I watch YouTube. It is one of my favorite places to spend time, and it is a wealth of all categories of information. As someone who spends his time designing, writing, and filming content, most of the YouTubers that I follow also spend their time as professional creatives. In the sphere of video and content creation, the ones that I admire the most are Josh Woh with MAKE.ART.NOW., Gerald with Gerald Undone, Lizzy Pierce & Chris Hau (both Individually and as a couple) & Mango Street. But when it comes to a video YouTuber that has shown a capacity to consistently dominate on all fronts, look no further than Peter McKinnon.
When it comes to content creators, this guy is a stud. He has the look, the gear, the clients, the knowledge, beautiful photographs and is essentially everything that most photographers and videographers out there wished they could be over the course of their career. Like other YouTubers I watch, I generally like Peter McKinnon’s content: He is amongst the few creators out there who are capable of creating entertaining, informative, and educational content—it’s actually quite impressive. Sometimes McKinnon reviews products, other times he shows people photography tricks, other times he video blogs his excursions to exotic locations, and does it all with a high energy, explosive tone that is fun, in your face, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. He also has an incredible line of merchandise: Whether we want to consider his top-of-the-line neutral density filters from Polar Pro, camera bag collaborations, trucker hats, and straight-up random shit like fresh Canadian Coffee, McKinnon is an absolute monster when it comes to leveraging YouTube as a platform to launch auxiliary businesses. While I generally believe that all of the other YouTubers listed have what it takes to be the next Peter McKinnon, it is clear that he is a master of his medium, and I have lots of respect for that.
Above anything that this article may suggest, you should follow Peter McKinnon—along with all of the other YouTubers that I have mentioned. But a co-sign from me doesn’t change the fact that almost all of these individuals—including Peter McKinnon himself—are guilty of promoting a flawed message: that the type of gear you use to do video work doesn’t matter.
Let’s be honest for a moment: Anybody who has done this for long enough knows that’s bullshit.
The aforementioned statement is not meant to be taken as an indictment of Peter McKinnon, or any other YouTuber’s professional experience for that matter. But rather, it is meant to say that people who do not have very much videography experience are at risk of taking this particular message in a very wrong way.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the crux of what is being said: That gear does not replace the foundations of proper lighting, composition, and image framing—or in other words, that it is not the same as technique. Additionally, I understand why this message is such a prominent theme amongst YouTube’s video production community: Because while the platform’s video community tends to be filled with many seeking to learn, some of these individuals are inevitably gear sluts with too much disposable income. Arguably, some of the YouTubers who promote this message are gear sluts themselves—including (you guessed it!) Peter McKinnon. My criticism is that while this message is positive, inclusive, and even introspective in some regards, it is disingenuous.
While I am sure that statements such as “GeAr DoEsN’t MaTtEr” feel about as good to say as they do to hear, they ignore the foundational reality of professional video making: no matter how you cut it, getting into this shit is expensive—no matter what your version of expensive is. My first two digital cameras were Canon Rebel XTs. One of them was from school, and another was from my girlfriend at the time. When we were together, we didn’t have very much money, and over the course of our relationship spent what we felt like was a lot ($300) on a Canon SL1 to shoot video. After that, her family gifted us a Rokinon Fisheye Lens, and my family gifted us a Canon 50mm lens. We invested in basic but effective camera lights from Neewer. We took a Lavalier Mic from Audio Technica that an old friend offered up to us for free, and had no use for. I received my father’s old pelican briefcase and outfitted it with all of our gear to keep it safe.
That was our first kit. Even today, while I can look back on all of this gear as comparatively cheap—it still took everything I had, and then some. While I didn’t wipe myself out getting the Sony camera body and E-mount lenses that I shoot with today, it doesn’t change the fact that paying used car money on a camera makes my daily driver avowedly expensive.
I’m not trying to conflate expensive gear with talent, nor am I suggesting that people go out and buy the most expensive camera on their wish list. But gear does correspond to baseline quality. If you want to shoot in 4k, and your camera only shoots in 1080p, there is very little you can do to change that except for buying a 4k camera. If you want to shoot in dark locations, and don’t have lighting, there is very little to change that too—short of investing in lights. You may want to shoot a bullet-time sequence, but a camera that shoots in 60fps will pale in comparison to the more than 1000fps needed to capture an object moving at that kind of speed. All of this is said to say that each qualitative element added to a piece of work will invariably increase the baseline cost of its corresponding workflow. There are ways to compensate, as well as ways to “cheat” and save costs, but at some point or another, the need for equipment will arise.
This matters less for dedicated streamers and the businesses wishing to emulate their success, or simply insource their videography. It matters more, however, for self-proclaimed videographers and filmmakers, and it especially applies to those taking clients. Nobody wants to hire a videographer that is going to use their camera phone to capture video. Additionally, regardless of what bells and whistles the latest iPhone may have, nobody calls someone who makes video on their phones a “filmmaker.” What gives creative professionals the capacity to embrace certain titles, and take on clients, is more than skills, but also the professionals and tools that they have at their disposal.
You may believe that by me mentioning the importance of gear, I am taking the idea of creative professionalism to a trivial space—but hear me out for a second. If you want to be a professional, or call your work professional-grade, you also need to be hitting certain qualitative baselines as well as turnaround times. For instance, if a client wants to call upon your services for a talking head video, doing the job properly will not just require a camera, but also a microphone and mobile mixer so that you are getting clean audio. Because you are using an external microphone, you will probably want to mix your audio in post, which will call for an audio interface, neutral eq headphones, and studio monitors. While you can mix your audio without these things, for want of them you will simply spend more time in feedback cycles trying to refine your project so that it is ready for final delivery. Ultimately, this equates to your proposed project being unnecessarily expensive—or you losing money because you are going over budget in post-editing, which is the more likely scenario. Quite simply, quality gear is what affects the amount of time you spend fixing things in post. An even simpler example is super-slow motion. Say you want to shoot a super slow 120fps sequence, but your camera only shoots at half the speed at 60fps. While you can use software rendering in post to compensate for your lack of frames, the best software that can be used to achieve this effect will saddle your hardware and add more time onto your final render, and it still won’t look as good—or natural—as 120fps shot in-camera.
My point isn’t that cheaper solutions don’t exist. It is that cheaper solutions do exist—and there are reasons why professionals may not subscribe to them. Now, this doesn’t mean that if you are starting out as a pro, or simply want to save money, that there are not ways this can be done. Additionally, I am not saying that you need to go out and buy the most expensive equipment that money can buy.
But when assessing your costs, you should know why something is expensive before rationalizing that it is worth it. If you do not know the difference between a 50mm lens that is $125 versus one that is $350, versus one that is $500, versus one that is $1,000 you should find out so that you know why you are spending the extra money. If you do not know the difference between a $100 lavalier mic versus a $500 one, you should find out, because it is quite possible that you only need the $100 mic. Hell, I could get a Sony 35mm g-master for around 1400 bucks. It’s a nice lens. It’s a part of Sony’s elite G-series line, but its f1.4 aperture has been reported as unwieldy to use and unnecessary in most conditions—for most shooters. As a result, I saved 700 bucks, got the Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 instead, and I love it to death. My point is that in understanding these differences, you can identify the places where deeper investments for your video operation may be needed, and places where you can cut corners. Sometimes, this can even come down to the camera itself. If all you are looking for is 4k footage, and 120fps capabilities, you can get a camera like that for around—or less than—$1000 dollars. No, you do not need a $24,000 RED cinema camera in order to do this, or even a $3,500 Sony A7RIV.
While having quality gear is important, it has an upper limit that is application-dependent. If you are just doing one-person streams, you don’t need a three-camera setup. If you are doing talking head videos for your corporation, you don’t need a field recorder. If you are doing music videos, you don’t need a shotgun mic. The only people who should be thinking about broad investments in video gear are filmmakers, videographers, and communications production design consultants—and because they will be measured on the basis of their quality, just as much as their production capabilities. The message is not that you can’t save money. Rather, it is that in making an investment in video gear, it is imperative to consider what you are doing first, as spending your money accordingly is what saves you money—but no matter how you cut it gear will be required, and money will be spent. I might even add that for many, the money spent may even be painful at first.
No, gear is not a replacement for technique, but gear does matter—additionally, there are even times when gear and technique meet at a point of convergence. Most people can’t learn proper mixing techniques if they never own an audio interface. Most people can’t learn how to use a gimbal, or a Steadicam, if they never own one. Part of learning how to use gear to a professional end is being exposed to it in the first place—and for a prolonged period of time, even. Nobody just wakes up with the knees, or upper body strength to properly wield a gimbal—they train with it, they get in-field practice, and they get better with time. Nobody wakes up with the ears trained to mix audio—but they practice it at it, and get better with time. While over-observation of gear’s importance can lead to limitations in fundamental and natural ability, under-observation of it can lead to deficiencies in technical ability and procedural understanding.
Ultimately, it is not that I think YouTubers are entirely wrong, so much as it is that I think they are half-right. I agree that equipment will never be a replacement for talent—but not having equipment can also encumber, or simply limit, the growth of talent in kind. Though navigating the sea of gear for video creation is tough, it begins not with a disposition for saving money—but rather, an understanding of equipment pricing relative to subjective production needs. I think that 2021 and beyond present a compelling time for video: Now, more than ever, quality video production tools can scale to most kinds of creative budgets. I think the greater point is that the budget cannot be zero, and the production tools should probably be more than just your iPhone—no matter how good the quality on an iPhone may be these days. Nobody is saying that promoting otherwise is not inclusive or is not overall, a good message. But none the less, it is a misleading characterization of what is required of video work, for those looking to work professionally in video, or create quality videos for themselves.
Do I think this is intentional? In some ways, maybe a little: promoting an egalitarian message around something with significant barriers to entry, like video, permits for more viewer interest. But I do not think the intention is nefarious. I do not think that Peter McKinnon is sitting somewhere up in Canada twiddling his thumbs on how to bring professional ruin to the next generation of content creators, photographers, and videographers. Actually, I think it is quite the opposite. I would say that based on the consistency, candor, and quality of not just Peter McKinnon’s—but all of the mentioned YouTubers’—content suggests that they all care very much about being influential in helping the next generation of creative professionals. I just think that sometimes in an effort to appeal to people, the individuals we tune into for advice can provide insights that—while valid—are incomplete or oversimplified.
The conversation of gear is one of those things. It is not so simple as gear not mattering, nor is it so complex as needing to own everything. But it is certainly a complex conversation that I have internally with myself—especially after identifying places where investments could be made in my own operation. Recently, DJI released a new 4k drone. Being someone that does video work outdoors, and at times in fields, a drone would make for a nice addition to my content creation arsenal. While the $1,000 I could throw at it would certainly go to great use, I’m sure I could spend a thousand dollars on something else that would take my business farther… In the end, who knows? If I’m being completely honest, I probably don’t need it.
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