A lot of people ask me about my office studio and what technologies I use.
Frankly, it’s all pretty simple, and you can buy just about everything from Amazon or B&H Video.
Below is a list of my gear, why and how I use it.
And FYI, as an Amazon Associate I earn from any qualifying purchases.
Cameras. For great video results I use two LUMIX DSLR cameras which have HDMI outputs, auto focus, and video settings. To avoid running out of power, I replace the camera batteries with power plugs.
Green screen. At one time, I thought that the green screen would be an occasional thing, but I use it 100% of the time since my office has no space for a real setting with book cases, furniture, plants, and lights.
Teleprompter. I find it really hard to stare at a camera and not the image of someone I’m speaking with. To solve for this, I use a Glide Gear teleprompter.
Microphone. Main microphone is a Rode NTG4 shotgun mic that limits sound pick up from the other side of the mic.
Mobile lapel microphone. When I need a battery-powered lapel mic, I use a Saramonic, which has two transmitters and one receiver (which lets me interview someone on the road.
Studio lapel microphone. In the studio, I use a Movo mic which has an XLR plug and is compatible with the shotgun mic. Keeps things simple.
Mic kill switch. It’s really handy to have a silent mic kill switch that physically mutes your mic. That way you’re not searching for the unmute on your conference software (they’re all different, located in various places, move around on you).
Mic controller. I plug the mics into a FocusRite Scarlett Solo 3 Gen, which handles the 3-pin XLR mic jack. The 3 Gen is no longer available, but the 4 Gen should do the job.
Studio Lights. The lights in front are two Nanlight 68B panel lights. These have two adjustments — brightness and color temperature.
Green screen lights. Behind me lighting up the green screen are two Neewer soft box 700 watt lights on tripod mounts. These have brightness adjustments only.
Keyboard macros. Keyboard Maestro is a platform for creating and running macros and other automation. I have set up a whole series of one-click macros to do stuff that I do every day, like turn on all the gear automatically.
Video streaming. Wirecast is a streaming platform that I use to create videos, and stream my camera feeds onto video conference platforms like Zoom and Teams. It runs pretty much all day long.
Integration. Companion is a share-ware product that connects the Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro to the Stream Deck. The ATEM has a macro function that lets you program various digital video effects (like shrinking a camera feed), and Companion puts the macros on the Stream Deck.
Audio processing. I use Loopback to create virtual microphones that let me route sounds from any source to any destination.
Teleprompter. All of my videos are fully scripted, but to save time in production, I use CloudPrompter, a teleprompter software product.
Audio editing. To create the podcasts, I use GarageBand, which is free with the Mac. Podcasts could also be produced using Final Cut Pro.
Titles. I like dynamic text and graphic overlays on my camera feeds, like what you see with sports broadcasts. These are called titles, and I use Titler Live to generate them.
Computer. I’m an all Mac business. At one time I used a Mac Book, but I needed more grunt to process videos. The Mac Studio makes short work of any video task.
Monitor. I use an Apple Studio Display as the main screen, but I don’t use the built in camera or mic in favor of the other bits of gear.
Tablets. I use two iPads constantly. One is hooked up to the Mac Studio as a Sidecar display and is the monitor for the Teleprompter. The second is used as another camera feed.
External monitor. A second monitor is necessary to keep tabs on all the camera feeds, and also serves as a second desktop for the Mac.
Camera switcher. To be able to switch between cameras mechanically, you need a camera switcher. I use a Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro. It supports four cameras — the two DSLR cameras, the Mac, and one iPad.
Programmable control surface. A Stream Deck provides one-button access to do things like switch cameras, change backgrounds, start and stop recording, play music, launch programs. Huge time saver, serves almost like a virtual assistant.
