If there is one thing I know for certain about this industry it’s that having the coolest, latest gear will only get you so far. Your creativity, and desire to network and be noticed is far more valuable. Case in point, author/new media extraordinaire Gary Vaynerchuk.

You’ve probably come across his face in the last year. He’s been everywhere. Conan, CNN, Good Morning America, you name it. And he did this by sitting in front of a Sony FX1000, Lowel lights and an on camera mic spewing knowledge about wine – as passionately as a sports commentator. Before you cringe at his bargain basement setup (gear snob), consider this, Gary became filthy, filthy rich using this equipment, and his audience of literally millions, can totally give a crap about what he shoots on.

With Gary V, the message is the most important point of a production, and a lot of times we lose sight of that concentrating on gear. I first came across Gary Vaynerchuk one day on his website Wine Library TV.  During Gary’s 20 minute or so Wine Tasting web show, he passionately spits out wine knowledge with a thunder.  The show is actually called, The Thunder Show, so that last sentence was for the pun enthusiast.

Gary and his trusty cameraman Mott, continue to shoot the Thunder Show, and they’ve had a myriad of famous guests come on to sip and spit wine with him into his New York Jets spittoon. One zillion website hits later, he now runs his own media relations firm named Vayner Media. His book, Crush It, about how to turn your passion viral, is a New York Times Bestseller. He’s constantly a social media consultant on television, and is paid thousands to speak publicly about his successful formula. A formula which consists of always interacting with your audience. He responds personally to emails, facebook and twitter questions, and post constantly. Trust me, I follow him on Facebook, and I know when he goes to the bathroom.

Gary created an empire with a prosumer camera and iMovie. How? Because he loves what he does. So, the next time you lower your head when you think about your bunk gear, remember to thank your lucky stars that we live in a country where passion and youtube can bust you out.

Regrettably, we were not able to get an interview with Gary and Mott to discuss their setup and future plans. Gary has been so overexposed and overworked that he’s decided to take some time off from the game to write his next book. In the meantime, definitely take the time to look at Wine Library TV, Corkd, Vayner Media and more for some inspiration.

See Gary’s whole production setup here.

Thumbnail photo courtesy Vayner Media