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[Septic360]

Hey GAF,

Need your help (once again) and advice on what equipment I should for my Youtube channel, namely the segments where I have discussions/debates etc.

I run a gaming website called Gameondaily (www.gameondaily.com) and I have done some videos with various different setups from a professional office space , my mates kitchen to a green screen background in a living room. It would be great if you can let me know what you think is wrong in those vids (apart from the crap we're spouting).

Now I'm going to really starting kicking up the content for the site and I wondered if you guys could advise me about the best setup and what to buy and how to go about it.

I like the cosy kind of setup Joe Rogan has with the brick wall. I don't really have a brick wall so thought of maybe like a partition wall in the background or perhaps some red drapes etc? Early on I mulled over Sway's kind of minimal setup. Do you guys know any cool tips about a nice setup or just advice on what's visually appealing?

Like maybe a wall with some gaming memorabilia/posters/pictures in frames etc?

Also I need advice on hardware. I've used a pretty cheap camcorder before but I think I need to go full HD at the very least. So things I need to get are:

1. Camcorder- Any decent ones for a budget of say £200-£300?

2. Microphone Stand- I think I'm sorted as I have a couple of Rhode Podcasters but I do think an intricate larger stand would be better? Our current setup looks a bit basic to be honest with the little stands:

3. Lighting. - Do you guys know of any lighting kits or what I should look out for? I'm completely oblivious here about what setup is good. I was tempted to just buy a cheapish lighting kit off Amazon but not so sure.

4. Streaming- I really am oblivious to the whole streaming thing. Can video discussions etc be done on Twitch? Or is Ustream better?

5. PC Hardware/Software- Those Rhode Podcasters are a pain in the arse to setup because of the requirement of multiple USB ports. Do you guys have any advice on software that can unify all the microphone channels into one for Windows? I have a PC that I can upgrade but perhaps a laptop would be better suited?

6. Video intros/Youtube/Facebook banners and logos- I have messed around making some of these myself on After Effects etc but I don't really mind paying someone else do these for me. Do you guys know anyone or of any company that can make these for me? For videos, I'm thinking of the kind of overlays that IGN and others have. The stuff I used is obviously very basic and I've even made some review score animations (at the end of this vid) but its a bit tedious and I dont want to faff around with that.

7. Headphones- I have heard good things about the Sennheiser HD 380 PRO. I'll be plugging them into my microphone. Anyone have any experience with them or advice on better ones?

So yeah, basically a whole overhaul of our videos! Now don't yell at me and say "sort it out yourself lazy cock!" but I just wondered if YouTube GAF or any other pros in the industry could guide me the right way?

Cheers for all the advice in advance!

 

[platakul]

DMT

 

[Cynicdotal]

DMT

LOL

 

[Septic360]

DMT

LOL

Lol FML

 

[ClayKavalier]

Man, I can't remember the last time I saw the word camcorder.

It's always really cute to me when people buy professional equipment for a YouTube channel, especially when they're just starting out. You'll have a struggle ahead of you if you want to make a name for yourself and your gaming site, and marginally better video and sound isn't going to make much of a difference.

It always seems so unnecessary too. Like that office video above, why do two of your guys have headphones when you're sitting within five feet of each other? The original game shows like 1UP Yours bought that equipment because radio stations had it and they had the budget, and now it seems like everyone who dabbles in vlogs for a week buys a multi-hundred dollar microphone because everyone else does without putting much thought into how useful it actually is.

 

[Glass Shark]

Don't spend a bunch of money on gear, focus on improving your content and building your audience. The one bit of feedback I could give immediately from watching one of your videos is to improve the audio. You're all sitting in front of microphones but it sounds like the audio is being recorded off of a laptop that's in the corner of the room or something.

Hell, you don't even need the green screen. If you're compelling and have something interesting to say, people will watch you if you're just in a messy bedroom or something.

 

[white dynamite]

Film it inside an isolation tank.

 

[ClayKavalier]

Hell, you don't even need the green screen. If you're compelling and have something interesting to say, people will watch you if you're just in a messy bedroom or something.

No, I'm pretty sure people only listen to Joe Rogan because they really like that nice brick wall.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

The one bit of feedback I could give immediately from watching one of your videos is to improve the audio. You're all using microphones but it sounds like the audio is being recorded off of a laptop that's in the corner of the room.

Yeah, that was the first thing to jump out at me as well.

Like, the setup you've got in those videos seems to work just fine as it is. Or at least it should. The mics look fine, the little stands work perfectly well - but Shark's right, it sounds like the audio in the videos isn't coming through those microphones. It sounds like it's being recorded off a laptop mic in the room somewhere.

Also, I think if you're looking to do video reviews, you're really going to want a mixer in that chain somewhere. Don't run all your audio through one laptop. Microphones should be going into a mixer, the output from the mixer should be running into the recording software. It gives you a level of fine-tuning you're probably going to need for the edit later. You'll probably also need a headphone amp/tap as well so everyone can monitor themselves correctly via the board output.

 

[Septic360]

The one bit of feedback I could give immediately from watching one of your videos is to improve the audio. You're all sitting in front of microphones but it sounds like the audio is being recorded off of a laptop that's in the corner of the room or something.

Funnily enough, the reason for the cack audio is because of the mic setup not working properly. That's something I need to sort out. Bobby mentions a mixer and some other stuff. I need to get on that.

Man, I can't remember the last time I saw the word camcorder.

It's always really cute to me when people buy professional equipment for a YouTube channel, especially when they're just starting out. You'll have a struggle ahead of you if you want to make a name for yourself and your gaming site, and marginally better video and sound isn't going to make much of a difference.
.

Yeah but come on- a cleaner setup and nicer intros etc all help. The content, of course that;s the primary concern but its good to present all the content in a tidy fashion.

Yeah, that was the first thing to jump out at me as well.

Like, the setup you've got in those videos seems to work just fine as it is. Or at least it should. The mics look fine, the little stands work perfectly well - but Shark's right, it sounds like the audio in the videos isn't coming through those microphones. It sounds like it's being recorded off a laptop mic in the room somewhere.

Also, I think if you're looking to do video reviews, you're really going to want a mixer in that chain somewhere. Don't run all your audio through one laptop. Microphones should be going into a mixer, the output from the mixer should be running into the recording software. It gives you a level of fine-tuning you're probably going to need for the edit later. You'll probably also need a headphone amp/tap as well so everyone can monitor themselves correctly via the board output.

I really have no clue about mixers and headphone amps. Do you have any info on them? I'll check to see what I can find on le internet.