There's an old video production saying that goes "there's no kill like overkill."

Okay, it's really not that old. And it's not really a saying, either. The point is that, when it comes to gear and gadgets, video production people (generally speaking) are never afraid to mount more bits and pieces onto a camera rig.

If there's an accessory out there that can be bolted/screwed/duct-taped on or near a video camera, we're all for it.

Usually all in name of "keeping things simple."

Today, our tech Trevor Bennett was rigging up a shoulder mount for a Panasonic GH4 camera. The GH4 is a great little camera: small, lightweight, 4K Ultra HD image...perfect for "run and gun" shooting. But holding the camera just in your hands for any length of time becomes a chore. So, enter the shoulder mount to take the weight of the camera off your forearms.

And if you have the shoulder mount, you might as well add a pistol grip, too. Say! Now you can add a matte box. And some side flags and an eyebrow shade to keep light from shining into the lens. And since we have the light shades, we might as well add a light to the rig. Are we making silent movies? No! So let's mount a shotgun microphone up there, too.

Perfect. We now have a tricked-out 4K Ultra HD camera rig that completely dwarfs the actual camera. So much for keeping it simple.

Shoulder mount? Check. Pistol grip? Check. Matte Box? Check. Eyebrow shade? Check. Shotgun microphone? Check. Powerful LED light? Check. Ultra HD 4K Panasonic GH4 camera? Yeah, we think it's in there somewhere.

Whats more, Trevor discovered this shoulder mount has a built-in "hands-free" mode. Perfect for making celebratory "tah dah!" gestures during a long shoot.

This is how we spend our days, folks.