Thread by @girdley

I built my ideal "look great on Zoom/podcasts" setup.

It cost some money -- but it’s worth it.

Here is how I did it (if you want to copy it): 🧵

Some design goals:

• "90% solutions" on these things are great, so I keep it simple
• It needs to be "just turn it on, and it works."
• I want to see people's faces while I look at the camera.
• Cam pointed at my eye level.

These are the components (in order of priority):

1) USB-C dynamic microphone

If you do anything, invest in a dynamic microphone.

There are two types:

• Condensers (good at picking up sound in rooms)
• Dynamic (sounds amazing, but you have to stay close)

I use a Shure MV7, but any USB-C dynamic is fine.

2) Mic boom arm

My mic is mounted to my desk.

I use this one from Elgato.

But any heavy-duty boom arm does fine.

The cheap ones aren't as stable.

Elgato is the one I bought.

They also have a low-profile version.

3) Camera

I have a Sony A6000.

This is a mid-range mirrorless camera.

1080p (so HD) video with HDMI out.

It's a huge improvement over regular webcams.

There are other A-series Sonys, too, available now.

4) HDMI-USB adapter

This is how my computer uses the Sony A6000 as a webcam.

I've tried the fancy adapters (El Gato), but the cheapies are fine.

Zoom is usually at 360p, and most pods are 1080p at most, so 4k video isn't useful.

5) Camera Position

Below is what I see when on Zoom.

There is a:

• teleprompter
• 10.1" monitor screen
• Sony A6000 behind that one-way mirror.

On calls, I drag the zoom/pod app to that monitor, which my computer thinks is a regular HDMI monitor.

5a) Teleprompter & components

These are the four components.

The monitor screen is a bit small for my old eyes.

But otherwise works great.

5b) The Teleprompter

Here's a quick video of all the pieces put together.

6) Camera Lens

I used the stock lens for the Sony A6000.

But I recently upgraded to a fixed focal lens.

It gives:

• better depth of field
• higher performance in low light
• a slight fish-bowl feature to show more of my torso.

6a) The Torso Feel

This is by design.

The best perspective is if the viewer feels like they're sitting at a table across from me.

So, I've pushed to have more of my full torso shown.

(Also, I still need to dial in the lighting more. Always a WIP!)

7) Key and Fill Lights

I have two panel lights.

At 45-degrees from my face.

I chose the Elgatos because they can be controlled by software.

I have ordered light boxes to diffuse the light better from the panels. Will report back on that.

8) Studio Controller

This is from Elgato, too.

I programmed the buttons.

Then, it's just clicking a button for the on-off of everything. 3 seconds and we are good.

It works on Windows and Mac.

9) RGB light strips

I used the Elgato's here because the Stream Deck controls them with a single click.

They do all colors of the rainbow and rest behind me.

It's where the blue comes from here.

10 ) Headphones

The Shure MV7 mic has an audio out for headphones.

I'm hearing impaired, so I invested in monitor-style headphones.

Just plug them into the Shure mic and go from there.

11) Shure MV7 Fanciness

The MV7 has one frustration.

Great mic, but they have a crappy thin foam pop filter.

One trick: you can buy an aftermarket one to look like Joe Rogan.

12) Phillips Hue

The Elgato stream deck can control the Phillips Hue line of RGB lighting.

So one button and I get any color of the rainbow behind me.

It requires a bridge to work with the Elgato software.

13) Cable management

@michaelpatron0 pointed out my cable management looked like crap.

So, I bought this.

It looks 100x better with everything hidden below the desk now.

OK, that's my setup.

I'm sure I'll get 100 A/V guys suggesting improvements, please do!

If you want to adopt this stuff, just prioritize from the top and go as deep down the rabbit hole as you want.

Or not!

Follow me @girdley for more.

Reply with suggestions or questions.

And, like/retweet the first tweet below if you found this useful.

I took some feedback from @EdSillars and it really improved it.

Lowered my lights and moved them to compensate for the natural light from my window.

May need to move the key light a little to the right still.

Since I gave away this camera info...

Please allow me to pitch my upcoming private community and course about buying/building/owning multiple businesses at once:

holdco.girdley.com

I put everything I've learned over 20 years.

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