How to Start a Video Podcast: A Beginner's Guide

First and foremost, if you haven’t ever created a podcast before, I’m going to recommend you start by going through my podcast series on starting a podcast. Strategy comes before tactics, and I’m a big proponent for starting with a solid plan first. In my humble opinion, acquiring your gear should be the reward for having a solid strategy. Also, if you’re starting this and want more hands-on support than a podcast, feel free to reach out to our team here at HumblePod for how we can help.

Now that you’ve got your strategy, let’s talk video podcasts!

Location, Location, Location

With an audio podcast, you can record in a blanket fort on your bed, and it’ll double for a podcast studio. With video, you either need to film yourself in your blanket fort or find a location that’s more suitable for filming. Choosing a place to record is going to be key to what makes people want to watch your show. At the very least, having a clean room with nothing distracting in the background is a solid start. In addition to that, you’ll want to consider the following questions:

  • How many guests will I have on my podcast?
  • Do I have a location where I can film and not be disturbed?
  • Are the acoustics good enough?
    • No serious reverb/echo
    • No loud hums or high-pitched noises
    • No traffic outside
    • Etc.
  • Does this location match my target audience?
    • Ex: If you’re filming a craft beer podcast, don’t film it in a sterile office environment. Make a bar set or film at a brewery.
  • How is the lighting?
    • Avoid strong backlighting (windows, TVs, etc. in the background)
    • Do you need extra lights?

Once you’ve got a location chosen, you’ll need to pick out some furniture. My personal preference is to film at a table with chairs that are capable of having the top of the table meet the guest at about mid-waist. This ensures they can look good at the table, and it also gives you more flexibility with your mic arm choices. If you’re filming at a table, also keep in mind that you want one that’s no more than 2″ thick. Most mic arms won’t fit on anything bigger. If you go the route of choosing chairs, make sure they are comfortable and help support proper posture. If it’s just you and a co-host, and you want something more creative and fun, just make sure you take pictures of yourself in them first so you know how you’ll look in full-body wide shots. I’d also suggest a table between the host and the guest.

Setting the Scene

When it comes to setting up a video podcast, I prefer to follow the CAMP method:

Composition
Ambient Light
Modify / Add Light
Podcast

Composition

Once you have picked out a space for your podcast, you need to determine how you’re going to composeyour shots. To compose the shot, we turn to the gold standard for composition – the rule of thirds. The “rule of thirds” is the process of dividing your composition up into three equal sections vertically and horizontally. Your subject is then placed within 1/3 or 2/3 of the composition.  If you’re usingamirrorless or DSLR to shoot your podcast, you’ll be happy to know that almost every available camera has a rule of thirds grid you can overlay to ensure you’re getting the right shot. If you don’t have an overlay grid because you’re shooting solo using a laptop camera or webcam, then just center yourself in the frame and you’ll be safe.

If you’re doing a solo podcast, this only requires one shot. In addition to centering yourself in the screen, I recommend trying to get as much of your body in the center third as well. So sit back from the camera or zoom out as wide as you can. This allows you to edit the content into vertical content later without said footage being solely your face.

If you’re producing a video podcast with two or more people present, you’re going to need to consider framing for not just one, but three shots. Sure, you could possibly get away with using one camera or two, but that’s going to limit your editing choices in post. So it’s best to have a camera on each subject and a wide shot (or two) when possible. Composing these shots all follows the same format outlined above for the rule of thirds, and we’ll get into more detail on this as we continue through the CAMP framework. For now, just be sure to think about all the shots you’ll need to set up and the backgrounds that will be present behind each shot as well.

What about decorating your studio for a podcast?
Decorations all come back to the question, “Does this help me identify with my target audience?” That could mean you keep it as minimal as possible or you deck out your space in the latest FunkoPops and video game swag. It’s really up to you. The most important piece is making sure that it’s well-framed and doesn’t detract from you and your guest. Additionally, adding background decorations can also help absorb sound, so it’s definitely worth investing time into designing your space appropriately.

Ambient Light

Now that we’ve got your space composed and your cameras set up, it’s time to start working on lighting. The best way to manage lighting is to consider your background first. Turn off as many lights as you can, and then start progressively adding light to the shot. Your background lights will help set the mood and highlight key details in the background. In general, i’d aim for two to three key points of light in the background to set the scene. A couple of lamps and an LED panel light should do the trick. Be sure when choosing lights to note their color temperature as well. Any professional lights that you have will tell you the temperature reading of said light, and you should utilize this information when managing white balance on your cameras.

Modify / Add Light to the Shot

Now that we have the background light set up, we need to work on lighting the foreground. This is typically done in one of two ways. The first is just to use a key light with a soft light filter (typically a softbox). You’ll dial in the brightness to even out the lighting in the background and give your subject a dynamic look. Based on the room and your budget, this may be enough to get things where you need them to be. If not, then you’ll want to add a rim light to the shot. This will highlight the subject from the back side and help them “pop” in the final look.

With every light, you’ll want to make sure you’re collectively adding to light to the image and also ensure the light is being kept balanced. While we don’t have time to get into this now, there are few different methods for ensuring your scene is properly lit. They include the zone method, using a lighting curve, and false colors. I’ve linked all those with more info on each so you can get started on your light balancing journey.

Once you get your first set in order, lighting can become more complex, and it can become its own “dragon” that you’ll chase into oblivion. If you’re lighting a set, things pretty much stay the same. You’ll just need to factor in ensuring that your guests are properly lit in addition to the host.

Podcast

Now it’s time to get this show started by hitting that “record” button… which is great if you have a setup that allows you to just press one button. With three cameras and an audio recorder, your setup can get seriously complicated. Most video podcasts require additional support for this very reason. It’s difficult to frame three shots and set up at least two microphones without anyone else to help. If you’ve got the ability to call on some support for your show, this will definitely be the time to do it.

Assuming you’ve got all that under control, there are three elements that are required for you to have a successful podcast recording: Timecode, Gear Uniformity, and Backups.

Timecode

Over the past few years, I’ve become obsessed with timecode. In our day and age, it’s an often overlooked tool until it’s too late. Yes, you can sync audio and video in post by other means (claps + auto waveform syncing, etc.), but when used properly, time code is magic. This becomes especially apparent if you’re filming a lot of content over the course of a day and want to make it easy to assemble this information in post… or if your syncing software won’t cooperate and forces you to have to manually adjust the audio and video to get it synchronized.

In order to get started with timecode, you need to make sure you have the right tools for the job. Not every camera is created equal, and information on timecode can be hard to come by. Some cameras only have timecode embedded internally. Some allow for jam syncing, and others can be digitally synced with a single timecode device.

If you’ve got an existing camera and recorder, the very first thing you’ll want to do is find out what kind of timecode you have on your device. Ideally, your camera will allow for jam syncing (a digital “reset” of the timecode to synchronize it with an outside time source), or it’ll be able to read the timecode signal digitally and synchronize that way. If it does neither of those things, then you’ll have to rely on an audio timecode.

As for your audio recorder, in my experience, most recorders do NOT have timecode until you get into the professional recorder realm. If this is the case for you, don’t worry, there are still some options, but this probably a good time to consider the tried-and-true “clap” method. This creates a spike in your audio on both your camera and recorder that you can then sync the audio to in post. If you do have time code, you’re more than likely going to need an additional cable to go with your timecode device.

Once you’ve determined even if you can record using timecode, the next step is to pick your timecode gear. The two big players in this space are Deity and Tentacle Sync. Personally, I’m a fan of Tentacle Sync. Their stuff works well, and the battery life on them is ridiculous. We’ll cover this more in the actual gear guide, but just know that once you’ve got the gear, you’ll need to get enough time code sync boxes to cover your equipment. If you’re working with cameras that allow for jam syncs or digital syncing, you might be able to skimp on gear and just use one or two units, but otherwise, you’ll need sync boxes for each device.

From there, it’s a simple matter of making sure the cameras are all set up properly and recording the episode.

Gear Uniformity

I’m a big fan of keeping things in the same family. Once you’ve got a brand of gear that you like, you should dig in and stick with it. It’ll help you learn the device as well as its quirks. But gear uniformity goes beyond choosing the same brand of camera, recorder, or microphone.

Gear Uniformity is about making sure that you provide your editor with all the assets they need in order to fly through production. This means that your cameras should all have the same color profiles selected. It means that your microphones sound equally good for the host and guest, and it means that your editor is not having to correct any technical mistakes due to improperly managed assets.

With cameras, this can be accomplished by making sure you have the exact same camera and lens for each shot. At the very least, keeping the camera within the same brand is just as important. You’ll also want to ensure that the frame rate is set the same for each camera. Nothing is worse than dealing with one camera that was set to film in 60fps and another one that was filming at 24fps. Your shots won’t match up in post, and you’ll be left with material you can’t use. Similarly, you need to make sure your time code and audio settings are such that the time code matches up with all of them. Given that timecode reads all the way down to the frame, this is incredibly important for proper synchronization.

With microphones, there’s the aesthetic factor to consider, and then there’s also the acoustic factor. Using identical mics just makes it easier to manage recordings. As with cameras, you’ll need to make sure any time code options you have are toggled on and set to match. You’ll also want to ensure that you have the mic volumes set prior to recording. I know this is obvious, but it’s easy to miss with so many factors in play here.

All of this can be applied to lighting as well. When you buy a light these days, quite often you’re also buying into an ecosystem that can be managed with an app on your phone. So, making sure you stick with a particular brand is not only good for ensuring color and brightness consistency between cameras, but it will also allow you to more easily manage those devices.

Lastly, it’s about the devil you know. I’m not saying you need to be brand-loyal at all times, but investing in a particular brand will make future upgrades easier. Especially with cameras, upgrading the body is much easier to deal with when you’ve committed to a particular brand, as each new camera does not (often) require all-new memory cards or new lenses. Moving to new gear is also easier when you know the company’s traditional UI and file management process. Additionally, it’s just easier overall to manage and replace things on cameras when you have the same brand for years and years. While you don’t have to stick with the same brand for all of eternity, this long-term approach should help as you look to keep your workflow as simple and streamlined as possible.

Backups

Having backups is essential to any production workflow. Especially when recording, having ways to ensure your content is recorded to more than one source is critical in case of an equipment failure or glitch. My approach to backups is to have at least one alternative recording for each session. In most cases, this is as simple as ensuring your camera can record duplicate files and that your audio recorder has a backup track for recording audio as well. However, you can definitely add more complexity to the situation. For instance, our ATEM solution has an ISO (short for “isolated”) recording that’s captured in addition to the main recording on an SSD card. This ISO records all audio & video inputs and gives us a time-coded, synchronized session to start our production with. While it’s only a 1080p recording (as opposed to the camera’s BRAW 4k recording), it’s a huge assist for production, and if something fails on the cameras, we’ve at least got a separate backup recorded.

On top of camera backups, you’ll probably also want a physical storage device to store the recorded files. As your production quality increases, so does the file sizes you have to manage, and so we want to ensure that is managed properly as well. If you’re hardcore about your backup solutions, you’ll probably also want to invest in something like a NAS (network access storage) located somewhere off-site to backup your recordings. You may even add a cloud layer on top of that to ensure you’ve got both a physical and cloud-based backup of the project.

All of these things help ensure your recordings are done properly and give you peace of mind when producing content. Nothing takes the wind out of a show’s sails faster than discovering that something broke during an interview, and you have to start over. Or, worse, you don’t realize it until you get home and have to deal with that hot mess.

Push Record

Okay. Now that we’ve been through the CAMP method and my core production principles, you’re ready to start recording your show.  All you need to do is smash that record button (or buttons), and off you go!

If you’re still looking to know what gear to buy for yourself, you can explore our recommendations on the gear guide home page. If you’ve got the gear and need help with content, you should check out our “how to start a podcast” series, which we did a few years ago. All the content is still relevant, and it’ll help you get to thinking about the show you’re creating.

Lastly, if you need help getting a podcast off the ground, please reach out and let us know how we can help!