Speaker 1: Maybe you want to make better YouTube videos for your friends, your family, maybe your new business venture. Or maybe train to a virtual audience or do more engaging presentations. But you think it'll cost a fortune and you're scared that even after you dish out the huge bucks, you'll still mess it up and people won't respond to you. Well the things I'm going to show you are the disciplines you need to know and can apply right away to a big space, a small space, a large budget, or a small budget. It's not an expensive cool gear review type of a video. I want to give you a plan that you can start using right away. My studio, it's a small room, but in it I have two dedicated functional areas. One desk area for screencasts, podcasts, webinars, and general audio and voice recordings. The rest of the room is a video wall capable of producing green screen, infinite white screen, black screen, and even a neutral blue background. Check out my day 2 video later this week where I'll give you a buyer's guide to all the gear that I use. But for now, let's stick to the whys over the whats. My desktop setup is packed with functionality and the most important part as always is audio. I use two main microphones, a dynamic mic and a condenser mic. The condenser mic was my first mic when I was just getting started. When I was ready to upgrade, I had a choice to make. An expensive condenser mic seemed like a great option, but if you get one, you're going to need to soundproof your studio or else you'll pick up the hum from your neighbor's refrigerator, trust me. That's why professional voice actors work in an insulated studio. My choice was a lot easier. I do voiceovers for e-learning, screencasts, maybe podcasts, and that's different. I'm not a voice actor. This electro voice dynamic mic was perfect. You have to get in close proximity to the mic, but it doesn't pick up other noises in the house and I didn't have to invest in a soundproof room. I can still use the condenser mic for doing two-person podcasts as an option to a lapel or a shotgun for my co-host, but I like to still keep it handy on the boom arm for those types of things. For a desktop video, you need a good external webcam and not the one on your laptop. I also keep a mini tripod where I can mount my iPhone to get a really cool second camera angle shot to make desktop videos more interesting than just a straight-on talking head. Put it at a 45 degree angle to the webcam and you're good to go. You have an instant two-camera shoot. Lastly, on the desktop is lighting. You do need some lighting. I use two clamp lights on either side, but I may soon be upgrading to a simple LED panel mounted near the webcam. Whichever way you choose, make sure you have some light, preferably dimmable, so that your audience can see you well. Oh, one more thing. I picked up a really simple panel background that I can drop behind me so you don't have to see the rest of the studio behind me in a screencast or on a webinar. Super easy and inexpensive, but it does make a big difference. Next is the video wall. On the wall, I hang two overlapping reversible screens. They do fold into a nice bag, but you'll want to leave them up. They won't wrinkle and you'll get much more work done than spending your time collapsing and rehanging them, trust me. As with desktop production, audio is still the key. I have an XLR shotgun boom. Up above, two presenter stools connected to a Zoom H4n digital recorder. I also have multiple lapel mics, one that even plugs directly into an iPhone for a wireless lapel system, and I'll have more on that in another video. The main thing is, do not rely on the onboard microphone on your video camera or DSLR. Use a lapel connected to a digital recorder, or if you use a shotgun mic, make sure that it's less than 36 inches from the talent and pointed towards their mouth or their chest. If you can't get within 36 inches, use a lapel mic. Keep that rule in mind, and I guarantee you, you'll never have bad audio. For lighting your home studio, you'll need at least four simple lights. I would suggest two soft boxes and two shoot-through umbrellas, but the main thing is, you want to make sure that the compact fluorescent bulbs all have the same brightness output. With four lights, you can get three key lighting in a small area, with an extra light or two for a hair light. I'll go more into the lighting details in another video, but the main thing I want you to get is, leave them in place once you've got your studio set. You'll get a lot more work done, rather than spending all of your time moving, packing, and unpacking light stands. Lastly, is the camera. I mount a DSLR only about 10 to 12 feet from my screen. Under that, I use this handy iPad stand adapter that allows me to use my iPad as a teleprompter. It's super simple to use, and stays in place with the rest of the room, but it's still easy to move. So, I hope you found that tour of my studio interesting. I hope it makes you understand how easy it is to put together your own home studio. Please, if you liked the video, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I'll be offering a whole lot more, and as always, thanks again for watching. We'll see you next time.