My Toolkit Recommendations v2023Q1
Over the years I have tested and tried many products and services. It's a bit of an addiction honestly.
Here is my ever-evolving list of preferred tools, software and other resources that make up part of my continual business process.
The Studio Gear
RODE RODEcaster Pro
The Rode Rodecaster Pro is a pretty unique piece of audio gear, because it’s designed entirely with podcasting in mind. It's got a ton of great features that make it an essential part of my studio setup.
Ultimate Ears Custom Earphones
These custom fit, in-ear monitors allow podcast or interview recording without having big cans on your ears. Great for video, they fit incredibly well and look good too.
Sony Alpha a6600 Camera
I love, love, LOVE this camera. I actually have two of them in the studio. One with the 16mm lens and one placed farther away with the 30mm. My favorite feature by far is the eye tracking which adjusts focus based on where your eyes are in the shot.
16MM f/1.4 Sigma Lens Contemporary Lens
My favorite studio lens for my Sony Camera. I really like the low light performance, the wide angle and those blurry, cinematic backgrounds and bokeh makes my videos look very high quality.
Audio-Technica AT4053b Hypercardioid Condenser Microphone
I've learned that a mic near my mouth changes the way I act when recording. I also don't want a radio mic in my face when I do all my Zoom coaching calls. So, I found this indoor dialog microphone used in video production and love it. It sits off camera but provides incredibly rich sound. It's my primary studio mic.
Heil PR-40 Microphone
My go-to mic when it comes to all things audio in the studio when I require a close-to-my-mouth microphone.
Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro
Hard to believe but this little gem sits on my desktop and does what 3 people used to do on my TV show. Allows up to 4 camera inputs, one monitor output and lots of cool options for switching cameras with the simple press of a button. Allows me easy self-management of a 2 or 3 camera set.
Ikan Onyx LED Studio Lights
These lights are easy to work with in my small studio, have remote control switches and have a wide range of color and brightness. I've got them attached to my studio walls via wall brackets so that the included stands do not take up space in my office.
Third Party Tools and Services
Ecamm Live
ECamm Live is my studio streaming and recording application. Granted, it is only for Mac users, but it is such a great tool to use for video production. I love so much about this software as it makes production easy and seamless all by myself.
Descript
Descript has become our editor of choice for podcasts and simple video editing. It operates completely differently from other editors in that it keys off of the transcript not the sound for editing.
Notion
This mashup of a database, a spreadsheet, a to do list, a memory bank and so much more is the core of my personal operating system. Notion is open on my desk all day as the thing that everything goes into and comes out of to manage my work and life.
Trello
I live in my Trello Daily To-Do board. I'd be lost without it. We use it for all projects in the company as well.
Slack
Within our company, we also use Slack, a team communication tool. It saves a ton of inter-office email and gives us a channel for each client account.
Evernote
Evernote for all my notes about everything. While I have tried a lot of other tools for productivity, these two continue to win out.