Cooking and food creator — Starter (one overhead position, one light)

Bring your own

• your phone (USB-C for the mic receiver)
• a worktop or table with an edge the bracket can clamp to
• a power point within reach of the light
• a 3-pin universal socket or travel plug adapter for the light's power adapter

Why this kit

A food video is decided by two things: whether the top-down shot is actually square, and whether the audio survives a running kitchen. The desk bracket clamps to the counter instead of standing on the floor, which is the only version of an overhead rig that works in an Indian kitchen where there is no room for tripod legs, and its phone clamp and ball head come in the box. The RC 30B is specified over a bigger head because the source is bounced into the 32 in reflector rather than pointed at the dish: a small COB into a big white surface reads softer than a big COB bare, and it keeps the counter free of heat. The MoveLink Mini goes on your collar so the narration stays intelligible over the chimney; its USB-C adapter plugs into the phone, and the 3.5 mm adapters take it to a camera later. At this tier the phone is yours and the one camera position is overhead, which is the shot people actually stop for. When the phone is needed overhead and you want a second angle, the Osmo Pocket 3 add-on is the step before a camera body: a 179 g camera with a 1-inch sensor on a 3-axis gimbal.