The Video Content Creator’s Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide

So, for clarification, what is a video content creator?

A content creator produces entertaining or educational material for the interests and challenges of a target audience. The content they produce can take many forms, including blog posts, videos & photos, but for this guide we will focus on just video-related gifts for a video content creator.

There is a very wide range of product types needed to create videos. Most people will initially start vlogging and then upload the final video content onto a platform such as YouTube once complete. Key areas to consider when thinking of a useful gift for a video content creator include audio, lighting & visuals.

The first area we will cover is editing, specifically the software used to edit the videos together once filmed. For the vlogger just starting out, pre-installed video editing software such as iMovie will be perfectly adequate whilst getting the hang of things! But better software will help you in creating better, more professional-looking videos for your business, social media channels, or vlog.

Adobe Premiere Pro

If it’s time to step up the video editing game, then we highly recommend Premiere Pro, which is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of programs and is purchased as a subscription.

This timeline-based video editing software is used by hobbyists and creatives, as well as film and TV industry professionals. It will allow you to edit videos however you want them, the skies the limit! You can add transitions, titles, improve audio, colour grade your footage, add visual effects and music, export video content in a range of formats, and a whole lot more! Creating video content from clips, graphics and images couldn’t be easier with this professional video production editing software.

The annual subscription price for Premiere pro is £238.42*, however, if that’s a bit too much then the cost can be spread over the year for £19.97* a month or if you don’t want to be tied in then it’s also available on a monthly subscription at £30.34* a month. Whatever works best for you, we highly recommend this upgrade for a video content creator!

When it comes to vlogging, it’s important to have a steady shot to capture everything professionally. This is where the use of a tripod or gimbal comes in handy! If you’re after a shot with more in, a tripod is a great shout or instead if you’re wanting to the camera to constantly follow you around as you vlog to it, a gimbal will help to smooth out any judders your hands or the motion of walking may create! Here’s a few of our recommendations:

Manfrotto 290 Light Tripod

When it comes to tripods, Manfrotto are some of the best available in the game. This Manfrotto 290 Light Tripod was made specifically with vloggers in mind. It features a “befree live fluid video head” meaning that it provides professional fluidity on pan & tilt movements. It’s also compact (folding down to59.5cm closed length) and lightweight (just 1.8kg!) making it especially easy to carry, perfect for vlogging out and about! It can take up to a 4kg payload, which is plenty enough for a vlogger.

Currently, the 290 light tripod is £114* from Manfrotto.

Manfrotto LED Light Lumimuse 3 LED

Following on from the pervious kit mentioned in this guide, we couldn’t help but mention that the compact little Manfrotto Lumimuse 3 LED Light is available on its own from Manfrotto for £45.95*, which is perfect for the video content creator just starting out!

Joby Beamo™ Mini

Following on from the compact Manfrotto option above, we have this similarly compact LED light from Joby. It’s size and waterproof feature (up to 30m underwater!) make it perfect for on-the-go smartphone filming and live streaming on social channels. Making videos and other visual content couldn’t be easier.

The Beamo™ Mini is adjustable up to 1000 lumens at 5100K, but comes with a diffuser to create more natural skin tones. It also features two cold shoe mounts to attach any accessory, such as a microphone. The light is controlled through Bluetooth using the myJOBY app on your smartphone (available for iOS or Google Play).

The battery life is adequate too for a video content creator. It will work for 40 minutes at 100% power (likely too bright for blogging without dazzling yourself!) or 100 minutes when at 50% power (perfect for blogging).

You can get the Joby Beamo™ Mini for £42.95*

Joby Beamo™ Ring Light RangePod™ Smart Kit

Another great piece of kit from Joby is the Beamo™ Ring Light RangePod™ Smart Kit.

This nifty little kit is the go-to ring light for mobile video content creation, coming with the useful RangePod Smart Black travel tripod (with included phone clamp) and the JOBY Beamo Ring Light 12”.

The tripod can take up to 8KG payload and comes with an Arca-Swiss compatible quick release plate. The legs on the tripod feature the M-lock, a fast twist locking mechanism, and comfortable adjustment of the 4 leg sections.

The JOBY Beamo Ring Light 12” is designed to provide flattering coverage and fun catch light in the eye for the video content creator in your life when they are creating quality content. It also pairs seamlessly with JOBY supports, phone mounts, and microphones to create great videos.

With full control of power with 10 brightness levels, the Beamo Ring Light 12” is great for mobile storytelling. There’s also positions on the light to be able to attach a Joby Wavo or Wavo Mobile microphone.

Currently the Joby Beamo™ Ring Light RangePod™ Smart Kit is available for £199.92* from Joby.

Phones have fairly decent visuals on them these days and the audio has greatly improved, however the audio is a fair way behind the visuals so it’s worth investing in a separate audio solution to up your video content creation game and have the audio to equally match your 1080 – 4K footage.

Sennheiser MKE 200 Tripod Kit

This little kit is a bit of a crossover between tripod and audio, but with Sennheiser being well known for their audio-based products we decided to slip it into this section of the gift guide. Тhe MKE 200 mісrорhоnе in this kit іѕ іdеаl fоr vіdеоѕ whеrе уоu nееd tо tаlk tо thе саmеrа whіlе іn а buѕу ѕрасе, ѕuсh аѕ а rеѕtаurаnt.

Тhе mісrорhоnе fеаturеѕ а buіlt-іn wіndѕсrееn аnd а ѕhосk mоunt, tо mіnіmіѕе аnу unwаntеd nоіѕе, еѕресіаllу wіnd аnd hаndlіng nоіѕе. This compact mоbіlе kіt іѕ dеѕіgnеd fоr uѕе wіth bоth DЅLR/Міrrоrlеѕѕ dіgіtаl саmеrаѕ аnd mоbіlе dеvісеѕ. It also fеаturеѕ аn аddіtіоnаl trіроd аnd ѕmаrtрhоnе сlаmр fоr аddеd vеrѕаtіlіtу.

You can purchase the Sennheiser MKE 200 Tripod Kit for £85.00* from Wex Photo Video.

Rode VideoMic Go

Another great, simple piece of equipment with good results is the Rode VideoMic Go. This microphone simply plus into your camera’s external microphone input, requiring no batteries to operate. Іtѕ tіght рісkuр аrеа fосuѕеѕ dіrесtlу іn frоnt оf thе mісrорhоnе аnd rеduсеѕ оthеr ѕurrоundіng ѕоundѕ, еnѕurіng thаt уоur ѕubјесt іѕ іѕоlаtеd frоm dіѕtrасtіng bасkgrоund nоіѕе. Тhе іntеgrаtеd Rусоtе Lуrе ѕhосk mоunt іѕоlаtеѕ уоur mісrорhоnе frоm bumрѕ аnd vіbrаtіоnѕ thаt соuld оthеrwіѕе іntеrfеrе wіth уоur ѕоund.

The Rode VideoMic Go is currently £59.00* at Wex Photo Video.

Rode Wireless GO

Another brilliant piece of technology from Rode is the Wireless GO. This tiny little setup is an ultra-compact digital wireless microphone system which is unique in its clip ‘n’ go versatility and incredibly compact form-factor.

The transmitter features an in-built omnidirectional condenser capsule and can be used as a clip-on mic or with a RØDE lavalier (available separately). It can provide up to 70m range (line-of-sight), but is optimised for shorter-range operation in congested radio-frequency environments. Both the TX and RX have built-in rechargeable batteries, conveniently charged via USB-C which can provide up to 7 hours on a full charge, including a battery-saver mode.

It is available in white or black for £178.25* from Gear4music.

When creating good video content, the first thing needed that comes to most people’s minds is video quality. If you are just starting out, a smartphone is a great starting point and paired with some of the items mentioned already in this gift guide, can still produce high quality footage, but maybe you want to add some different shots to your videos? Or its time to upgrade from your trusty smartphone? well, we have a few suggestions in the visual section of our gift guide.

GoPro HERO8 Black

If you were looking to add another something to your videos, then it’s worth looking into an action camera such as a GoPro. The current model is the GoPro Hero10, but if you want a more budget friendly option when starting out we recommend the Hero8 Black, which will still create lovely 4K footage, but with a smaller price tag!

The Hero8 Black also features Wi-Fi, Digital image stabilisation, Voice control, Timelapse recording and is waterproof up to 10m! A great little action camera for those POV shots when vlogging.

The GoPro Hero8 Black is available from Argos for £279.99*

Sony Vlog ZV-1 Digital Camera

If you’re looking to upgrade from a phone to digital camera to vlog with, then look no further than the Sony Vlog ZV-1. Тhе саmеrа іѕ роwеrеd bу а 1.0-tуре ѕtасkеd Ехmоr RЅ СМОЅ іmаgе ѕеnѕоr wіth іntеgrаl DRАМ, еnаblіng а vаrіеtу оf ѕеrіоuѕ vіdео сараbіlіtіеѕ, іnсludіng 4К аnd Ѕuреr Ѕlоw Моtіоn.

We always recommend external audio, as opposed to in camera but when it comes to the Sony ZV-1, the in camera audio isn’t bad at all. It contains a Directional 3-capsule mic and wind-shield, which really raises the quality of the audio straight from the camera. Other features include a Bokeh Switch for easy background blur control, a vari-angle LCD screen so you can see what you’re filming when the camera is pointed at you plus Sony’s innovative Real-time Eye AF technology, which locks on and tracks people’s eyes so you get great pieces to camera as you vlog.

This is the most expensive recommendations in our gift guide, but also we feel the biggest investment too! It could even be worth gifting money to help towards the cost of this substantial purchase and potential first vlogging digital camera.

The Sony Vlog ZV-1 is available at Wex Photo Video for £699.

RODE Vlogger Kit Universal

Rode’s Vlogger Kit Universal (for mobile phones with a 3.5mm socket) contains everything you need to achieve high-quality vlogs and online videos while filming with your smartphone (IOS & USB C versions are also available alongside this universal one). It contains a microphone, a SmartGrip, a Tripod 2 and a MicroLED. The kit is compatible with phones ranging between 65mm and 85mm in width.

The mic attaches straight to your phone and offers crisp, natural audio recording. The SmartGrip will firmly hold your mobile in place – while the Tripod 2 offers a stable platform when it comes to capturing those perfect shots. The Tripod 2 can be used either handheld or placed on a tabletop. Finally, the MicroLED (with 8 coloured filters) clips onto your phone quickly and easily, providing additional lighting when it’s required.

The Rode Vlogger Kit Universal is available for £139* at Guitar Guitar.

If the vlogger in your life creates their content through the use of a smart phone, then a portable power bank is a must have!

Belkin 10000mAh Portable Power Bank

There are a huge amount of power bank options available on the market and many do a great job, but we recommend this Belkin 10000mAh Portable Power Bank . It comes in a wide variety of colour options, provides 40 extra hours of battery life for your smartphone, has 3 USB outputs and takes 2.45 hours to recharge itself.

We also love that its compatible with a wide variety of smartphones.

The Belkin 10000mAh Portable Power Bank can be purchased from Argos for £19.99*

We hope that the gift guide above comes in useful to helping you pick what to buy the budding video content creator in your life! If you need some videos produced but aren’t sure where to begin then it’s worth considering a video production company. Most companies (no matter how large or small) and many individuals, don’t have the specialist skills and resources to create professional, compelling and creative videos in the way that a video production company could.

When it comes to deciding what your storyline should be, what type of video format is best for your business, brand, and products, and how your target audience is likely to engage with it, a video production agency will help steer you in the right direction.

The best video production companies will also be able to incorporate your brand messaging and visuals so that your content is cohesive across all social media channels and social media platforms. It’s always better in business to rely on the right people to do the right job.

AVC Immedia has many clients that trust our video production specialists to produce high-quality live-action footage that can be used to simplify complex topics through easily digestible and entertaining videos.

If you are looking for a professional video company to handle your next project, the AVC Immedia team is only a call away – 01224 392828.

*Prices correct at time of writing 08/12/21.