- In this video, I'm going to take you on a tour of
my YouTube studio right now,
and show you all the gear that I'm using
to shoot our YouTube videos.
Plus, I'll talk through exactly why we use and recommend it.
Hey, it's Justin Brown here from Primal Video,
where we help you amplify your business
and brand with video.
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we mention in this video, you can find linked
in the description box below.
So let's jump into it!
Now we are asked all the time,
what gear do you use in your studio?
So, I figured that it was about time to do
an updated studio tour, so that you can see
all the gear and the gadgets and the set up here
in my home studio, that we use to shoot
our YouTube videos right now.
Now, I do want to stress here that you don't need
all of this gear to get awesome results.
And you should never let gear stop you
from getting started creating videos.
It is one of the biggest procrastination points
when it comes to creating content that people have.
I can't tell you how many times I hear,
" I need this camera," or, "I need new lighting set up,"
or "I need the gear that you've got
"to be able to create videos."
Just start with the gear you've got,
and you can get amazing results,
even with just a webcam, or your smart phone.
So, get started now.
All right, enough chit-chat, let's get to the studio tour.
So this is it!
Welcome to my home studio,
this is a little room in the back of my house.
When I say it's a little room,
everyone thinks it's a lot bigger than it actually is.
I can almost touch from one side to the other.
So, yeah, you don't need a lot of space
to create your videos.
So, the first thing you're probably looking at is camera,
what camera do I use?
I primarily use the Panasonic GH5, I also use
a Panasonic GH4, and I switch between the two.
But the main camera that you will see for our YouTube videos
is the Panasonic GH5, and this is where
it is normally set up here.
So, we're obviously recording on this camera here,
on the Panasonic GH4.
The lens that I primarily use is the Sigma 18 to 35 mil.
So, in order to use that Sigma Cannon lens
on the Panasonic cameras,
I am using a Metabones Speedbooster.
So it's an adapter, so that I can use that lens.
But that gives a nice, blurry background
that you see in our videos.
Now for any other shots,
or like the shot that we're using here
with Jen filming me here,
I like to use the Panasonic 12 to 35 mil.
That lens has optical image stabilization.
So it's a nice steady shot for moving around,
and it's also got decent auto-focus as well,
which, GH5's and GH4's aren't really known for.
But it's a lot better than the Sigma lens,
when it comes to auto-focus.
So anything moving, or anything auto-focus,
I'll use the Panasonic 12 to 35 mil.
Now a couple of things I really love about
the Panasonic GH5, is the amazing battery life.
I also love that it has amazing wifi control.
So when I'm filming our videos,
actually the GH4 has this as well,
I can literally just use an old Samsung tablet, iPhone,
iPad, and control, and see what's going on
from in front of the camera.
So I can make sure that I actually am recording,
that I am in the shot, and that I am in focus,
so I don't need to have someone here
to help me with the videos.
You can see and do everything from in front of it,
and that is amazing feature.
I think if you are in the market for a camera,
I would strongly recommend that you look
for wifi control as a priority.
Now I've mentioned the battery life on this camera
is awesome, so, perfect if you're gonna be moving around,
you're gonna get a lot of life out of the battery,
but, what you can also get for these cameras,
is a power pack.
You don't have to worry about batteries or power
if you're just setting it up in a studio like I have here.
So wherever possible, try to plug everything in
so you don't have to worry about batteries going flat
while you're recording.
And that's pretty much how I've set up everything
in this studio here.
I think almost everything is run off power.
Now the other main reason that we use
the Panasonic GH5 over the GH4,
and our main reason for upgrading
was that it has two SD cards built in,
or two memory card slots,
meaning that you can actually record with redundancy,
recording to two memory cards instead of just one.
Now, wherever possible, we tried to remove
any failure points, or the chances of something happening
and wasting our time, so, it only takes once.
One time I took the memory card out of the camera,
put it in the computer,
and it said that there was no footage on there.
Put it back in the camera, no footage.
So eight hours worth of recording,
or a day's worth of recording, was totally gone.
Now, I only want that to happen once, so that was enough
for us to upgrade our camera to now record to two SD cards,
just so there is less chance of that happening.
And the other thing that we do with our recording now,
is we also take a feed out of the camera
directly into the laptop, for two reasons.
The first one is so that I can actually see
on a bigger screen what it is that I'm recording,
but also so that we are able to record directly into
the laptop, so that we have a backup there as well,
or a lower quality recording directly into the computer.
And to do that, as I said, just an HDMI cable
out of the camera down into, we're using a Camlink 4K,
and then directly into my MacBook Pro.
So, super simple set up, it also allows you
to have professional looking live streams,
using a pro camera instead of just a webcam.
But it's also another level of backup, or redundancy
for our recording as well.
So now for the audio side of things,
up until fairly recently, we were using
the Boya BY-M1 wired lapel, or wired lavaliere microphone.
I'd say the bulk of the videos on our channel
have been recorded using that.
It's an amazing microphone, it sells for $20,
if you're looking for a microphone, I highly recommend it.
But we're always trying and testing new microphones,
and the microphone which is now my go-to
for our YouTube content is the Rode Wireless Go.
It is amazing, tiny, little wireless microphone
which has good range, good audio,
and that's actually what you're listening to now.
I've got the microphone just taped up on my chest here,
giving me a nice little chest wax.
But it is an amazing microphone, and I highly recommend it.
And also gives me the flexibility to be able to walk around,
without being tied or tethered directly to the camera.
Now in regards to audio backups, yes we have those as well.
I also record all of our YouTube content
with a shotgun microphone as a backup.
So, it is totally separate from the actual camera.
It's not connected into the camera in any way,
just to have true redundancy.
So the microphone I'm using here now, is another one
that I'm really really pumped on, this is one
that I actually only just got about a week or two ago.
This is the Rode NTG, so it'll work on your smart phones,
it'll work on DSLR's or mirror-less cameras,
pretty much any cameras out there.
But it also works as a podcast style microphone as well,
which is awesome.
So this microphone has replaced a few different microphones
for us, and for anything that I'm recording in the computer,
I'll be using this microphone to do it.
And to capture that audio, we're using the Zoom H5 Recorder.
Just so it is, again, totally stand alone,
but recording decent audio in case we need to use it.
And to my knowledge, I don't think
we've ever actually needed to use the backup audio,
so, it's there if we need it.
So in regards to lighting, another critical part of videos,
I've basically just used the built in ceiling lights here
to light up the room itself.
But obviously to light me up,
this is where we've got two lights
that are just stuck on the wall here.
And the lights that I use and the lights that I recommend
are the Yongnuo YN-300 Air.
It's a bit of a mouthful, but links are always
down in the description below.
So what I really like about it is it's got a built-in
diffuser, so it throws a nice soft light.
So, you're able to get a really nice skin tone,
really nice look without some harsh shadows
that a lot of other lights cast.
Now the only other lights that I really use
in the office here are the background lights,
which are really just there to light up the background.
Now these are Phillips Hue lights,
so there is a Phillips Hue globe in this one.
And a Phillips Hue LED Lighstrip
just behind the bookcase here.
And these are something that I can just
simply change the color with, let me grab a phone.
Now why I like this is because I can just move around
and change the lights here, on the phone,
changes them in the background,
so that if I am creating a heap of different videos
in one day, I can make that background look,
or the shot look a little bit different.
Change my shirt, change the lights in the background,
and we're good to go on another video.
So I don't have to reset cameras and change the shot
and all of that kind of stuff.
So, it allows me to create more videos
that look a little bit different, in a lot less time.
Now the only other light that I do use in here is
one that I sit on top of the webcam,
so if I'm doing any live streams,
or running any group coaching for our accelerator program,
on top of the webcam, which is the Logic Tech Brio,
I use a Lumecube air.
So this is a tiny little light,
we've mentioned this in a few videos,
it's got a nice soft diffuser again on there.
Now I just sit that on top of the webcam,
and that's going to light me up, without the need
to use these big ones, which if I'm sitting down,
it's gonna start to cast some shadows under.
So, that's why I like the Lumecube Air 4, and again,
links are in the description below.
Now, I've mentioned it now, but the webcam
that I currently use, and the one that I recommend
is the Logitech Brio, it's up here somewhere.
Love this camera, it is a 4K webcam,
and it actually works really, really well in low light,
which most webcams don't.
Now the computer monitor that I've got here is
the Samsung 34 inch Ultra Wide Curved monitor.
This was something that I really didn't think
I would like as much as I do.
For editing, it is absolutely amazing,
you get a huge timeline there to be able to view and edit,
and yeah, love this monitor.
Now, computer-wise, my main computer is
a 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro.
Absolutely loving this thing so far.
So that's my primary computer,
and I use it for pretty much everything.
But, when I need to do PC stuff, I have a PC as well.
Hidden under the desk there, and it's more so
for recording tutorials, and that kind of stuff.
Or if I'm gonna do a really complex edit,
and I want some extra horsepower,
then I can power up the PC for that too.
So the last three things I haven't mentioned yet,
are the tripod that I'm using here,
this is an older tripod now, this is a Slik Video Sprint II.
Awesome travel tripod, small and light,
they actually don't make it anymore.
So we'll put a link in the description below
to the new version of this.
But as a desktop tripod, it works really well.
The other thing is the teleprompter,
I'm a massive fan of this Parrot Teleprompter V2.
It's what I use for most
of the videos to just try and keep me on track.
And, without rambling and waffling,
and going way off tangent,
I love that you can just connect it with any smart phone,
and it just presents the script
up in front, of the camera lens.
So it looks like you're talking directly to the camera lens,
and not off, talking to the side.
And the last thing, then, is this sound deadening foam,
just to try and talk some of the echo out of the small room.
Obviously having the carpet in here,
and having the few pieces of furniture
make a difference as well.
But having this behind the camera
actually makes a huge difference in any echo
bouncing back off the wall, into the microphone.
So, it makes it sound a little bit better.
And the only other thing I haven't mentioned,
is Russell, he's the office dog, he's pretty much a cat,
and yeah, he lives under the chair,
while I record the videos.
So that is the complete office studio tour for 2020.
Now if you're interested in exactly how we film
our videos, the process, step by step of what we do,
then check out the video linked on screen now,
where we give you exactly that.
I'll see you in the next one.