I've watched quite a few of Tony Northrup's videos on YouTube (mainly the drone related ones). Here's his main channel. (<--
I found it helpful to get some visual examples, but of course, I'm partial to learning via video. I've heard awesome things about his books though, as evidenced above...
Shotgun mic: I second the Rode VideoMic recommendation above. That's what I've been using for years, mainly because I'm a cheapskate. I'd recommend the newest model because of the auto-on/auto-off feature. It saves batteries so much. My video test and review is below.
External mic: The zoom...
Never thought of this until I went shooting with some friends... laying out a tarp for all your gear whilst shooting. Keeps things clean, you can see all your gear, and easy cleanup.
Usually I work out of the back of my truck or precariously lay stuff on a rickety card table.
Highly...