One-Person Crew: Settings & Checklists You Can’t Forget
- Webmaster
- Aug 25
- 4 min read
Pre-production setup checklist (one person crew)
Before you touch a camera, decide the promise of the video and where it will live (16:9 YouTube, 9:16 Shorts/Reels). Write a one-page brief with must-have shots, location constraints, and a simple timeline. Pack two of anything that can fail, batteries, cards, cables, and charge everything the night before. Empty cards in-camera, label batteries, and stage your bag so the first thing you need is on top. A printed shot order taped inside the case keeps you moving when time is tight.
Camera settings you can trust
Lock exposure and color so every angle matches later. Use a 180° shutter rule—1/50 s at 24 fps, 1/60 s at 30 fps, 1/120 s at 60 fps. Fix white balance (5600 K for daylight, 3200 K for tungsten) and resist Auto WB so skin tones don’t drift. Stay at base or dual-base ISO to control noise; use a variable ND outside to hold shutter and ISO steady. If you grade, shoot a mild LOG with a LUT preview; if you don’t, pick a neutral Rec.709 profile. For focus, enable face/eye AF with a single point; if it hunts, switch to manual with peaking and punch-in to confirm.
One person crew audio that doesn’t clip
Primary mic: lavalier on talent to wireless RX at camera.
Safety mic: shotgun on boom or on-camera (close as practical).
Set peaks around –12 dB, average –18 dB.
If your camera allows, record a safety track –10 dB on a second channel.
Engage low-cut (75–100 Hz) for speech; disable AGC/Auto level.
Always monitor with closed-back headphones; do a 10-second test record and playback.
Lighting, composition & continuity
Use one soft key 45° off-axis for shape, then decide: bounce for fill or a black flag for contrast. Add a practical lamp behind the subject for depth and match its color so you don’t fight mixed temperatures. Compose with eyes on the upper third, nose to open space, and an uncluttered background. Take a quick phone still of the setup; if you shift furniture or lenses, that reference saves you from continuity gaps later.
Power, media & backup routine
Think in loops: charge, shoot, copy, verify. Rotate batteries A→B→C so you always know what’s fresh. Format cards in-camera at call time, not mid-day. Between scenes, offload to a fast SSD and immediately mirror to a second drive; keep drives in different places (bag vs pocket). Use a simple, durable folder pattern: PROJECT/DATE/CameraA/Scene/ plus Audio/Recorder/. Don’t rename files on set—let metadata and folders do the organizing.
On-set flow & timeboxing
Work in short, predictable blocks. Ten minutes to light, five to frame and test audio, then focused A-roll, then b-roll. After each block, run a 30-second sanity loop: battery %, card time, focus mode, white balance, audio meters, and a 3-second record-and-playback just to hear that the mic is alive. Put the lens cap and Allen key in the same pocket every time so they stop stealing minutes from you.
One person crew post-production flow
Ingest & verify (checksum if possible).
Sync by timecode/waveform; apply monitoring LUT → editing LUT.
String-out interview selects first; mark best statements.
Lay B-roll to cover every cut; vary shot size every 5–7 seconds.
Color: exposure → balance → contrast → saturation → creative LUT (light).
Mix: voice at –18 to –14 LUFS integrated; music –28 to –26 LUFS under dialog.
Export presets:
- YouTube 4K: H.264/H.265, 60–80 Mbps, 48 kHz audio.
- Reels/Shorts 1080×1920: 15–25 Mbps, hard subs if needed.
Post-production templates & handoff
Start every project (one person crew) from the same skeleton: 01_RAW, 02_SELECTS, 03_AUDIO, 04_PROJECTS, 05_EXPORTS. Ingest, sync (waveform/timecode), and save a base grade: Color Space Transform or a corrective LUT plus gentle contrast and saturation. Normalize dialogue around −16 LUFS integrated with a limiter ceiling at −1 dBTP. Export a proxy for review and a full-fat master for archive. Keep a text file in the project root noting oddities (flicker, HVAC, traffic) so you don’t forget in the edit.
Ten-minute final walk-through
Before you leave the location, record ten seconds of your final framing with a hand slate showing date and scene; that clip becomes a reference if anything drifts. Play back one recent take with headphones to confirm audio made it to media. Count gear against your packing list, sweep the room for stray clamps and tape, and confirm both backups verify. A two-sentence debrief texted to yourself (“AC loud, used 5600 K, lav on inside collar”) will bail you out when the edit starts.
Fort Worth Creators: Our Local Tip
If you’re in Fort Worth or the DFW area, consider renting gear first or booking a studio session. At SwoleNerdProductions.com, we offer both. We’ve helped dozens of new podcasters launch right here in Texas and we’d love to help you, too.
Want a Ready-to-Go Kit?
DM us and we’ll build you a custom Amazon shopping list for your setup, based on your space, budget, and goals.
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