Have you ever wondered how to start a video podcast or a video show like Good Mythical Morning for under $30-$50? Let's talk about that. =)
First off, this is slightly more than $30. I guess I bought the webcam while it was on sale. Secondly, one of our viewers BERT PD3CT challenged me to make a video podcast for under $50 and that's what this video will be covering: Video Gear, Audio Gear, Video/Audio Capture Software, & Video Editing Software.
Gear
Video Camera: for video I went on amazon and searched for HD webcams, and looked at the reviews. At the time of ordering the gear for this challenge, I came across the Logitech C310, which seemed to provide the best features and reviews while staying within the $50 budget. This camera only shoots 720p, so you will not have the best quality image, and you will need to film with a lot of lighting, but for the $20 that I paid for this, I am perfectly happy.
Microphone: Bert recommended using the Neewer NW-700, but with a mic stand, that would put me over $50, so I decided to go a different direction. I decided to pick up 3 pack of Neewer Omni-Directional Lav Mics, which at the time of writing this article costs $4.50...yeah less than $5 for 3 lapel mics. The downside to these mics is first, the quality is not the best, they will break, so make sure you treat them with care and test to make sure they are working before recording long videos. Second, the audio quality does suffer a little bit. These are omni directional microphones, so you will be picking up a lot of noise around you.
Interface: of course for the interface, I went with the trust Sabrent USB Audio Adapter, which runs $6.00. This is the adapter I use in almost all of my videos because it is the cheapest solution, and it provides really nice results.
Lighting: I am using the best lighting resource out there, the sun. I just set up in front of two big windows, and let the sun light me. Lighting is incredibly important and is what allows most cameras to perform at their best.
Software
Capture: On mac you can capture video/audio the way I do it, using quicktime. All you do is click file > new movie recording, and you are good to go. Prior to even opening quicktime, you do need to go into your sytems audio preferences and make sure that the correct microphone is selected for your audio input.
On Windows, I downloaded Windows Movie Maker. This program allows you to set your video input and audio input, and then record the video/audio right into windows movie maker.
Editing: On mac you can use iMovie. This is a super simple editing program that will allow you to cut and put together movie clips, as well as overlay music, and simple titles. You won't have the most complex or in depth tools available to you, but it will give you a basis to start.
On windows, you already recorded your footage into windows movie maker, so go ahead and edit and create your video in that program. The last time I made a movie in this software was back in 2005, but if I remember correctly, it has all the basic functionality that you will need to get a video made.
Conclusion
Option 1: The first option will cost you more than $50. You can get the Neewer NW-700 for about $20, then with the Logitech C310, will now set you back $30. On top of that you need to get the Sabrent USB Audio Adapter and a Mic Stand for the NW-700. So ultimately. You've spent closer to $70.
Option 2: Go with the lav mics. You can get a three pack of Neewer Omni-Directional Lav Mics for $5. They clip right on to your shirt, and they capture audio pretty well considering the cost. Next, you pick up the Logitech C310, which as I mentioned is $30, and then lastly, the Sabrent USB Audio Adapter. You come in at about $41 with this option, well under the $50 limit
With one option, you go over budget by a minimum of $20, and on the other hand you come in under budget by $9. That's enough money to buy all this gear, and then go out and buy a burrito. I know which option I would choose.
If you have any questions about any of the gear in this video, or any other methods, go ahead and leave a comment on this site or on youtube and I will do my best to get back to you ASAP.
