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Top 10 Essentials To Film BMX

Get Yourself From Bro-cam To Legit Level With These 10 Essential Tips

So, you’ve watched a few BMX videos and think you’d like to take a turn behind the camera? Get yourself from bro-cam to legit level with these 10 essential tips.

#1 – The Camera

Cameras come in many forms. Without a doubt, the best value piece of kit for a beginner is a Canon DSLR. I’d recommend picking up a used Canon EOS 550D, 600D or 650D (T2i, T3i & T4i outside of europe). Many a good video has been filmed on the trusty old 550D and these can be found on eBay for under £150 in used but good condition. Not just good for shooting video, these cameras are great at stills photography. That’s a whole lot of equipment for relatively little cash.

If you thought choosing a camera was confusing then just wait until you discover how many lenses are available for each body… No it’s not really that bad. Lenses come in many sizes – some long, some wide and a lot in between. A wide angle lens gives you a wider field of view, whilst a long (telephoto) lens will give you a narrower field of view but more magnification or zoom. The longer the focal length of a lens (that’s the number in mm), the more magnification or zoom effect it will have.

Considering the huge variety of lenses available I’ll fill two spots on this list with lenses.

#2 – The Almighty Fisheye

A staple of action sports photography. The go to piece of equipment for any and all filmers. With its almost 180 degree field of view, the fisheye lens is perfect for capturing close up action shots. Suited perfectly for following a rider on a long line or capturing the scope of a gnarly setup. I’d recommend one of the cheaper Korean made fisheye lenses such as the Samyang 8mm, which can be picked up for under £200. Cheap, sharp and built like a tank.

#3 – The 50mm Lens

In contrast to the fisheye this lens will provide a narrower field of view. The focal length of 50mm is what’s called standard length. This will provide a better magnification factor, with relatively flat perspective, much like human vision. This will give your shots a more true-to-life look and enable you to shoot the action from a little further away. The Canon 50mm f1.8 lens pictured above seems a bit flimsy when compared to the bulky mechanical fisheye but it makes nice sharp images, it’s great in low light conditions and it’s damn cheap too. These can be bought new for under £100 but it’s easy to find a good used one on eBay for about £50.

#4 – Memory Cards

A memory card might seem like a no-brainer but when it comes to HD video, speed is king. Cards are graded in varying storage capacities and read/write speeds (that’s the speed that data can be transferred onto or read from the card). Fortunately, memory costs are at an all time low and you can pick-up a fast card with a high storage capacity for very little money.

#5 – Video Editing Software

So, now you’ve got some dope clips you want to edit them together over the latest Gooch Man track…? What’s the next step, record the footage right of the camera’s screen onto your phone? Don’t even think about it! I fucking hate when people do that! Get some software installed on your computer and do it right. There’s a bunch of expensive programs out there and there’s a bunch of free programs too. Personally, I stick with Adobe Premiere Pro but it’s expensive and if you can’t figure out how to acquire it then I’d definitely recommend Davinci Resolve. It’s free and it’s powerful – it’s actually used by many Hollywood movie studios. Casting couch, anyone?

#6 – Learn Techniques

Getting started is by far the most difficult part. Exposure, aperture, shutter speeds, resolutions, codecs, white balance and on and on and on… There’s a lot to take in and it can be overwhelming at first.

Luckily, we are living in the future and via the power of YouTube you can learn practically anything for free. Sit down and watch videos that cover the basic setup and use of your camera. It might seem boring but we’ve all gotta start somewhere.

#7 – Tripod

It’s got 3 legs and just sits there… Well, yeah, pretty much.

Nobody likes to watch shaky and unstable footage. It makes you feel queasy and looks shitty. Using a tripod will take your production value up a notch – it really is an invaluable tool for shooting video. Be it for panning a shot to follow a rider or planted to capture a static angle, it will make all your shots that much better looking.

Budget options will be fine for static shots but if you want smooth panning it’s worth investing in a fluid tripod head, which has sealed fluid cartridges to ensure smooth movement.

#8 – Camera Bag

After dropping bare cash on all this camera gear, are you just going to throw it into your bag with that block of wax and can of beer? Of course not! With a little care, camera gear can last you a lifetime. Really heavy duty bags can cost hundreds but you can pick up a decent enough little camera backpack from Amazon for around £20. It would be rude not to.

#9 – Extra Batteries

Again, this could easily be overlooked. Imagine you’re midway through a line or you’re filming a rider who’s about to land that trick on his 67th attempt and then… black screen… the battery is dead. Do you really want to have say the dreaded line, “Sorry mate, didn’t get it.” Fuck that, you’ll have to take shit for weeks. Always keep a couple of extra batteries charged up and in your bag.

#10 – Practice

Practice makes perfect – the golden rule of life. Forget what you heard in school, this part actually matters. Just like riding a bike, the more you do it the better you will become. Practice shooting whenever possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s filming a mate or even something non-BMX related. The more you use your camera, the more confident you’ll feel with it. You’ll start to get the hang of exposing a scene and how to compose each shot. Both come with time. Then, when it matters, you’ll be prepared.

Filming a self shot video (shout out to Dan Foley and Tim Knoll) is a great way to learn. Not only do you have to think about camera exposure but you have to be mindful of angles and composing the shot. This is by far one of the best ways to learn basic techniques. Go find a spot and get to it!