A review of the best video podcast equipment for beginners, the setup I started with and how I’ve configured it to work in my everyday office. Podcast Beginner Equipment Setup – How I set up TWO podcasting studios at home

Quick Links:

• TIP: How to Set Up Your Home Office with Video Podcasting Equipment [Infographic Download]
• Episode Overview – Podcast Beginner Equipment Setup – How I set up TWO podcasting studios at home
• Personal Note from Jenn Neal on video podcast equipment
• Episode audio [Podcast on Spotify]
• Blog Post – Video Podcast Equipment : A Home Studio Setup Example for Beginners
• Related Posts

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TIP: How to set up your home office with video podcasting equipment

What’s In This Episode

A behind the scenes review of the podcasting equipment I use at home including the shop podcast room and home video studio setup. I review the best podcast beginner equipment setup I started with and how I’ve modified lighting and audio microphone equipment I’m currently using, as well as how I’ve configured it to work in my everyday office.

I share how I set up the equipment – where to stand, how to position my light, how to use my microphone, and step by step tutorial on how I shoot every episode at home. Importantly, I share how I’ve modified the setup to record podcast episodes in 2020 when working from home.

I’ve seen too many times where businesses get stuck in analysis paralysis… on things that don’t matter THAT MUCH.

-Jenn Neal

So I have a confession…

One of the things I always get up on my soapbox about is when people get hung up on the how of things – worrying about what tools to use and what software etc.

I’ve seen too many times where businesses get stuck in analysis paralysis on things that don’t matter THAT MUCH.

However…

I will fully admit that when I first decided to do a podcast I did the EXACT SAME THING.

This became a case of “do what I say not what I do.”

I spent time researching online how to set up my room so I could work and still record. What microphone to use or if I just used my phone. What lighting to use for YouTube video stuffs.

I spent all sorts of time trying to find examples of other small business owners creating a podcast from home and how to set up the home office and recording studio.

And what I found was pretty dismal.

So…

I decided to dedicate an episode to sharing the HOW.

How I set up my room. What camera to use. What microphone to use. How to use my home office for both work and recording.

And that is exactly what I’m sharing here.

Enjoy!

-Jenn “here’s my confession” Neal

Podcast Beginner Equipment Setup – How I set up TWO podcasting studios at home

I get a lot of requests to spill the details about the equipment I use to create our video content. So here it is, in this episode I will share a behind the scenes look at the equipment set up here in the shop and the new equipment that I have set up for filming from home.

However, a word of warning, there is a tendency among first-timers to get bogged down in shopping for the perfect tech equipment and never get around to actually filming any content. You will see in this episode just how “low tech” some of our podcast equipment is, so don’t get stuck in “analysis paralysis” and lose your momentum to actually produce some content. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the equipment in the shop first.

Podcast Studio: Shop Equipment 

We shoot most of our YouTube channel video here in the shop. Because great video is the priority here we have our equipment set up to capture the background scene from different angles so that we can later edit in some fun angle changes and special effects. To get the raw footage from different angles we will need to use two cameras. 

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Video Podcast Equipment

We start with our DSLR camera mounted on a tripod with the viewfinder screen flipped so the screen is pointed to the front. This allows me to make sure I am staying in the frame when I move around. 

The second camera is literally just my cellphone. That’s it. I just attach my cellphone top a cellphone stand and make sure I am in focus and that is the whole video set-up. Now on to audio.

Podcast Microphone

Now, with two cameras you have to decide where your audio is going to come from. I have two different lav mics that I use to record audio. I have a wireless lav mic that sends the audio to the DSLR  camera no matter where I am. It has a small receiver pack that you attach to your back and then a thin wired microphone runs from the receiver to preferably somewhere in front of your mouth and then you are free to wander. The wireless mic is really useful for shooting outdoors or making sure your audio stands out over loud or distracting background noise.  In the shop, I don’t move around a lot so I tend to use a wired lav mic that plus into my cellphone. It is a simple clip-on mic attached to a 15 foot cord that plugs into the cellphone. 

Podcast Studio Lighting

Proper lighting is crucial. I use a Ring light from Amazon. It adjusts from daylight all the way to blue light. I generally keep mine set right in the middle of the range and that gets rid of all the shadows on your face. Ring lights have a place for your cellphone right in the center so the ring reflects in your eyes when you are looking at the camera making your eyes look more alive. You should be about 3 feet from the light, and it should be positioned so it is just a little higher than your face and then angled down towards you.

Podcast Home Studio: Desk Equipment Setup

We film our guest expert interviews inside the house on the computer, because they generally take place over Zoom or Facebook Live.  Believe it or not, I still shoot my home office videos with a basic Logitech webcam. However, I did use a tripod adapter to turn a mic stand into a desktop camera holder to eliminate the effect of the computer’s vibration on the camera.

Audio Studio 

I upgraded my audio from the built-in Logitech mic to a Blue Yeti microphone. I have it mounted to a kick drum mic stand with an attached shock mount system to eliminate as much vibration as possible. 

 

Lighting

The lighting is a bit more involved in the home office. I have a light on each side of the monitors to fill in the shadows on my face.  I also use simple LED light panels attached to a tripod to help counterbalance the bright light that comes through the office window.

Podcast Equipment Bundle

That is it. That is the whole system. The whole podcast equipment bundle cost me less than $500. I have provided the whole equipment list with links below. If upgrades are not in the budget right now, you can absolutely make great content with the webcam and mic on your laptop or phone.  Remember, it is not important which tools you use to get your message out, as long as you get your message out.

Podcast Studio Equipment List: 

Home : Shop

• Ring Light – https://amzn.to/2BGA7BO
• DSLR Camera – https://amzn.to/2UmOC4e
• Tripod – https://amzn.to/3h6zS3e
• Wired Lavalier Mic – https://amzn.to/3dKzEg1

Home : Desk

• Web cam – https://amzn.to/2MTrCWF
• LED panel lights – https://amzn.to/3dGr561
• Blue Yeti mic – https://amzn.to/30qV8e0

• Gooseneck webcam mount – https://amzn.to/2MIzkT6
• Boom Mic Stand – https://amzn.to/3h2bGPD
• Tripod Adapter for Mic Stand – https://amzn.to/3f3wTqp
• Shock Mount – https://amzn.to/2MHzwlD
• Weighted Boom Stand – https://amzn.to/2MIzEkY
• Pop Filter – https://amzn.to/2zjnzQ8

Related Posts

Video Podcast Equipment: What You Need to Get Started

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What kind of podcasting equipment are you currently using? Are you getting the results you want?