Building the Ideal Zoom/Podcast Setup

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

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

Here is how I did it (if you want to copy it): pic.twitter.com/hTqIkhCYP1

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

Some design goals:

• "95% solutions" on these things are great, so I keep it simple
• It must 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):

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

1. USB-C dynamic microphone

If you do anything, invest in a dynamic mic.

There are two types:

• Condensers (good at picking up sound in rooms, suffer in regular spaces)
• Dynamic (sounds fantastic, but you must stay close)

I use a Shure MV7, but any USB-C dynamic is OK. pic.twitter.com/YnUGg2xw0W

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

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. pic.twitter.com/ztNkVn2kgt

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

3. Camera

I have a Sony A6000, a mid-range mirrorless camera.

1080p (so HD) video with HDMI out.

It's a massive improvement over regular webcams.

Since then, some new cams are out and good like Lumina and Opal C1. pic.twitter.com/DyFNs0ONXe

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

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. pic.twitter.com/aIgkNCzH4i

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

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. pic.twitter.com/Q7sRSYR1CB

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

5a) Teleprompter & components

These are the four components.

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

But otherwise works great. pic.twitter.com/3bVy1VR8kL

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

5b) The Teleprompter

Here's a quick video of all the pieces put together. pic.twitter.com/zJWI0kvlb4

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

6. Camera Lens

I started with 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. pic.twitter.com/VzAEio9z5w

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

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 whole torso shown.

The lens doesn’t help me look like less of a dork. pic.twitter.com/D9Grl46v7B

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

While we’re talking composition:

I also strategically placed myself with my head in a corner.

I like this because it focuses the view on me.

See how all of the lines converge on me.

Much better than being on a flat wall. pic.twitter.com/eurZ6mcg83

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

7. Back and Fill Lights

I have El Gato two-panel lights.

One at 45-degrees from my face, one functioning as a backlight.

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

My goal is to be able to adjust it all without getting up. pic.twitter.com/5gguk9LxN0

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

7a) Key light

At the suggestion of smart people on Twitter, I bought a key light with a softbox.

It’s a Godox, which the camera nerds like.

Bonus: it is fully adjustable on my phone.

I thought this lightbox was too big, so I got a smaller one. pic.twitter.com/de9VAwQDOh

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

8. Studio controller / Stream deck

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. pic.twitter.com/f6jAzI1Shi

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

9. Background lighting

I use "practical" lights to liven the background.

They can be controlled while I'm seated and do all the rainbow colors at any brightness.

Lets me get dramatic lighting like this.

Bonus: the Phillips models are more $ but work with the Elgato keypad. pic.twitter.com/7NUEsmaXY3

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

9a) I use three Phillips Hue lights:

- one desk lamp
- two wall-mounted lamps
- a power supply pic.twitter.com/KRo3NZJeB6

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

10. Phillips Hue Bridge

This controller lets me run the Phillips lights from my Elgato stream deck.

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

It requires a bridge to work with the Elgato software.

Little janky but it works. pic.twitter.com/ZMAjqgR4Lq

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

11 ) 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. pic.twitter.com/8prtle5Caa

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

12. 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. pic.twitter.com/11qWapq3VC

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

13. Cable management

A friend pointed out my cable management looked like crap.

So, I bought this.

It looks 100x better with everything hidden below the desk now. pic.twitter.com/nIxlFtvuA3

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

Here’s what it looks like all put together: pic.twitter.com/wREc0NNHit

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

OK, that's my setup.

I’ve put links to all the gear here → https://t.co/iJZPMd154S

I'm sure I'll get 100 A/V guys suggesting improvements. Please do!

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

Or not!

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023

Since I gave away this camera info, let me pitch you on my newsletter!

I’ve been in business for 30 years and built a $100M+ HoldCo.

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Sign up here! https://t.co/OO1piAuAyk

— Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 21, 2023