You don’t need a ton of fancy gear right off the bat, but choosing certain tools and accessories will make everything much easier for you. In this blog, I’m gonna talk about my six film and editing equipment list with you all.

As a professional video coach with years of experience, I’m gonna share a super-secret pro tip with you right now. Are you ready?

Filming and editing videos is way easier when you use the right tools. 

You’re probably thinking, “Well, duh!” because that little nugget of wisdom can apply to anyone in any industry or profession! But it’s true. And it’s easy to forget when you’re just starting to film videos for your biz.

A good memory card

Aside from my cup of coffee and my video script that I always keep nearby, one of the first things I rely on when filming my videos is a good memory card. My go-to is the SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB, but really you want any memory card that holds a ton of clips. 

You don’t want to run out of memory when you’re in the middle of filming, which is why I have several memory cards on hand. (In fact, I just bought a new one recently!) Getting a good memory card with a lot of space is crucial.

A Bluetooth camera remote

A Bluetooth camera remote lets you start and stop recordings…well, remotely. You don’t have to get up, go up to your camera, press the record button, check that everything’s in focus, sit back down, etc. One click of a button on your remote and your camera starts rolling.

This is a really handy accessory to keep in your toolkit, especially if you’re running things solo. No more wasting time walking in between your camera and your filming location. It also works for taking photos of yourself, not just for videos.

A spare charged battery

What happens when you’re really in the zone while filming and your camera battery dies? If you don’t have a backup battery that’s already charged, you’ll have to wait to charge your one battery before you can start rolling again. That can disrupt your filming schedule, not to mention throw off your game.

That’s why I always have a full spare battery on charge, just in case. If my current battery dies, I can insert the backup and keep filming, with no lag and minimal disruptions.

A phone tripod mount

My fourth and final filming accessory that I use constantly is a phone tripod mount. I use this accessory when I’m going live or doing Instagram Reels. Basically, situations where I’m going to be filming with my phone for quite a while and I want it to be stationary and secure. A good one can attach to many different tripods with ease, so it’s really versatile.

A memory card reader and external hard drive

That’s it for filming accessories! Now, let’s talk about editing tools. There are two things that I absolutely can’t live without.

The first is a memory card reader, which lets me import the footage from my camera to my laptop. I’m a Mac user, so I use a Thunderbolt dongle to make sure it actually plugs into my computer. Once I’m done filming, I’ll take my memory card from my camera, plug it into the Thunderbolt, plug that into my laptop, and I’m ready to edit.

My second editing must-have is my external hard drive. I’ll plug it into my computer and, when I’m ready to edit, I’ll import footage to that hard drive. Once I’ve finished the video, I’ll export it onto the external hard drive. 

Really, the hard drive does all the work, from importing to exporting to uploading to YouTube. My computer is like the middleman used for editing. It helps me make sure I’m not overwhelming my computer. 

While you don’t need a big budget or expensive tech to start filming your videos, investing in key accessories and items is definitely worth it. This film editing equipment list can save you some time (and stress) when filming and editing your own videos!