It used to be that techniques such as slow motion in crisp HD, smooth dolly shots and steadicam shots were restricted to productions with big budgets.

But thanks to a raft of cool new tools filmmakers are finding it more cost effective than ever to use high end, beautiful looking shots in their productions.

Here are our top 5 filmmaking tools that you should be asking your video production production company to use on low budget productions:

1.The Movi M5

This piece of equipment from the guys at freefly can help you create stunning steadicam-esque shots at a fraction of the price of a steadicam operator. They are great fun to use, relatively quick to set up and will add a touch of class to your productions.

From a recent shoot in Reading, our intrepid camera person Ben Aldridge caught some great footage using a Movi M5 camera stablizer.

GoPro footage of a Freefly Movi M5 camera stabilizer and resulting footage from Bold Content on Vimeo.

2. Slow motion cameras

Slow motion cameras such as the Sony FS700. This is a wonderful little camera that can shoot great looking HD footage at 200fps.

3.RAW video

The canon 5D MkIII can be hacked using a piece of software called Magic Lantern. This will allow filmmakers to shoot images in RAW which means that they can push and pull the exposure, white balance and ISO in post production.

4.UAVs (or Drones)

UAVs or Drones are becoming more and more popular everyday and a quick aerial shot can add a wealth of production value to any shoot. Take a look at the shots in In “Every Runner Has A Story” to see how they can really augment the visuals of a documentary without pulling the audience out of the narrative.

Every Runner Has A Reason from Heist on Vimeo.

5.The Movi Tero RC car

The Movi Tero RC car can do 50 mph and can carry heavy cameras such as the RED Dragon or the Sony F55. We think it’s awesome, check out this test footage using a Phantom Micro.

STREETS – NEW YORK CITY from Tim Sessler on Vimeo.

Want to see how these tools could make your next video more compelling?

We would love to help. Use this contact form or call us at 0203 637 1467 to learn more.