Hi there,

Welcome to my first blog after a while. I have eventually fixed my website links and other bits and pieces I left behind that weren’t working correctly. Now it’s time to share my desk setup and all the parts I used to make it as good as possible without spending a fortune.

One of the first things you should consider before buying anything is:

1) Understanding what your desk/studio should do for you.

Buying the best of the best can be rewarding initially, but It might result in an overkill and way too much money out of your pocket. Not to mention the learning curve that follows by buying more professional equipment.

The key for me is to remove as much resistance as possible, at least initially.

Use what you already have and what you already know.

Learning entirely new software or technology just because it looks cool won’t serve you.

The less you have, the faster you get started.

Getting cheap equipment and expensive software or vice versa won’t serve you either in some cases.

2) What media are you planning to create? Mostly videos or audio or both.

Have a rough idea before investing in anything.

3) Is it going to be Vlogging, talking headshot videos, tutorials, audio and/or video podcasting?

4) Who is going to record your videos? If it is you, find a solution that allows you to manage production and post-production yourself.

5) Budget. How much money are you willing to invest?

I am a one-man show, so I have to find a solution to record quickly and easily.

I am also a father of two little girls, and We live in a tiny apartment, and I need to be able to record quickly during quiet times (when kids are out or sleeping).

After watching a video about having a Youtube studio on wheels, it immediately resonated with me and my situation.

I have to build one and tailor it to my needs.

I first made a list of items to buy to get started.

I bought the Neewer tripod with wheels, the Extension boom arm and a couple of grip heads.

Then, after building it and position it in place, I figured out the rest of the items to buy.

Here’s is what it looked like when I first built it:

I know, the first version looks always crap! But it gets better…

Video, light and sound are the three-element we need to take care of. The Led panel you see in the picture above is handmade. I built it myself by watching another video teaching how to make one. I did not have enough funds, so I have to find a way to build one for cheap. I still have it, and it served me well in any situation.

I added another LED light panel from YoungNuo YN600L daylight 5500K.

This brilliant little light comes with a bunch of filter diffusers for cold and warm effects. It also comes with a remote that allows you to control up to three lights. I bought a Soft-box after a few months as the light was too harsh on my skin and illuminating the objects around me.

YN600L diffuser

The clamps are SmallRig. I have tried a cheaper solution – (image or name), but It was not stable as I kept tightening it up all the time. So I returned it and bought another SmallRig Clamp for my camera. I ended up buying four of these, and they are handy, and you can repurpose them for different configurations.

SmallRig

The next step was taking care of the sound.

I got a Zoom H6 with 4 XLR inputs.

This can look a bit of an overkill for what I do. However, I plan to do a podcast and invite people over for interviews, so four ports would do a lot for me.

I also bought it because of the display and the easy setup.

If you are a musician like me, The H6 can simultaneously record your voice and guitar or any other acoustic/electric instruments. In addition, it can be hooked up to a computer as an external sound card.

So it’s a tiny Swiss army knife of audio recording.

With that, you’ll need a microphone.

I used a lapel mic in the past for my tutorials and a USB Condenser mic by Rode – the NT-USB.

I wanted something ready to go without fiddling with cables, and a boom mic would have been the perfect solution. That’s when I bought a Rode NTG3. I did a lot of research, and I wanted to have a rich sound for my high peach voice, and the NTG3 was the solution.

You don’t have to deal with batteries to replace or recharge like the NTG4 and another similar model around that price range, and it sounds amazing right out of the box.

A minimal tweaking is required when hooked up to the Zoom H6, and one thing to remember is that it requires 48V phantom power, which the H6 can provide.

For the Video, and sorry if I left this at the end as it should have been the first element for a video setup LOL!

I chose to shoot with an iPhone.

I have bought a refurbished iPhone XS Max that shoots in 4K at 24FPS for that cinematic look, and that saved me £2000+ that I would have spent to buy a mirrorless camera with a lens.

I decided to invest more in light and sound, as the iPhone videos are good enough for getting started.

If and when the channel and my business, in general, will take off, I would consider investing in a mirrorless camera like the Sony A7C or A7III.

I also bought an HDMI external monitor Desview 7Inch to see myself when recording with the back camera of my iPhone.

Yes, the back camera records at a higher quality than the front one.

I used to use a mirror, and it was a nightmare to position it.

The teleprompter is the other puzzle piece that lets me read scripts for tutorials and other videos.

I don’t use this often, but it comes in handy when I have to record longer videos and need to explain concepts quickly without rambling on camera and get the audience bored to death.

The Pronstoor teleprompter is the one I use.

This is my desk at present after buying some other pieces.

The one I bought recently is the 5 in 1 80 inch diffuser for my YoungNuo 600L.

I ditched the smaller diffuser I bought initially as I wanted to have an even light around my face.

The bigger the diffuser, the softer the light is.

Selens 5 in 1 Diffuser

I also bought a wooden backdrop to cover my books as they looked too messy and distracting for the audience. Even though I like them on screen, I notice people making comments about what I read, which I don’t mind talking about, but It’s deceiving the purpose of the Video.

AIIKES 5x7FT Wooden Photo Backdrop

So always consider what to have in the background. The cleaner, the less distracting it is.

This is what it looks like with books:

And this is with the backdrop:

I haven’t illuminated the back, but there is the next thing I am going to do to make the subject stand out from the background.

I also bought a second foldable black and white backdrop for other situations and to block the light coming from the window when recording during the day.

I got the Fovitec Studio Pro backdrop.

I am pretty pleased with this setup so far, and I will update you if and when I upgrade equipment and discover new things ai learn along the way that is worth sharing.

This is the final result with the wheel tripod next to the desk.

I am interested in seeing your studio setup if you have built one and sharing your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.

I would love to hear from you and your suggestions on how to make this setup even better.

I hope this will help those struggling to get started and inspire you to build your creative space.

Catch with you soon

Fran

Affiliate links:

If you buy anything using these links below, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. If you decide to do so, I will deeply appreciate it, as it will help sustain my mission in helping you and running website costs and all that comes with it. Thank you for your help!

Equipment mentioned and used :