I’ve been asked a number of times to put together a list of home studio essentials, especially since releasing my first YouTube video recently - as well as a number of pictures of my studio floating around my Instagram.
The Essentials
First off, in my opinion, a recording interface is a must. I love the Focusrite products, and have a Scarlett 4i4 and also a 2i2, one for each of my computers. The 4i4 is super useful as it allows more inputs and outputs than you probably need at first, allowing more flexibility in the future. Being able to choose whether you want sound output through your speakers, or your headphones, or both, is awesome.
A camera is a great way to ensure you can take professional videos and images and ensure you’re looking your best. I picked up a second hand Sony Alpha A7 II during lockdown. The Sony Alpha full-frame series of cameras are, in my opinion, where it’s at right now in the camera world. Having HDMI out is super useful - wish I could afford the A7 SIII to get even more high-resolution, better autofocus and face tracking.
Lenses are very important too - I currently use the standard Sony Alpha kit lens, which isn’t the best quality lens around, but has a zoom range between 28 and 70mm and when zoomed all the way out, has an f-stop of f3.6. Not bad, but not great either. Just enough light for some blurry backgrounds if you get the lighting right - like in the thumbnail above!
Microphones are very important. Fixing poor sound after the fact is not really possible. I have a few microphones, and always want more - a Shure Beta 87A lives always connected to my main MacBook Pro computer. I also have a much cheaper Shure mic which is a dynamic mic, rather than a condenser like the 87A, connected to my main Streaming PC. As well as those stationary mics, I have a Rode Wireless GO which works well for on-the-go and to be connected to the camera. I have an on/off killswitch on the Shure mic so I know when it’s turned on/off and don’t have to rely on using Zoom etc’s software mute button.
Microphone mounts, booms, shock-arms, etc are all something to consider depending on your setup and what you’re trying to achieve. For now, I’ll just say that I have a clip-on Sony lav mic which I use with the Rode Wireless Go, and then on my desk, have a Hercules stand for one mic, and a very budget boom / shock mount for the Shure dynamic. Got room to improve on here!
Lighting is, in a lot of ways, equally as important as a camera. Here, I borrowed some diffused box lights from a friend, and also have some Philips Hue accessories around the place which can make the setup look pretty good where needed. Would like to upgrade lighting in the future, especially for green screen work, but for now it works well.
Making Budget Friendly Decisions
With the lighting mentioned above, I’m using what I have access to and trying to use it well rather than obsessing over expensive gear I can’t afford. If you can, try to think where to best invest your time and money, and never feel like you can’t make something great just because you don’t have the newest camera or microphone. That is simply not true - some incredible pieces of art have been made years ago, when the technology available to humanity was less capable than what a modern smartphone can do today.
An example of a way to make a budget friendly decision is to use what you’ve got. I love the app Camo by Reincubate - this lets you use any vaguely recent iOS device as a USB webcam for your computer. Using the gear you already have in new ways with inexpensive apps like Camo can really take your setup to the next level without the need to invest too heavily in expensive new equipment you may not need!
The best way to get better is to keep making things - don’t worry too much about how you’re going to make something in the future. There’s always next time!
