3 differences in recording a podcast IN PERSON vs REMOTELY

1. Lighting

What if you are recording your podcast in person? How does that change the equipment that you’re gonna need? It does add some complexity, but the two main pieces that you’ll need are going to be lighting, we already established that artificial lighting you should have even if you’re doing a solos thing remotely, so that should already be there.

But you’re gonna have to think about wherever you’re recording this in person, you’re gonna need to bring a lighting setup, something that’s maybe portable or whatever.

2. High-Quality Camera

Number two is going to be a high-quality camera.

So, you’re not going to use the webcam that you were using before.

You’re likely going to use your iPhone or whatever your mobile device is.

Typically, if you have the storage available, has the highest quality that you can record without having to make another purchase.

Because if you get into buying a new DSLR camera, I have one I’m recording on a Sony A7R III. I have a separate Sigma 15mm lens that I put on it, and you have to learn how to use the settings.

There’s a lot of big learning curve that some of my clients have gone this route and got it, and it just took so many episodes where, like, we messed up the video because there’s nobody there to help in actually helping record it, they’re remembering what you told them, and when it comes down to it, you feel too frazzled, and it’s just more complicated to offload and do all that versus recording it onto your phone, sharing it through AirDrop, or uploading it to Google Drive or Dropbox, and you should be pretty good to go.

You could also record in 4K with an iPhone if you wanted. It’s also the type of thing where if you’ve got multiple iPhones or an older one lying around you could have multiple camera angles that way as well. It’s a little bit more efficient to do that.

Battery life is also something you have to think about with digital cameras.

So after 27-30 minutes, most of them shut down because of preserving like just kind of energy and it’s just to prevent overheating and things like that.

There are some firmware and things that you can do to like, break past that limit and record longer.

But again, that’s something you have to think about and do with a DSLR camera.

Some people that I know are willing to do that, but a majority of them are like, “No, this is just going to be one more barrier that allows you to not do the video podcast. You’re going to give up on it.”

So use the phone, it’s headache-free, it saves you money. Clears up some of your storage, and that is probably the best option for video.

3. Audio Interface

The third thing that you are going to need for an in-person recording setup is going to be an audio interface.

It’s high quality. I am a fan of the Zoom H6.

The Zoom H6 is something that, you know, I’ve been using for over… Seven years now and it fits in the palm of my hand.

It fits in the palm of my hand where I can fit in a backpack and it’s got four inputs.

So an XLR cable is going to get plugged into here and then one for your guest or co-host And then you can have up to two more if you want it.

You’ve got the gain control for the microphone on each of these and it’s fairly straightforward for you to like to turn on, the hit record, you get to monitor your audio levels and see, how they look and if it’s balanced from the start.

Typically, this has an SD card right that you would pull out and you can upload it onto your computer or you can do it through USB.

Now, they have new versions of this, right? Like, this was bought seven years ago, and they’re updating their models and stuff.

But essentially, you want something that can record at least two inputs.

I like to have four, just because, in case you ever have a third person on the show, if you’re getting this thing, it’s just nice to be able to have that option.

When I bought this, it was about $350. But again, I’ve had it for over seven years now and it works like brand new. I still use it to this day and I don’t even use it for just when I’m traveling and stuff like that.

I might use it when I don’t feel like recording into the computer and I just want to record directly into something headache-free, stop-start, new recordings real quick and easy. This is a brilliant option for that.

So if you’re like me, you like to have something that kind of fits in the pocket, fits in your backpack, but still performs, really well, then this is gonna be your choice.

If you want to go with the mixers and things like that, that look a little bit more complicated or professional, whatever you want to call it, that works too, and I will link that in the description below.

But those are the three main differences in terms of your recording setup when you’re doing it in person.

Of course, you’re gonna have to have multiple microphones.

So that is a given so choosing kind of a stand or you having a boom arm where are you kind of latching this stuff on to that’s kind of important.

Handheld mics are good I’ve done a review on them.

The SHURE SM48 it’s like 40 50 bucks for that handheld microphone but you can plug it right into here everybody’s kind of holding on to their mic, no need for a stand. Feels conversational. Some people that I’ve talked to client consults have said that it makes them feel like they’re singing in church and things like that.

So they’re like, “Oh, I don’t like it, gives me a karaoke vibe.”

I know comedians who love holding on to that microphone because it gives them the feel of like being on stage and talking on a mic.

So it just depends on what your style and preference are.

But the mic is already a given you’re going to need multiple of those that have an XLR input.

So that’s the main difference lighting a nice camera something to record with if you’re doing video and then an audio interface that captures all of your audio so that in post-production you or your editor can sync it up and capture the best of the best.

There are other tiny complexities based on your studio and things that you might have, but really with most people, it comes down to these three.