How to create a low cost professional webinar studio
Caroline
06 January 2022 - 3 min
Of course, it is possible to build a studio with professional camera equipment. A dedicated studio makes it easier for you to host webinars. You just turn on the lights and the camera and you’re ready to broadcast. No need to set up everything before every webinar.
But not everyone has a dedicated space to build an entire studio and trust us, we know how expensive professional camera equipment can be. But it’s still possible to get a really professional-looking webinar without spending thousands of euros.
Why would you use a professional camera setup?
Our webinar software is designed so anyone can create and broadcast a webinar with minimum requirements, like a laptop with a built-in microphone and webcam. This setup can be more than enough when you’re just starting out. But if you would like to improve your webinar quality or you want to get the most out of your webinars, then a professional camera setup can be useful.
A professional setup can have many versions and of course, you can make it as crazy and expensive as you want. At WebinarGeek, the webinars are hosted in a studio that has a multi-camera setup. The number of cameras depends on the number of presenters of the webinar. We usually have two or three cameras set up.
What do you need?
As the name suggests, a multi-camera setup exists of more than one camera. These do not have to be the most expensive cameras on the market. A decent DSLR or mirrorless camera is more than fine, but make sure your camera has an HDMI output.
You will also need a good-quality microphone. It might sound contradictory, but the sound is more important than video. You can watch a low-quality video with good sound, but you won’t be able to watch a high-quality video with an awful sound. Don’t forget about a laptop with the WebinarGeek software and a stable internet connection.
To use the cameras as a webcam you need a converter. We use the Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro to hook up all the gear and to convert everything super easy to the laptop. With this tiny switcher, you can control up to 4 high-quality video camera inputs, while being live!
What does a multi-camera setup cost?
As with everything, you can make these purchases as expensive as you want. But here’s an example of the costs of a high-quality multi-camera setup:
2 DSLRs: 1500 ($/€/£)
Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro: 500 ($/€/£)
2 HDMI cables: 20 ($/€/£)
USB-C cable: 25 ($/€£/£)
Microphone: 100 ($/€/£)
With the use of the ATEM Mini Pro, it is as simple as plug and play. Connect everything to the switcher and connect the switcher to the laptop. Log in to the WebinarGeek live environment and select the ATEM Mini as your webcam, and you’re done.
See, it is not that difficult to create a professional-looking multi-camera webinar setup.
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