The Enthusiasm Project
The Enthusiasm Project
Help Me Find The BEST Mic! Season 13 Finale
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It's the Season 13 Finale! Let's recap what it's been like to produce a video podcast, see which mic sounded the best from all the episodes, and talk about what's next for The Enthusiasm Project!
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE MIC!
https://geni.us/favoritemic
🎙This week's mic:
Blue Sona / Yeti Studio
https://geni.us/sonamic (Amazon)
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——————————— CONNECT ———————————
Electronic Mail: tom@enthusiasmproject.com
Main Site: https://himynameistom.com
Social Medias: @sodarntom
——————————— PODCAST GEAR ———————————
•Rodecaster Video: https://bhpho.to/3Ub88j2 (B&H)
•Rodecaster Duo: https://geni.us/ULKDFkp (Amazon)
•Elgato Prompter: https://geni.us/elgatoprompter (Amazon)
•Mic Arm: https://geni.us/zc7hAbW (Amazon)
•Elgato Stream Deck Plus: https://geni.us/EzyY6o5 (Amazon)
•Headphones: https://bhpho.to/3JNacqg (B&H)
•XLR Cables: https://geni.us/bluexlr (Amazon)
S13E010 | Series Episode 184
Podcast Artwork by Kevin Ramirez
Original theme music written by Patrick Boberg and performed by Mike Alvarez
Thank you, hello and welcome. My name is Tom. This is the Enthusiasm Project, season 13, episode 10. This is the end, my friend, the Season 13 finale. Finally, it's the finale. So that means we got to look back at every episode this season, specifically to focus on microphones, and I can share some. I can do a little bit of NAB recap because that's what's going on in my world right now, and we can also talk about what's happening next after the season finale and kind of look back on what it's been like to just do a full season of video podcasts, a video version of the podcast. So that's a lot of stuff. It should be a ton of fun. I've been.
Speaker 1:We get to finally go through all of the mics for this season and you know, and then you can tell me which one you like the best and then I will do something with that information. What I will do with that information we will find out. I'm very curious to see how that goes. But before we dive into any of that, it wouldn't be fair to the mic I'm using right now not to have the mic of the week segment, not to give this microphone its due. So the microphone I'm using right now. I was very curious, very curious. I was very I don't know contemplative maybe is the word on which microphone I should use for the last episode, because I'm a fortunate enough person to have amassed a lot of microphones over the years and I've been trying to use a variety of different ones. I'm kind of looking off to the side because my main list is right over there, kind of on the wall, of everything that I've used and I mentioned this before, but I didn't want to use ones that are like discontinued ones that you couldn't really find anywhere. So I was trying to do a variety of microphones that are still available. The microphone that I'm using this week for this episode is the Blue Sona, which kind of doesn't exist anymore. It has been since rebranded as the Yeti Studio because Logitech purchased Blue, the brand and then blew it away and I don't know like they dissolved Blue. I'm not really entirely sure what their relationship is with Blue products anymore, but they just rebranded this the Yeti Studio.
Speaker 1:I've had people tell me like oh no, the Yeti Studio is actually a different mic from the Blue Sona. It it is not. It's the same microphone with a different name, which is great. It's a great microphone, but it's very strange the Blue name like Blue, makes pretty legendary good microphones. Like obviously the Blue Yeti is, you know, a very popular one that's sort of controversial. But then you have all of the ones used for like music and instruments and vocals and stuff that are like really well regarded and some of those popular ones around and they're just like, nah, just get rid of that and we'll just rebrand everything. So this is sometimes you can find it as the Blue Sona. It's very it's harder to find under that name now and now more often you can find it as the Yeti Studio. The MSRP is still $349, the same as it was when it was only known as the Blue Sona. Although I will say it is on sale a lot, I have not seen it for that full retail price very often. So it seems like it's often on sale sometimes for a lot less, like up to $100 less. And what's pretty cool about this microphone?
Speaker 1:And if you go back and watch my Blue Sona review, I compared this to the SM7B. This was one that, like I remember just one random day I went to B&H's website and I saw this at the banner at the top like new, you know, blue Sona microphone. I was like wait what? And I kind of looked it up and just I instantly ordered it. I have the white version. It comes in black. I have an SM7B windscreen on it. But they actually do have different colored windscreens. It comes with a red and a black one that are little magnetic windscreens. It's pretty cool and they always said like, oh, we'll make more available. But they kind of like I didn't really find that. But the SM7B ones, especially the ones I get from Reporter Store, work well on here.
Speaker 1:In my review I compared it head to head against the SM7B because it is $50 cheaper and what kind of you know sets it apart is that it does have a booster inside. So it's kind of like the SE Dynacaster. It's a dynamic microphone, it's not a condenser microphone. So it's dynamic just like the SM7B, but the booster is built inside. So right now, like on my Rodecaster, I am using 25 decibels of gain to get a signal, a loud enough signal on this microphone, versus like the 56 I would normally have to use with something like the SM7B. With the newer Rodecasters and stuff and newer interfaces that have lots of clean gain, like 70 plus decibels, that's not as critical because they have enough clean gain built in to run pretty much anything. But if you're wanting to use a microphone with an older interface or with something that does not have at least 70 decibels of clean gain and you would normally find yourself probably needing a booster, like a Fethead or a Cloudlifter or a Clark Technic or something. That is where a microphone like this you know it's already cheaper than the SM7B and you don't need to worry about a booster because it's built in. So it could potentially actually be quite a savings and the sound is really really good.
Speaker 1:If you go watch my review, I did a blind microphone test because I know people can be biased, which is fine. We talked about bias and preferences in like episode two of this season, episode two or three or sorry, episode four it was. I can look over there and see. So it's not that the bias is bad, but I know that people, when I hold up the SM7B and then I hold up a blue microphone, people are, you know, going to lean towards the SM7B, which I totally get. So I did. Blind, you can't see the microphone, you can only hear it, and it was shocking the number of people that leaned towards this over the SM7B, with no effects and no processing. So right now it is running through the RODECaster Duo. If I turn off the processing, this is what it sounds like actually still sounds excellent, and that is probably to where. Compared to the SM7B without processing I'm going to turn that back on Compared to the SM7B without processing, this microphone definitely has more character straight out of the box, which could be a good thing or a bad thing.
Speaker 1:You know, the SM7B is so flat that if you want to throw it on a bunch of different voices, you can EQ it and shape it to suit those voices really well, whereas you know, a microphone that has more of a distinct character, sometimes there are just voices that it doesn't work on. So anyway, that is this microphone. I quite enjoy this microphone the Blue Sona or the Yeti Studio, whatever you want to call it. However you want to categorize it, I think it's cool. I also really love the design of it and now that I've had mine for several years since the release, it still works great. I love it.
Speaker 1:I was thinking of other microphones to throw in because I was kind of running out. There were a couple that I didn't get to use. I really wanted to use a pod mic, because that's sort of like I felt strange during this whole season without using a pod mic. And then I also wanted to use the Procaster, the Rode Procaster, but I did already. I ended up using a lot of Shure microphones and that would have added another one or two Rode microphones in addition to the couple that are already in there, and I kind of wanted to just branch out to other things besides just Shure and Rode. This really taught me that I have a lot of Shure and Rode microphones Makes sense.
Speaker 1:But yeah, and then there's other things. Like I did the earthworks ethos, I didn't do the earthworks icon, which does have a very different sound ethos, but you know I would. If I had to choose between those two, I would personally prefer the ethos. That's the one I did. I did the Luit 440. I didn't do the 240, which also sounds great, and I didn't do the Ray, which basically sounds exactly the same as a 440, but has some cool proximity features. You know, we did like the NT1 Signature Series. So I didn't do the NT1 5th generation or, you know, like NT1 4th generation. So there was there's some microphones that because I did the one, I sort of didn't do others that I felt were sort of similar. So, anyway, that was my logic behind choosing this microphone and other microphones throughout this season.
Speaker 1:So now, before we jump into that great mic showdown, I do want to talk about what's coming up next after finishing the season. And this was something I was almost thinking like, oh, this should go at the end because we're talking about what's next. But I do have a sort of a big schedule change update thing and I felt like maybe I don't want to just kind of throw that at you at the very, very end and then be like goodbye, maybe it's something we can talk about, sit with here and then go into the rest of the episode. So, first and foremost, the biggest thing I want to do is give a huge thank you to everybody who listens to the podcast, watches the podcast, supports the show. I have been bombarded with really kind, really positive messages this season and it is, it's just been awesome. And you know, if there's those times where I have to skip a week, for whatever reason, people ask like, hey, when's the next episode, when's it coming? And that means a lot to me because it's cool to know that people really care and that makes it. You know I like making podcasts, I like doing this podcast a lot, so obviously it's something I want to keep doing, but that kindness and that support means it's not just something I want to keep doing, but like that that makes it really special and really meaningful and helps also keep it really, really fun for me. So, that being said, I'm going to go in kind of a different direction here. So, when it comes to what is next for the podcast, we've done 13 seasons, you know, edging up close to 200 episodes.
Speaker 1:At this point, if you don't know the journey, you know I'm guessing if you're listening to this you might actually know, but if you don't, the first few seasons I did were 21 episode seasons. So I just said 21 weeks straight and I barely missed a single week and I think I did that the first five-ish seasons and that was a lot, because it was basically I started the show and the reason I'm sharing this is if you're someone who's also into podcasting, starting a podcast you're checking this show out. Maybe you haven't heard all the old episodes or whatever. I think this could be helpful info. You know, learn from my experience if you can, or take away whatever helpful nuggets you can.
Speaker 1:I started the show and it was just make an episode every week, cool. There were all the reasons I wanted to start a podcast, all the stuff I wanted to share. After 21 weeks I was kind of like I think I got it out. Like I think I got it out of my system. And that first season is very, very personal. It's very like stuff that had been inside of my brain and feelings and all these things that had nowhere to go for many, many years. All of that got shared. It's almost like starting a YouTube channel and suddenly have an outlet for all this stuff. And so after 21 episodes, I kind of was like I think I did it. I got it all out. What do I want to do?
Speaker 1:So I decided to take a break and then come back for another batch of episodes, which I just called season two and those. I want it to be a little more focused, like a little more. You know, when I started the show, nobody's listening, turns out like, hey, there are actually some people who are listening. Okay, so let's focus on the audience, let's focus on what can make the show actually valuable for somebody who's listening. And you know, maybe, maybe just be a little more, a little more focused, especially since I kind of got like the initial stuff out of my system that I needed to get out and now I can shift gears a little bit. And that was awesome. And you know, it became like very creator focused and stuff, which I think is really, really fun. And so I did. I didn't know how many episodes to do, but I was like, well, I did 21 last time.
Speaker 1:No-transcript seasons were 21 episode seasons and then it was like 21 is a lot, because what I was noticing was happening, if you look at you know, there's 52 weeks in a year. Basically, it's by the time you do a season, take a couple weeks off, do another season, that's a whole year. So you're doing two seasons a year and that's a lot. And what I was noticing was, when I was starting the seasons, being like, okay, I'm going to start the show up again. That means the next 21 weeks. Like you know, I have a thing that's kind of built into my schedule and especially, a lot of the time I was also still working my full time job as a teacher, also still doing the YouTube channel and everything, and so eventually I was like, okay, I need to to tone that down a little bit. And so I decided you know who says the reason it's 21 episodes, because that's just where I ended season one.
Speaker 1:It didn't. It didn't mean any, it was a random number that felt like a decent number. So I cut it down to 10 episode seasons. I was like, hey, you know, in the modern era a lot of shows are 8, 10, 12 episodes. I'll just do 10 episode seasons way more manageable, two and a half months per season, and that works great. So I share that.
Speaker 1:Just for the sustainability factor, which is something I talk about a lot whenever I talk about, you know, helping people start podcasts is your posting schedule. Is this something you're just going to do every week forever until you die or until you get burnt out on it, or do you? You know how do you want to approach that? For me, breaking into seasons and then breaking that down into shorter seasons really made the show significantly more sustainable, which also helped keep it a lot more fun. So that was quite a lifesaver for me and I've been doing that ever since, and now you know we're wrapping up season 13. So that the 10 episode thing really, really, really did help Now between seasons 12 and 13,. There was the biggest gap I've ever taken. Normally it's a couple of weeks. Maybe I would push it like a month if it was the end of the year and it kind of included like maybe some Christmas, new Year's kind of like push it a month there, normally be like a couple weeks and then a season. The gap between seasons 12 and 13 was like seven months or something. It was a lot and the reason for that was because I did want to.
Speaker 1:I was trying to figure out the video thing. I wanted to do the show. I felt like video was a thing I wanted to explore. I couldn't quite figure it out and you know, figuring out what channel it goes on, what's the workflow, all the things I talked about way back in the first episode of the season, figuring all that stuff out, and that took a lot of time to kind of do in a way that didn't just work for one episode but could be an actual workflow. And now I do actually have a video on my channel, if you haven't seen it. That is my video podcast workflow, which kind of covers how I do this and I do think at least for a single person podcast it is. It's about as simple as you can get. It's definitely, again, things that help keep it fun and sustainable. So it took a long time to develop that and I wanted to be really comfortable with that workflow and that process before diving into the video version, into season 13. And then we've done the video version. So there's a couple things about that, which is now that I've done a whole season of the video version. Something I was really excited about was let me do the whole season and see what I think Like is video worth it? Is it not?
Speaker 1:I am of two minds. I still think that if you do not want to do a video version of a podcast, if you're an audio only podcaster, I think that is totally fine. I do not think you have to or should do a video version of your podcast if you don't want to. It should be something you want to do. It should be something that adds to your show, not just like, hey, now it's more work and less fun, but I feel like I should be doing it. Yay, that kind of stuff is never, is really never that fun. So I like doing the video version. I want to continue doing the video version and more episodes. I just really enjoy it.
Speaker 1:I, you know, as a video production person, it feels kind of cool to kind of crack the code a little bit for video podcasting. I have gotten really good feedback on it. I love being able, you know, even though I've never been super strategic with the podcast and growth and all that stuff, it is nice to be able to take advantage of everything YouTube has to offer by, you know, having video versions out there. And I will say just kind of like the very broad look at analytics that I take, I do notice that the viewership or the listenership of the podcast has basically doubled because of YouTube. So the amount of people listening to the audio only version actually did dip a little bit because I think people obviously moved over to YouTube instead, but that stayed pretty consistent and then it's pretty much the same number of people also listening on YouTube. So it effectively doubled the listenership of the show. And that's because YouTube has, you know, it's incredibly advanced algorithm and recommendations and all those things which you know really does help if you want to grow a show and for what it's worth.
Speaker 1:I did notice that the episodes that are actual video versions, like this, where there's a video file uploaded and playing do get recommended and surfaced to people more than the episodes that are audio only, because it's still imported. Every episode is on YouTube, but the ones that don't have a video component it's just the static image of the album art. It's the audio file and that's what YouTube does automatically when you import it from your directory. So if you have an audio only podcast hosted somewhere like Buzzsprout, like I do, you can import that to YouTube. It'll automatically import new episodes, audio only. It'll create the whole thing for you. It'll be in the podcast directory, it'll be searchable, but it doesn't seem like they're really recommending that too much in terms of like how they, you know, recommend videos and things to people. At least that's what I've noticed. The 10 episodes or nine so far episodes I've done that are full video get a lot more recommendations than the previous. You know 175 episodes that didn't have video components. So that's kind of my findings. Take that for what it's worth as you're making these decisions.
Speaker 1:As much as I like doing the video version, obviously a component of it, even getting the workflow narrowed down as much as I can, it still takes a lot of time. It does take more time than the audio only version. It does take time to perform. It's very different to talk to a camera, to have to turn on a studio, set everything up, frame everything, put together the visuals. All that stuff takes a lot more time than it was for me when I would. You know, I could just be. All I needed to worry about was does it sound good? What am I talking about? Here's my bullet points.
Speaker 1:It was, you know, for me and the type of show that I do, the audio only version is significantly easier to produce. But I really liked the video version and I'm proud of it and I want to keep doing the video version. But it does make it difficult, which is why there are several weeks throughout the season that I had to miss, just because there was not time was not time to do it and and that's just kind of, I wanted to make sure that I did it well. I didn't want to just kind of phone it in, I wanted to make sure that every episode was a good episode, and so that did kind of take some time. You know, that's just kind of. That's just kind of how it was.
Speaker 1:So, from here then, what does that mean? Going into, you know, season 14 and beyond, I am going to do something that is really really terrible for podcast growth. I hope you'll be patient with me. I hope you'll understand where I'm coming from with this advise you to do if you want to grow your audience, grow your podcast. But it is something that I would advise you to do, or at least that I'm going to do, as somebody who wants to keep podcasting and keep having fun podcasting, which is that I am, for the first time since doing the show, not going to be sticking to any sort of schedule. I've been very consistent and structured with, like, my YouTube channel and my upload schedule there. I've been pretty consistent with the podcast.
Speaker 1:When I'm in a season, it's like, you know, every Monday there's the episode. Every once in a while I have to skip one and I've sort of, you know, become more comfortable with that, just because it's it's just sort of a fact of life and it's a thing that has to happen sometimes. But something I have noticed is there is a part of me that when I finish a season I kind of feel like, oh, like I did it. You know, it's like running a race. I'm glad I ran the race, very excited about that, but wow, I can rest now and I get that.
Speaker 1:But the counterpoint to that is then, when it's time to start a season, there is a little bit of anxiety that builds up of like, okay, you know, initially that was, oh, that means the next 21 weeks are going to be busy, there's going to be this extra thing on my schedule, this other commitment I need to follow through on, this other thing to check up on and take care of, and that's a lot. And then, you know, cutting that down to 10 really helped, but adding in the video version especially, it's to me it's just not sustainable for what I need to do and what I need to focus on, which is funny because even though I got rid of, like, my full time teaching job so it's, you know, youtube's my full time thing when I was working two full time jobs or more than two-time jobs it's like getting rid of one of those. I didn't want to just fill up that time again. Like I'm still working a full-time, more than full-time job doing YouTube. It's, you know, every single day. I can easily go many months, if not like a year or more, without actually taking a real day off, and you know that. Take that. So throwing something else on top of that, that's another weekly thing that I have to do.
Speaker 1:It can actually be a little bit stressful, and the last thing that I want is for this not to be fun or enjoyable. I don't want to make episodes out of obligation and I don't want to make episodes. I don't want to make someone listen, spend their time on an episode that wasn't something I was actually excited about or interested in. I don't think that that's fair. I don't think that that's good. So I am, for the foreseeable future, just going to post episodes when I post them. What that looks like, I have no idea, so you know, and that could mean there's months in between episodes. That could mean there's two episodes in a week.
Speaker 1:I really don't know what I have learned, and what I did learn when I took the really long break between seasons 12 and 13 was that there were a lot of times that I was like, oh, this would be a great podcast episode, I want to do a podcast episode about this. But the thing that stopped me was the feeling of if I make one episode, that means I have started a new season and that means I have to make nine other ones as well, and so then I just ended up not making any, you know, and some of those topics were kind of timely or they became less relevant or whatever. So a lot, most of that stuff actually never made it into episodes this season and looking back I'm like, oh, that's like that was a decent chunk of episodes through the span of six or seven months, maybe even an entire season's worth of episodes. That could have been pretty decent. That just never got made because they didn't fit into like this arbitrary production schedule that I had made for myself, versus if I had been like oh, I really want to make an episode right now. You're gonna get something that is like so interesting because it's the thing I want to be doing more than anything else in that moment, and then maybe that means there's, you know, five more weeks before another episode or something, and I think that I would rather do that for now. You know, the thing that's a bummer and the thing I guess why I'm like hesitant to share that or I feel guilty, is because people have been so kind and so supportive of the show and I feel like most people would say, like we're on board for whatever you just share whenever we're here. But I also know that you know there's something really nice about that consistency of hey. Every Monday I get a new episode of this podcast every. You know it's anything TV shows, youtube channels. It's really nice when you know hey, this new episode here, new video here, new season premiere there, like it's. That kind of structure and building it into your life is really good. From a very practical standpoint of trying to grow anything online, being able to be consistent for your audience is a key thing. It's definitely something I think anybody would recommend to somebody.
Speaker 1:Getting started out is like make sure you, like people know they can listen to you, because once there's nothing for them to listen to, they will find other things and they will forget about you. But having done this as long as I have and as many episodes as I have, and also the fact that this is something that is a genuine passion project for me, like it's not it's really not a source of revenue or anything, it's just something I do because I like to do it. If I need to make some changes to protect the fun and the enjoyment, then that's something that I want to keep doing and this is kind of the way for now that I think I can do that. You know, you never know, maybe I'll do that for a while and be like, hey, seasons are fun, or I'll have a whole run of episodes that make sense to do as a season, or something like that. But for right now I want to essentially not have the obligation of the weekly thing, where then it feels like I have failed if I can't do it, you know, because maybe I have to travel out of town for a conference, maybe I'm sick, maybe I have other projects I need to work on and there's just not time for it, and now I feel like, oh, I don't have anything this week. I have messed up. You know, do I? Do I just make something just to make something, or no, I should wait and make something really good, which I'm glad that that is.
Speaker 1:The decision I made was to not just make something for the sake of having something ready Anytime that there was not an episode for a week or whatever it's, because I wanted to wait until there was an episode I was really proud of. And that means I can look back at this whole season and be like, yes, I really like every episode and that makes me very happy and yeah, so that's basically. It is after this. Uh, there will this, it will not be. I have no intention of this being the last episode ever. Uh, it's a season finale and then there will be another episode at some point in time. I don't know, it could be next week, it could be not. So I I wish I had more specifics for you and I I appreciate in advance, I appreciate your support, because it is that support and that kindness that helps keep this fun and exciting and is something that makes me want to keep doing it and to keep going. So that is what is happening next in terms of this podcast after season 13.
Speaker 1:So now we can move on to the meat and or potatoes of this episode, for this finale right here, which is going to be, like I mentioned before, like I teased before, the mics of the season segment. So on screen I have a collage of a lot of the microphones I've used this season. Not every single one of them, but a lot of them. Here's what we're going to do, and this is going to be a little bit different. We are going to listen to clips from every one of the microphones. So there's the one I'm on right now the Blue Sona, the Yeti Studio. There are also nine other microphones.
Speaker 1:For my own sanity, I did think about setting up 10 total microphones and trying to switch between them and then adjust the sound, and that gave me a little anxiety to think about doing that. So instead of doing that, I figured, hey, I already have real world examples of each of these microphones being used. So we're just going to go through all of the episodes and I'll play a quick clip so that way you can hear in real world action each microphone, not just a random test, but you can also you can hear how it was used after I had also EQ'd it in the way I wanted it to use. So normally in my YouTube videos when I do a mic review, I don't use any effects or processing. I just use the microphones straight out of the box and so you can hear what they sound like, because I never know what interface or mixer people might be running stuff into and I want them to get you know the best idea of just how the mic sounds and then they can you know kind of factor in their equipment, their workflow.
Speaker 1:This is a little bit different. I want you to hear each microphone with effects and processing, the way that I use it. So all of these are being run through the Rodecaster Duo different presets, different adjustments and things but they are how I use them and so I pretty much would never really use a microphone without some level of effects or processing on it. And I want you to be able to hear that on each one, because it's not just like, well, which microphone do you think sounds best? But it's like in this context of a video podcast, at least with me and my voice in this environment, what do you think sounds the best? I'm very curious.
Speaker 1:There is a link in the description to this episode to just a Google form where you can vote for the one that you think is best, and I am very curious to see what people vote for, because I don't. I like them all. Like, every time I use a microphone, every time I use a mic, I always feel like, oh, I really like this one, I really like that one, oh, I should use this one more, I should use that one more. So I'm very curious to see what you think and we're just going to go through each episode. There's no deadline to vote or anything. It's definitely something I will cover whenever I do another episode in the future.
Speaker 1:But to make you not have to wait a question mark amount of time after you know it seems like there's been enough time to collect votes, I can also just do like social media shares, like an Instagram story and a YouTube community post, to kind of say like, hey, here's the winner of that one, which will be really fun and then probably makes sense to use that microphone in the next episode. You know, probably makes sense. So unless it's all just even what, if there's no winner, it's just perfectly even for every one of them. You never know what's going to happen with these things. So I have every episode pulled up here in YouTube and we're just gonna I kind of picked like basically just random spots of the episode. So, especially if you're not watching the video version, if you're watching the video version you'll be able to see when it's me right now talking and when it's me in a past episode.
Speaker 1:If you're just listening, I will try to be very clear. You don't need to pay too much attention to what I'm saying in the clips, because it's probably going to be out of context and irrelevant, but you do want to pay attention to just the sound quality, and then, obviously, I'm going to be coming back to this microphone in between each clip. So let's start with the first one. This is the Season 13 Premiere and the microphone I was using in that is the Shure SM7B running through the Rodecaster Duo on a custom preset. So this is me on the Blue Sona, and now you'll hear me on the SM7B. Maybe Getting consistent audio a little bit tricky.
Speaker 1:Typically, this is also where I talk about what gear I'm using, but for this episode I'm going to go into so much detail about the gear that I'm using to put this show together, because I think that will be really helpful for people. So that's me on the SM7B. This is me on the Blue Sona. Let's hear a little bit more of the SM7B. We're just kind of focusing on mic of the week because that's the thing that's probably going to change the most. Ideally, the rest of the gear shouldn't change, because I have spent so long putting this all together. And now I'm back on the Blue Sona and I was right. The other gear didn't change. The only thing that changed every week was the mic of the week and the camera. I did end up changing my camera to the EOS R, which has been fantastic. I've been really, really happy and excited about using the EOS R. So that's the Shure SM7B.
Speaker 1:Let's jump to episode two, where I then use the Shure SM4. This is a condenser microphone. It made sense to start a podcast using the SM7B, one of Shure's oldest microphones, and then I jumped to one of Shure's newest if not their newest microphone, the SM4. So this is me on the Blue Sona, or the Yeti Studio, and this is now you'll hear me on the SM4. So this is the mic of the week segment, with the chill background beats included as an intro over here.
Speaker 1:One thing I said last week and this was an idea that somebody else gave me is to use a different microphone in every episode this season and then, at the end or after the season's over, I guess, have people vote on which one they think sound the best, and that's what we're doing right now. You heard me on the SM4. Now you're hearing me on the Blue Sona. This is me on the Sona. Let's go back to the SM4. And that's just which one they like the most, and so that's something I'm going to do, and this week the microphone I'm using is the Shure SM4. There you go, and now I'm back on the blue In my ears, at least in my headphones right now. These two are sounding really similar, which is very funny because they're totally different brands condenser versus dynamic but it might just be the processing. I just want to hear the SM4 again a little bit, which is a microphone I haven't used in a while, and a reason for that for me not using the 4, I actually really like this microphone. I like huh, yeah, they sound. It's a good sounding microphone, but I'm impressed at how much this dynamic microphone I'm currently using sounds like that condenser microphone. So that was the SM4.
Speaker 1:The third episode, or the next episode, I used the Rode Broadcaster, which is kind of. I actually want to do a review, a dedicated review, on this microphone and basically call it like Rode's Forgotten Mic or something like that. I thought I had a name for it the mic that Rode forgot, or something like that, because I think it's often overlooked, although it is quite popular and it is a condenser microphone. So here's me on the Blue Sona, and now you'll hear me on the Rode Broadcaster. So here's me on the blue sona and now you'll hear me on the road broadcaster stuff and it's sort of that thing where you know one or two things here and there doesn't really stand out to me, but multiple of the same things start to start to kind of stand out to me and sort of spark, like you know, some thoughts and some discussions and I don't really know what I'm talking about in terms. I don't know what was standing out to me there. But that is me on the broadcaster. This is me on the Blue Sona. Let's hear a little bit more of the broadcaster. I there's a way. It's kind of like there's a way I think you can be a professional and a way that maybe you don't want to be a profession. There we go, and now I'm back over here. So that was the Rode Broadcaster.
Speaker 1:Next microphone that we're gonna go for is the Earthworks Ethos, so another condenser microphone. Let's hear how the Ethos sounds here and then I'll share my thoughts and my feedback real quick. So this is me on the Blue Sona and then you'll hear me on the Ethos Microphone. Like that is not at all geared towards professional use, but that's the kind of thing I'll make a video on and have people say like, oh, you could never use this for like real, you know, projects or whatever it's like. You shouldn't. That's not what it's for. It is a $30 to $40 wireless microphone and back over here on the blue, the Ethos.
Speaker 1:What I have said about the Ethos is that, to my ears and I don't want to push your voting or your opinions too much, because there's no right or wrong here I didn't put in like gotcha, it's just hey, which mic do you like? The thing that I have always felt with the Ethos, it is that it is the least fatiguing microphone to listen to for a long period of time. Most microphones can sound really good for short periods of time, but if you're listening to hour, hour and a half two hour long podcast or something, listen to an audio book the Ethos really nice. So let's hear a little bit more from the Ethos now. I'm a professional person. I would like to be professional at what I do. I would like to, you know, be considered a professional content creator. But I actually had a revelation, believe it or not, at a hockey game last week where I was thinking about this, and that's why I wanted to add this addendum here. All right, and then I'm back over here. This microphone sounds good too, and mic.
Speaker 1:Comparisons are always tricky. This is something I've talked about before. Your ears can get fatigued, I think, anytime. Well, I've proven it. I've used all of these microphones for a whole episode and I think every episode sounds great. When you start going back and forth, your ears start adapting and getting used to and looking for different things in different microphones and so, going back and forth, suddenly it's like things that didn't bother you are now bothering you. So, as we're going through this, do your best to kind of I don't know if you can maintain an unbiased ear, which I think might be, like physiologically very difficult to do. I would recommend doing that. But yeah, just something to kind of, just something to kind of point out there as we go through this.
Speaker 1:The next microphone we're going to listen to is the Rode NT1 Signature Series, one of my favorite microphone. I mean, I own all these because they're my favorite microphones. This one's blue. So yeah, it gets a little bias, I'll admit it. But here's me on the Sona and then you'll hear me on the Rode NT1 Signature Series. That's a headphones and suddenly there's this thing that just does it easily, like that was a magic piece of gear, even like the original ATEM Mini, you know at the time. Now there's so many switchers I've been doing all kinds of videos on switchers lately but the original ATEM Mini, like there we go. And now I'm back over here on the Sona from the Rode NT1 Signature Series. Now the Signature Series does basically have the exact same sound as the Rode NT1 Signature Series. Now the Signature Series does basically have the exact same sound as the Rode NT1 5th generation. The difference with the 5th gen is that it has USB also, so it's a combo microphone, usb, xlr combo mic and it's a little more expensive. So if you just want kind of the stripped down version, you get the Signature Series. And I think it's kind of amazing too because it comes with the shock mount and a pop filter and don't 100% quote me on this, it's been a while since I took mine out of the box. I believe it also comes with an XLR cable. It's one of the few XLR mics that comes with an XLR cable for like $170. So it's a great deal.
Speaker 1:Let's listen to a little bit more of the NT1 Signature Series. As I was fighting with macOS, um, I really wish I hadn't updated to sequoia, because it is just bug city and, uh, it sucks, like I do not like sequoia, it doesn't work. Um, that's, that's. Yeah, I. I still agree with myself there, but that's a funny part to kind of tune into. Uh, on that one all right up.
Speaker 1:Next we are going into the land of lewitt with the l 440 Pure, which again doesn't have the same sensory like capabilities as the newer Luit Ray, but the Ray and the 440 do have the exact same capsule, so the overall sound is the same between them. So here's me on the Sona, and then you're going to hear me on a condenser microphone which is the Luit 440. So here's me on the Sona, and then you're going to hear me on a condenser microphone which is the Lewitt 440. I don't think it would have been as special to do it here and so it was awesome. Like, despite all the exhaustion, everything that was amazing, it was the coolest thing. And Heather and I you know Heather was like outside the glass taking photos and I could see her. When we're in the third period, I really love that microphone.
Speaker 1:The difference there is the 240. So the 440 is a little more expensive. It's $250-ish, we'll say. There's also the LCT 240, which is about $100. Exact same physical design, just a different capsule in there. If I were doing 21 episodes, I definitely would have included the 240. The difference with the 240 is that it's a little brighter and a little like emphasizes the high ends a little bit more. Actually, I forgot what I was looking at. It is behind me on the wall over here. I have a white version, but it also comes in black as well. So the 240 just sounds a little bit thinner and a little bit brighter than the 440. Both think are phenomenal microphones. I do personally prefer the sound of the 440, but the price and value of the 240 is like really hard to beat. So sometimes that's the one I actually end up recommending more.
Speaker 1:Let's hear a little bit more from the Lewitt 440. Waiting for like a ref to say like actually there's five minutes left or you know, a goal went in that no one noted, like some something like a gotcha moment, and it never happened because we actually did the thing and that was just super, super cool, all right. And then I'm back over here on the Blue Sona or the Yeti Studio. Next microphone is I'm wearing the same shirt that I'm wearing right now, so this is going to get a little confusing to look at. The next one is the Shure Super 55, the Elvis mic, but the super cardioid version, not the regular version, and I mentioned this in that in that episode. Shure makes still makes two Dynacaster microphones that look like this the Super 55, which is the one I'm using and that has blue kind of windscreen, blue foam in there, and the traditional 55SH, which has the gray foam in there, and I have a video that compares the two.
Speaker 1:I very, very much prefer the sound of the Super 55. I found the 55SH to be very boxy and I just kind of genuinely didn't like the sound of it. And the Super 55 is a little more expensive but just like sounds great as is. So here is me on the Blue Sona, the Yeti Studio, and then let's listen to me on the Shure Super 55. I think some of them actually could do video as well, but it was like I don't know what you would do with the video. It was like 360p, standard definition, four by three resolution, like there's nothing you can really do with the video, especially pre-YouTube. Where are you even going to upload that, I don't know. So that's a great sounding microphone. It's also it might be the coolest looking microphone ever. You know I have a lot of microphones that I love the style of that. I love the design of the Super 55, it is maybe the coolest looking microphone, at least to me, that there is. So let's listen to a little more of the Super 55.
Speaker 1:I really wanted like a real camera, a camera with a lens, so I saved up a bunch of money. I remember sitting in my little like college apartment and then like pacing back and forth with the order confirmation page on B and now I'm back over here on the Blue Sona. So there's Super 55. Gosh, I love that mic and I loved using it for that episode because, especially using kind of a different boom arm and some different mounting, it had been a while since I used it for a podcast and I was like, wow, this is way easier to use with some of the gear that I have now that I didn't have when I first got the microphone, so kind of wanted to use it even more.
Speaker 1:Up next we're going to look at the SE Dynacaster. So definitely something that's a bit different compared to a lot of the Shure and Rode mics. Throughout this season that I've used the Dynacaster given to me by Bronson from Audio Hotline. Actually a very interesting mic to compare to this one here, because they're super similar. Their prices are really similar. They're both dynamic microphones with built-in boosters. So the Dynacaster and the Sona the Yeti Studio probably more direct competitors than any of the other mics that I have. I just didn't have the Dynacaster back when I got the Sona and did my review on that, otherwise I would have compared them there. So now I haven't heard the sound clip from this in a while. So now I am actually pretty curious to hear the difference in sound between this, the Yeti Studio, and the DynaCaster.
Speaker 1:Let's hear it In my workflow. The camera that I've had mounted on my desk since I redid everything has been the Sony a7 IV, which is great, and sometimes I swap out other lenses I have, you know, like my Tamron 20-40. And then back over here on the Sona the Yeti studio. That was the first episode I did using the EOS R, which, yeah, the camera just looks so good. We're not talking about cameras right now, but in this setting the EOS R is just looking so good. So, yeah, let's listen to a little more from the Dynacaster 24 1.4 over here here when I'm doing podcasts and streams, just because it does, I think, look the best in this setup and, you know, gives me the best amount of background blur and back over here.
Speaker 1:So last microphone to go for oh yeah, the where I'm wearing the same shirt again. Uh, I have like five shirts. Not even a bunch of them are the same shirt. Sometimes when I find a shirt like these very cheap Amazon shirts, I just buy multiple of them because they're like $12, $15. And then it's like oh, I know they fit and they like look good on camera. So just have a few of them and never have to worry about it.
Speaker 1:The last one is the Shure SM58. I'm so glad I included this one because it is in a world of tons of variety of microphones it is something that can kind of be overlooked, especially when it comes to being used as a broadcast style microphone, not just a handheld live event microphone. But it's so affordable with its $99 price tag and it does sound really good, I believe. You know don't 100% quote me on this, but the capsule inside there is super duper similar to the SM7B. So let's then listen to the SM58. You're hearing me on the blue sonar.
Speaker 1:Right now let's switch over to the SM58. That is like the golden era and the golden age and all that, and people were still like, nah, this sucks at the time. So you know that idea of things being the internet comes with. You know, the ability for people to just share whatever thoughts they happen to have. And I was using I do remember I was using the SM7B preset. There. I am using the generic condenser setting on this microphone, even though it's a dynamic mic, and I kind of tweaked some of the settings a little bit. I've kind of gone in and turned some things off. So this is a version of the condenser setting. And then let's go back to the 58, which was on the Rodecaster's SF7B preset and they're there forever and that gives them, that gives them a weight. You know that thought is not just something you had once, it's something that happens every single time somebody sees it, every single time somebody hears it or encounters it.
Speaker 1:Alrighty, there we go. That is all of the microphones. That's everything we use this season, everything I use this season, everything you listen to. You can click in the description there is a link to just a Google poll, a Google form, where you can choose which microphone you prefer. So fill that out. You don't need to like log in or give your email or do anything. You should just be able to just open it up, vote, submit and be done.
Speaker 1:And I'm very curious to see what everybody preferred. I'm not going to vote in it, I want to see what everyone else prefers. I'll wait, you know, a week or two after this episode comes out to kind of let votes come in, and then I'll share either well, probably through a YouTube community post and on social media posts, if that is before I want to do another episode of the podcast. Either way, in the next week or two, I'll be sure to share the results somehow so you can know what won, which one won, and then we'll see where we can go from there. I don't know what that's going to lead to. It's not very scientific or anything. It's not like I'm going to throw away every microphone that didn't win, but I am very curious If there's an overwhelming victor in this.
Speaker 1:That is something that would live in my brain as like when I need to use a microphone for a podcast and I'm, you know, kind of without thinking, what do I use, grab that one. So it would actually be a very helpful thing, especially sometimes if I do things like go on other people's live streams or other people's podcasts. Sometimes it is really helpful. Like I'm not entirely sure what they're using, what's going to go well with them. So if there's something that everyone just kind of prefers here, that might be the go to to use with other people as well. So, thank you.
Speaker 1:That was not my idea to do the mic comparison mic test. So, thank you. I can't remember exactly. I think a couple people had the idea Was it Patrick? Was it Patrick Boberg? A couple of people had the idea to do different mic every episode and then we all vote at the end. So I think that's awesome. It's really fun. I'm glad that I was able to keep that up the whole season and use different microphones. So definitely vote, click the link in the description, vote for it and let me know. Let me know which one, which microphone, you prefer.
Speaker 1:All right, let's move in. Talk about some channel check-ins where we can see what I've been up to, what we've been doing. Or because we were listening to video clips and I was like where's my intro song? Then it was very loud. Hey, it could be the season finale. It doesn't mean I'm not gonna have any technical problems NAB. So that is a thing that happened within the past week.
Speaker 1:So since last time I recorded a podcast, I have gone and returned from NAB 2025 in Las Vegas, which was a pretty incredible experience. It was very different than last year In that last year I went with Heather and then we also basically teamed up with Bronson from Audio Hotline. So it's kind of the three of us Most the most of us, the three of us spent most of our time together. Heather did not go because she had some work to do, so she was planning to go and she ended up staying home kind of at the last minute. And same thing with Bronson. He well, he and his wife just had a child and he was planning to go, but their baby's really young and he just kind of last minute things, life happens, kind of needed to, you know, believe it or not, prioritize family and child over a broadcasting convention. So he was very missed.
Speaker 1:So it was sort of a strange thing where I ended up with a lot more sort of time navigating it on my own in a way that I didn't last year, with all, with all the that was, I sound like Mike Tyson for a second, with also the experience of having gone before, so knowing a little bit more of what to expect and how it works and stuff, I did manage to film a video that I edited and put out as my most recent video at the time of this recording, which is called Record Great Audio Anywhere, and I thought that would be really fun. I, you know, I always want to do like a recap video and last year I was able to do an NAB recap video which ended up taking like a very heartfelt and emotional turn, like a personal turn, which is super cool. That is just not something you can. You know that's not something I planned on. Something just happened as I was making the video, probably due to like last minute plan changes and a few other things. That was not like, you know, it's not like I was going to try to repeat that anyway, but that was definitely like I was in a different headspace this year.
Speaker 1:So, you know, in doing a recap video, a thing that everyone asked was like hey, what did you see that stood out? What stood out the most to you, what stood out the most to you? And I'm like it all kind of blended together Because you know, it's all awesome, there's really cool stuff there. But it's not like any company unveiled like the equivalent of an iPhone, where it's like this is something that's going to change the world. It's like, oh cool, it's a new version of the thing you make. Like you know, it's really neat. It's really fun to see how a lot of stuff where it's super cool, I honestly like did not have enough time to check stuff out, but it wasn't like oh my gosh, I had to go check out the whatever thing. So, you know, it's definitely like overwhelming because there's so much stuff.
Speaker 1:Originally my plan was to do a recap video, but then it's like you know, the thing about doing a recap video is if you're really into it, it's fun for the sake of fun. But if you're doing it again because you feel like you have to, then it's like it can be a lot of work and it's something that people are really only interested in for a couple of days. And then you know, like how many people even go to NAB? It's 60, something thousand, which sounds like a lot, but, like you know, and then there's I don't know how many people want to go that can't go. But all in all, like the in the world of YouTube it's kind of a niche thing and especially once it's, you know, a couple weeks past, who's really going to go back and want to look at like it's not until a lot of time passes, like 10-15 years go by, and people are like what was the big deal way back in 2025? And it's like it has like a retro nostalgia factor. So if you're not into doing a recap thing or nothing really stood out.
Speaker 1:You know the way I was planning. It's like I don't want to force that to happen, but it's such a cool venue and it's such a cool situation to find yourself in that it was like I'd love to be able to make a video that you know, which I did last year as well. I did a handheld mic comparison video. It's like I'd love to do something like that, where I'm using this backdrop as a chance to test something out, and I was like you know, something that's really hard to do is just to record good quality audio. In bad locations, like if I'm in my environment here, where it's quiet and things are set up, I can record great sounding audio with pretty much anything. But you know, when you're at events, when you're outside, when you're in crazy situations, how do you record good audio, what's some hardware you can use, what you can use, what are some software tools you can use? And I thought NAB as a backdrop for that would be really good. So that was my most recent video is all about that, which is pretty fun.
Speaker 1:I wanted to make something valuable at NAB and so I went through and I kind of like I started with my wireless SM7B, which I made sure to bring, and that was something I had rigged together for last year's. So you know, I'm using that. It sounds great, it's it's, you know, but that's a very expensive rig. All in all, with the microphone and the wireless system and the booster and everything, it's about 1200 bucks Um, cause wireless UHF, xlr wireless systems are not cheap Um, and so it's like okay, yeah, that should sound good.
Speaker 1:And then so I went the other direction and I used the tiny mic which is what is in the thumbnail here that I have up on screen, the little tiny mic that Bronson gave me last year at NAB, but it's like a $7, $8, $6 microphone on Amazon. It's just a little lavalier microphone, like a lapel mic, but it's in a casing that looks like. Basically it looks like an SM58. And last year it sounded really good. And it sounded really good and so I wanted to bring that this year and you can just like plug it. You can plug it directly into your camera, directly on your phone, but I was just plugging it into the DJI wireless transmitter to make it wireless. But I had my. I had a little telescoping finger pointer thing that I found and it was literally the day before I was going. I was just kind of fiddling around with the microphone and the fan, just tinkering with it, and I realized the microphone is like the perfect scale to fit in the pointer hand thing.
Speaker 1:If you watch the video you'll know what I'm talking about is very goofy and I was like oh my god, you know, last year I had the wireless SM7B, which was ridiculous, and now here's a different ridiculous thing to bring and it's like it's funny too because the entire setup, wireless DJI transmitter aside, is like $16. So, as I did the part of the video with the shore microphone, and it was like, let me go the complete opposite route and use some really inexpensive gear and it sounds phenomenal, like it really, really sounds good. Yeah, it's, it's especially for the price. It's got to be the best value, and then I also mix in some other stuff. So then I did like the Sennheiser MD-46. And then I even did like my Sony microphone on top of my camera. And you know, to kind of hear what like the Sony microphone, which is like a $350 microphone mounted on top of my camera, doesn't sound as good as the very cheap tiny microphone directly in front of me because of the positioning. So it doesn't even matter that it is a better microphone, that it's a more expensive microphone, it doesn't sound nearly as good as a cheap one in a better position. So we talked about positioning a little bit.
Speaker 1:And then I also talked about software options. So using things like voice isolation and Final Cut or whatever video editing application you're using that has some kind of noise reduction, voice isolation. And then I dove into Adobe Enhanced Speech, which can also be like when things get really extreme can also be a lifesaver, and then even talked about sort of the finer points with those two. When you use those software isolation things sometimes it can make your voice sound too isolated. If you push it too far it can actually start cutting off bits of your words and it almost sounds like and it sounds like when you hear those things of like what English sounds like to non-native speakers, but it's just people speaking in the cadence of English but there's no actual words being spoken. That's kind of what it can sound like. And then so you want to use a light touch.
Speaker 1:But even if you get it, where everything's coming out crystal clear but your voice is just too isolated, sometimes that can sound weird, especially like you see me on video at NAB, a big convention hall, people all over the place, and then it's like why do I sound like I'm in a sound booth? It just doesn't, it doesn't work. So finding the balance between making the voice stand out but also making it feel natural to the environment is very important. So those are all the kinds of things I was talking about there. I wasn't really pushing like a specific piece of gear that you need or anything, but just different techniques, different types of equipment you can use to get good sound in really terrible environments, of which that was one of them. And then I was also able to just record snippets for things that I think I will use in future videos. You know, kind of like built up a little library of different tests and different things that I feel like in the coming months I might go like, oh, I really want to make sure I have that you know UHF range test or some B roll of this thing over here or whatever. So I try to make sure to grab that stuff.
Speaker 1:And I got to say like the results of the video were very surprising, with the tiny mic being so good. And it's funny because I, when I first had the setup, I was walking around a corner and I just bumped into Curtis Judd, who is, you know, like a legend in the YouTube audio space, and so he has a quick interview with the tiny mic there, which I wasn't planning to do. I was, like so starstruck to meet Curtis in person because he's I've watched his channel since, like the time I started as a digital media teacher. I used his channel a lot as a resource for figuring out like how to record and teach audio to my students at the time, especially with the equipment that was big back in like the 2012-2013 era, and so it was very, very cool to finally meet Curtis in person.
Speaker 1:You know we've talked online a bit but never in person, and he is I'm sure he's tired of hearing it, but he is incredibly tall, like I don't know. Close to seven feet right, six seven something. Like he's really tall. I'm five foot 10. And it's like it looks like I'm like crouching down on my knees or something, but it's just no, I'm full standing. He is just that much taller than me. So it's great that I had a little microphone on the thing. But it's funny because we bumped into each other. We were talking a little bit. He was like hey, can I like film a thing where you, you know, talk about what's in your bag or something like that. And I was like you want to film something with me? Oh, I felt so honored.
Speaker 1:Then, once he did that, I was like you know, I got to take advantage of this and I have to record something with him. And the idea of using ridiculous tiny microphone setup on somebody who is so legendary and so pro in a good way, I would regret it if I didn't do it. So I had Curtis give some mic positioning tips with the tiny microphone and it's just so fun. It was such a fun part of the video. That was actually the first thing I filmed for that video and I was like, now that I have this, I definitely want to make, give this little clip a home because it's too good.
Speaker 1:And from the practical side of things too, you know, I'm happy to share this with you it's hard to figure out what to film, and that was sort of a thing that happened last year, I remember was like the first day I'm sort of grabbing random footage. And the second day I was like, yeah, I want to do like handheld mic things and you know, and do a recap video and all that, and especially without having, like Heather and without having Bronson, there it was, I felt like I was, especially the first day, like overwhelmed, trying to just get my bearings, trying to see everything, trying to just enjoy time with people and have conversations with people and then also try to like. You know, it's like I really was the thing of like I'm just filming random footage. I have no idea how this is going to come together to do anything. And like I, you know I I needed to make something, and so it was kind of like I was sort of getting up in my head a little bit because I didn't have my like, especially with Heather who, you know, knows me better than anyone I didn't have that sort of buffer, so it was just hearing a lot of other people's YouTube strategy and a lot of other YouTube approaches and I'll be honest, after hearing you know hours and hours of that by the end of the day and you know hearing how much money people are making and how they're handling brand deals I was feeling just kind of like I am really bad at what I do.
Speaker 1:I'm terrible. I should just be at the kids table. I'm absolutely not. I'm nowhere near the level of anyone. I was just feeling kind of really bad about myself and overwhelmed and just like ugh, and I was just physically tired.
Speaker 1:So that day, you know, I had planned to spend more time with a bunch of people, like going to dinner and stuff, but I was like I need to go drop everything off at the hotel and, like you know, be a person for a minute. And then I was like you know, I'm feeling really bad about what I do and I know I'm good at what I do. Something comes together tomorrow, which was going to be my last day, the second day, which is my last day, the full day at the exhibit hall. I want to go in with a plan, like a real plan, and so I was like you know, I'm going to outline a concept like really outline and that was the video that I ended up making was like okay, I want it to start here, like here's the you know, here's the three points, here's the purpose, here's where I'm going to put that interview with Curtis, here's the different microphones I'm going to be using. I need to film this segment here. I need to use this microphone for that, this segment here, this microphone for that. I need to record a voiceover. I need to record these parts at home.
Speaker 1:I color coded everything so that way it was like, you know, I could look at, I could see all the different things I needed to film with the wireless SM7B so I could do that audio setup, go to different places, film everything I need to film with it, switch to the next one, film all that stuff, switch to the next one and kind of know when I got through the checklist that I was done with the video. I even had points like I wanted to make sure to go to Adobe and get an interview with someone where they could talk about enhanced speech, since that was something I was going to be using in the video. Just it was. It was honestly the same approach that used to take when putting together news packages when I worked at the TV station, like 20 plus years ago. Just sort of simple, you know news packages where it's. You have B-roll, you have you know stand up reporter talking to camera. You have in studio pieces, you have voiceovers and just sort of mixing that all together interview clips and everything. I was like I'm just gonna take that strategy because it's so effective, it's been around for decades. Why don't I just like really lean into that and try to make a YouTube video based on that? And it worked really well.
Speaker 1:And the next day I was able to go in, which I sort of felt bad, you know, because again lots of people are like, hey, we can go to breakfast, we can do this. And I was like I'm going there as soon as it opens, I need to film all this stuff. You know I wanted to have it done before lunch break, midday, because I also knew my brain was going to turn to mush. And then I did know that, since that was gonna be my last day there, I wanted to be able to kind of spend more time with everyone, which I did end up getting to spend a lot more time with Curtis, who I found I was at the Blackmagic booth looking for the, because they announced a new ATEM Extreme and I wanted to see that and so I kind of found it at like a table.
Speaker 1:Here they have like booths and things set up in their area. It's like the biggest. It's probably one of the biggest displays there and I saw a display. I was looking at that and then behind the display is where Curtis was. Curtis and one of my friends, matt, who I also met through my YouTube channel. We got to meet in person for the first time. First I saw Matt and then I saw Curtis and they were looking at just the wiring and like the different ports on the vest. So it's like you know, all the display stuff is in front and they are in the back looking at the cabling and everything and I was like this makes so much sense where I would find you. So then we ended up being able to just kind of roam around together for a while, which is super cool. It was really nice. It was like a very fun, relaxed kind of down to earth thing that I very much enjoyed and I wish I could have spent more time with more people like I another day would have been great to have there, but had to come home, had to, you know, get back to life and everything.
Speaker 1:So that was kind of my nab experience trying to put something together, trying to figure out my own, which I felt really good about. I needed, after I was feeling, after that first day, I needed something where it was like no, you are good, you are competent, you are capable and you can do things in a way that you know, know is your own, and that was good. I really needed that because I don't know how terrible it would have felt if that didn't happen, and so I'm glad I got to do that and the video was super duper fun and I hope it's very helpful to for people as well, even if they're not. They don't care at all about NAB and it's just that, is just the backdrop, that's not necessarily the main concept of the video. So that was my NAB. This is the rundown of my NAB experience. It was very, very fun to see everybody Definitely a thing that should be on the calendar every year, for sure.
Speaker 1:So that kind of brings the end there. I'm not gonna do a gear segment this week, because we talked about all the different microphones and stuff. So I feel like it might be gear overload. So that is actually going to be the end of the episode stuff. So I feel like it might be gear overload. So that is actually going to be the end of the episode, the end of the season. That's where we're going to wrap things up.
Speaker 1:So a couple quick reminders. If you want to vote in the best mic of the season, be sure to do that. You know, sometime in the next week or so, after I post this episode, let me know which microphone you preferred the most. If you want to leave messages at any time, you can always leave comments, especially in between seasons. I should have even more time to reply in person not in person, but well, you know reply to comments individually on the podcast episodes. Sometimes I've been taking them and putting them in the podcast episode instead of typing out replies. Comments there on YouTube, really, really, you know, are fun.
Speaker 1:If you want to send voicemails, if you want to email Tom at Tom at enthusiasmprojectcom, or you can go to Hi, my name is Tomcom and leave a voice message for the show. I can just save everything that comes in until the next episode, whenever that is and I can include that there. So never feel like you can't send anything, you can't be a part of the show, just because there's not an active. You know, definitely episode next week kind of thing. And you know, I really do want to thank everybody for their support for the entire duration of this podcast and also this season, as I tried something new with the video version, and I do want to thank in advance everybody for their support in helping me adjust different scheduling and stuff to help keep this sustainable and fun and make the best episodes that I possibly can. So I very much appreciate that.
Speaker 1:I wish I could just freeze time and have all the time in the world to, you know, make everything I want, so that you know every week forever there's just a new episode ready to go. But we are mortal, believe it or not, and have to work within those confines. So I'm excited to see you when I see you in the next episode, and the cool part about that is whenever there is another episode, you can know that at the time I'm recording those episodes, there's literally nothing else. I would rather be doing in the world than making that specific episode, and I think that's how it should be and I am incredibly excited for that and I'm grateful for your support and your kindness and your patience and just everything. So thanks for a wonderful season. Thank you for all the help and getting me getting the show up and running and just for being awesome in general. So appreciate you. Hope you have a safe, happy, healthy, fun rest of your day and I'll see you next time.
