audio. Our team would approach this by bringing out high quality cameras, high quality lenses, high quality audio such as mics and field recorders and having a contingency plan. If “gear didn’t matter”, then that’s saying someone could show up to a shoot like this with a 10mm lens and point a camera at a keynote speaker that’s 100 yards away and capture a good closeup shot. No way!

Now you’re probably thinking “That’s not what they mean when they say gear doesn’t matter, it means that good camera operators and videographers can make scenes look good with positioning, composition and lighting.” Now I wouldn’t argue that one bit, in fact I would say you’re spot on. However, lighting is another piece of gear that matters. Reflectors are gear that matters. Possessing the skill and knowledge to pull off multiple different looks dependent on the lighting available and being able to supplement the practical light with high quality key lights matter.

Having the skill to be a good camera operator takes years to perfect and the truth is here at The G Shot Productions, we’re always improving the craft. We’re always improving the way we light scenes, customize sets, and shape light in meaningful ways. In the end, you could give someone without any knowledge all the tools to create a good product and they will most likely fall flat. This is where “gear doesn’t matter” comes into play. However, with a skilled professional, with high quality gear built for the occasion, it simply does matter.