Note: these are separated by connector type, not the signal. For example, a YPbPr signal can be carried by (among other things) three RCA connectors or three BNC connectors. We’ll get into that in a different article.

RCA Connector

Anyone who has hooked up a VCR in the past 25 years knows what this looks like. One pin (usually color-coded as to its intended use) with a metal ring around it, it’s definitely a staple for consumer electronics connections.

The RCA Connector was originally manufactured by the RCA corporation for phonograph connections and is sometimes reffered to as a “phono plug”. It can be used to carry a lot of different signals including a power signal, but is most commonly found on consumer electronics in the form of a composite and component connection.

Basically, you know these babies – they are everywhere.

BNC

Short for Bayonet Neill-Concelman, the BNC connector is one of my favorite connector types. Why? BNC connectors area able to lock themselves to their female components. The locking mechanism is similar to that of a case for a stack of  writable CDs or DVDs – you fit it on and twist to lock. Just fit and twist.

Obviously, this means that if you’ve got something connected with BNC and it’s locked, and someone trips over a cord, tears will follow. However, in situations where you don’t want an RCA cord just falling out, then BNC is pretty cool.

BNC is used to carry a variety of signals, and is common on professional video equipment. Not just cameras, but other heavy duty studio equipment like genlock generators. You probably won’t run into it on many prosumer camcorders, but once in a while you may come across a BNC jack on something you’re working with. I always like to carry a BNC cord on larger shoots, and I always have a RCA to BNC adapter in my bag just in case.

It’s worth to note that there is some variations on the BNC like the twinax and triaxial connectors, but the chances of you running into one are slim to none on a DiY project.

XLR

Contrary to what it might seem like, XLR is not exclusively an audio connector. It is actually an electrical connector, and it has a lot of variants besides the classic three pin XLR3 commonly used for audio connections, and a lot of other uses other than carrying electricity. As you probably guessed, you are going to run into the three pin XLR most often, so just keep in mind that if someone is referring to a socket that looks like an XLR and has 6 pins and you say “that’s not XLR, n00b!!”, he gets to punch you in the nuts. NO EXCEPTIONS.

XLR is the standard for quality audio connections, and your camcorder may have XLR inputs right on it. If so, great! If not, and you have a 1/8″ jack for audio input, consider investing in something like the Beachtek Dual XLR Audio Adapter which screws right onto the bottom of any camcorder like a tripod plate, and allows for 2 balanced XLR connections. You can also screw a tripod plate into the bottom of the audio adapter, making a kind of camera sandwich that hey, everyone can get along with.

But wait, remember I said that XLR is an electrical connector? You may have seen them on theatrical dimming switches and other power applications like a lot of podium lights. Well, XLR is so talented it can carry both the audio from the microphone AND the power the mic needs (if it needs any). This is called phantom power, and if you have a camera with XLR inputs, open up your manual and check and see if it’s a feature. If it is, then take the batteries out of your mic and plug it in – if phantom power is on, it should still be working.

Pretty cool, huh? The name – phantom power – is also cool. Much better than the original name, “flaccid power”.

TRS Connectors

I bet you have a TRS connector in your bedroom or house, and you don’t even know it. That’s because TRS connectors are really common, but are rarely referred to as TRS connectors except by nerds (like DiY filmmakers). If you have headphones they probably have a 1/8″ TRS connector, commonly known as mini-jack. If you play guitar, it’s probably connected to your amp by a 1/4″ TRS connector. They are all around us – watching (maybe).

TRS stands for Tip, Ring, Sleeve, and the lines are the insulation between elements. The tip is the … tip. The sleeve is the sleeve usually at the bottom. TRS. Pretty easy, eh? One thing to note is that there can be 2 rings (a TRRS) for some applications.

If you have ever touched a live guitar cord connected to a mic, you know that the different parts of the connector (the tip, the ring, and the sleeves), do different things, because if you touch the tip, you get noise out of the amp, and you don’t with the rest of the plug. Basically, the different parts of the plug carry different parts of the signal based on which signal it’s carrying. For instance, if we are using it to carry a stereo signal, the tip is the right channel, the ring is the left channel, and the sleeve is the ground (the sleeve is almost always the ground).

Wikipedia has a handy chart that you can reference, and a whole lot of information that we can’t cover here. Like we mentioned though, there are everywhere, so it is a good idea to be familiar with them and their capabilities.

Handy side note: Since TRS connectors can carry a balanced signal, they can be interchanged with XLR (no phantom power, however). You might, as a result, see some XLR jacks with a hole in the middle for a 1/4″ TRS connector. Choices!

Speakon

I mention these because you might run into them in a setting where there are PA speakers set up. These cable connectors are usually used almost exclusively to connect to high end professional speakers from sound systems. You probably won’t need to use them, but it’s good to know what they are.

So, these are the guys I am willing to bet you are going to run into 99% of the time while doing some DiY filmmaking. The thing is, there are some really weird connectors out there. Check out some old video equipment, you’ll see some things that will haunt your dreams. If you run into something you just can’t figure out, try these sources:

Wikipedia’s video connector list

Wikipedia’s list of audio and video connectors

Those are the basics, so remember – if you don’t know what it is, look it up! No just trying to wedge in whatever cord you have in your hand into a socket just to seem cool. Say no to cable peer pressure, and happy hookups!

1. An extra tripod plate.

Where did I go? Hell if I know.

These things get lost, and how. They are the guitar picks of the DiY filmmaking world, and it helps to have a bunch around so you aren’t stuck doing a hand held shot for something that really should be locked off on your tripod. Luckily, these guys are less expensive than the whole head, so while they aren’t exactly something you should toss out the window on the highway in large quantities, the loss of one shouldn’t ground production to a halt. Your tripod may have actually come with two of them. If so, hooray for you. If not, then it’s a good idea to buy a backup.

2. Power adapter (NEMA 1 to NEMA 5)

These guys are a little life savers! They are tiny, but they come in big when you find yourself in a location with only two pronged (NEMA 1) outlets. Bring a few – they can fit if your camera bag is bigger than a ring box (note: it should be).

Note: for the hardcore among you, try this crazy looking thing (international power adapter). It is pretty compact and if you find yourself traveling the world I’m sure you can pony up $5.10.

3. Lens cleaning cloth

There is nothing worse than getting something on your lens and then having to wipe it away with your shirt or sandpaper because you don’t have the proper type of cloth that doesn’t damage a lens. Everyone will see your footage through that lens so be kind to it and pack a few of these.

There are a variety of cool ways to keep a cloth around too. You could do the basic classic style cloth, the cloth in a keychain pouch, a really handy little non-keychain but still cool retractable pouch thing, and of course a lens cleaning pen. Why not.

4. An extra tape

Yes, I know, this is blindly obvious, but it is forgotten more frequently than we would collectively like to admit. Pack one more extra then you could possibly need, and you’re good to go.

5. Regular Sharpie/Thin Sharpie/Extra tape labels

These are the holy trinity of keeping things labeled in the field. Yes, the tapes come with their own labels but a reserve supply is a good idea. Don’t bother with ball point pens for marking on them, they’ll only smear. Thin sharpie (the pen kind, not just the thin type of marker) for the labeling, and the regular sharpie for marking bigger things and writing on gaffer’s tape.

6. Extra lightbulb for light

Another oft-looked over no-brainer. If your light goes out, make sure you aren’t in the dark. You can find the type of bulb to get from your light’s manual or website.

7. 1/8″ cable extender

This one may not be so obvious, but sometimes the situation pops up where you are getting distracted by a shorter than necessary headphone cord and you need some length. Same with if someone else needs to hear the headphone audio to work a boom for a shot or two. Very handy.

8. RCA butt connector

Or RCA female coupler, I guess. Why not “butt” though? I can’t tell you why you may need this, because the situations are very diverse and strange, but at some point, having a RiteAV – RCA Coupler makes life a lot easier.

9. Microphone stand thread adapter

Sure, your mic goes on your boom pole just fine, but somewhere along the line it may have to play nice with another mic stand, or you may need to fit another mount on your pole. One of these little guys can save you from awkwardly taping some things together.

10. Roll of gaffers tape

Gaffers tape is the most popular guy at the party (the party being your shoot). Keep a nice big roll in your bag and its like coming to the party with a 24 case of non-Keystone light beer.

* For more on the importance of gaffers tape, check this out.

11. Firewire 400 to 800 adapter

4-circuit firewire can be found on most pro-sumer camcorders out there. The firewire cord you have laying around is most likely firewire 4-circuit to 6-circuit (400).  Oddly enough, I keep running into newer computers (especially Apple laptops) with no firewire 400, just the 9-circuit firewire 800. A show stopper in most cases, but not with this bad boy. Pull this one out of the bag in a pinch, and you are the village hero.

With these 11 items, you’ll have the tools to face a wide range of production problems that come up – just reach into the bag and make the magic happen.

The short answer is yes. The long answer is absolutely.

A tripod’s importance to your shoot, especially as a do-it-yourself filmmaker, fits right behind making sure the lens-cap is off. A do it yourself filmmaker can achieve so much more with a tripod than without one. In some cases, a tripod will end up not only being your most important piece of equipment, but your most important crew member as well. But whether you are looking for an inexpensive tripodto simply hold your camera still for your weekly YouTube Vlog, or you need a tripod that offers fluid camera movementandspiked feetfor superior stability, the most important aspect you need to consider is reliability.

Everyone has that $6 tripodthat came free with a subscription to MovieMaker magazine or with three proofs-of-purchase of Frosted Flakes, but can those things really be trusted? Because if you’re on this site it means you are at least marginally serious about whatever upcoming projects you may have, and it also means your camera is at least that important to you. And with a decent video camera running anywhere from $300to $3,000to $10,000,the odds that you will actually be able to rely on a $6 tripod, or even a $12 tripod,are pretty slim.

Many do-it-yourself filmmakers have gone through great pains to avoid buying a tripod. But whether the stack of books fell over with their camera on top of it or they got sick of finding a countertop close enough to pick up their audio, they have always given in to their need for a tripod.

A good tripod that provides enough stability for a quality shot, provides a secure enough platform to support your equipment, and allows you to make the necessary adjustments to obtain that right camera position, should retail for at least $45. For superior camera movement and stability, while still maintaining security and shot quality, you will have to spend around $250. Tripods that offer professional functionality and support can cost thousands of dollarsdepending on the features.

At the end of the day, if you want any sort of congruency between takes, and any piece of mind that your camera is actually taken care of, then you will get yourself a dependable tripod before you start shooting.