Vlogger or Podcaster? Go to the next level. Here’s how.

If you create vlogs or video-based podcasts, and want to lift your game to the next level, then you’ll find this interesting and useful, I promise.

A little bit of history first.

Back in the mid-nineties, I wrote and directed training videos for AutoCAD, Microsoft Windows 95, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access. Each of these had up to 5 multi-volume VHS tapes with each tape averaging around 45 minutes.

The content was a professional presenter backed up with still images and video to take you through every aspect of each of the applications in a logical way. The central model used in most cases was of a fictitious FM radio station and how it could use these programs. This way we could teach both the fundamentals and more complex aspects of the applications with real world examples.

The videos were shot on a Panasonic videocamera M1 using tape, and analogue edited – this was before Adobe Premiere or any of its consumer rivals were around, and AVID systems were way out of reach of small studios like ours.

Graphics were created using screen shots from PowerPoint, and overlays such as titles etc were created using a dedicated graphics generator / downstream keyer that itself cost thousands on top of the thousands already invested in the camera, editing systems and audio equipment.

Each volume took about 2 weeks to create from the start of shooting, and required a crew of 4 plus the talent.

Fast forward to today, 30 years on.

Over the last few months or so I have taken to start creating tutorials and review videos – you can see what I have done so far here.

Whilst I do not claim to have the polish and poise or the voice attributes of the on-screen talent we used back then, I think I manage to get by and get my message across in these videos. But there is of course one very large glaring difference between then and now and that is in the equipment used.

And this is where I think vloggers and podcasters will start to get interested.

To get the main video imagery, I use a Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, and for secondary stuff, a Fujifilm X-S10. Other ancillary footage comes from a GoPro Hero 13 Black in a GoPro MediaMod which gives me HDMI access. Audio is via Sennheiser wireless mics and a Sennheiser MK4 mixed down through a RØDECaster Pro II console.

But there is a magic ingredient that ties all this gear together making life so much easier than I used to have in the 90s making those Microsoft videos. And that is a Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro.

If you recall, I mentioned the gear back in the day to add graphics, titles, overlays etc cost in the $1,000’s. Well the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro allows all of that for about $450 – and a whole lot more besides.

You see, it lets me plug in up to 4 HDMI based cameras, have them running simultaneously and mix between them at will. Additionally, I can create picture-in-picture effects between cameras, add transitional effects (wipe, push, dissolve etc) at the push of a button, record on -the-fly down to an SSD drive (I use a Samsung T5), have access to graphics, logos, titles etc I have pre-created and stored in a built-in GFX library and even edit audio using the incorporated and very sophisticated Fairlight audio tools.

Also available are upstream and downstream keyers for overlays and green screen work,

But crucially, if I want to, I can go a step further and with very little effort, live stream what I am recording direct to YouTube, Facebook Live, Skype, Twitch, Zoom or Microsoft Teams. I could, again if I wanted, sync a recording to Blackmagic Cloud and edit the production with DaVinci Resolve from anywhere in the world with internet access.

(For editing I use Resolve along with a DaVinci Resolve Speed Edit console)

The Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro even supports a macro language so you can create scripts to automate tasks.  So, for example, if you routinely start your live podcast with a title sequence and music and have a standard intro before switching to a live camera, this can be stored in a macro and recalled at will. An example of this is below.

<MacroPool>
<Macro index=”0″ name=”Graphics to Live” description=”Shows graphic, then switches to Camera 1″>
<Op id=”MediaPlayerSource”>
<MediaPlayer index=”0″ source=”1″/>
<!– Select Media Player 1 (Preloaded Graphic) –>
</Op>
<Op id=”ProgramInput”>
<MixEffectBlock index=”0″ input=”3010″/>
<!– Put Media Player 1 on Program –>
</Op> <Op id=”Sleep”>
<Duration>50</Duration>
 <!– Delay of 2 seconds (50 frames at 25fps) –>
</Op>
<Op id=”ProgramInput”>
<MixEffectBlock index=”0″ input=”1″/>
 <!– Switch to Camera 1 –>
 </Op>
</Macro>
</MacroPool>

Yep! All this functionality and capability for under $450.

Of course, if you need more than 4 cameras – which is highly improbable for vloggers / podcasters – there are larger Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro models available allowing up to 8 cameras and full ISO capability but even the top of the range unit is under $1600.

Check it out.