In this present state of ‘life on hold’ that we are in, people are having difficulty accessing good fitness content, they are missing their normal in-person classes, or their favorite instructors, fitness studios, etc. Maybe you are that fitness instructor and you want to find a way to offer your classes from the comfort of your own home. There are many options of gear available today so here are the three primary needs in order to video stream from home: cameras, lighting, and audio.
Camera | Your smart phone already has you leaps and bounds better than were Pro video was even just 5 years ago. Most newer iPhones are 4K ready, in addition to having auto focus, facial recognition, and aperture ratios that are much more than they should be for something so small. However, if you want to upgrade to the next level, some good, cheaper options of DLSR that would work well are the Canon M6, or Sony A7iii. These cameras feature up to a 4K signal capture and offer an HDMI output. You can use an HDMI to USB conversion to get the stream back into your laptop to have that camera show up for your zoom, skype, teams video stream.
Lighting | A great lighting setup will take even the smart phone camera and make the image pop like a high-end studio camera. You can use amazon, B&H, Sweetwater, and a host of other websites to find great deals on LED rings, or LED light boxes. For optimal lighting you will want one LED light for each side of you, giving you an even wash, and preferably a third one setup behind you to give you some depth in your silhouette.
Audio | One draw-back to video streaming from a mobile device is that those iPhone mics don’t pick up so well the further you are from them. So, if you’re trying to do burpees 10 feet away no one will heat your gasps for breath 😊 . A simple shotgun-style directional mic has become more widely available for the mobile devices. Microphones like the Shure MV88, or the Rode ME-L offer a great microphone that is lightning compatible.
Overall, the mobile phone has brought civilization to another era of media capture with meme creation, videos for grandma, and emoji’s for days. In order to give it that sense of ‘Shot by Professionals’ look, additional gear is needed to amplify the phone’s ability and produce content the likes that you would be proud to call your own.
