My Virtual Keynote Tech Set Up
I make my living as an author and keynote speaker. COVID-19 forced me to pivot from stage to screen, and I spent months perfecting my online virtual rig set up. I share it with you here because I believe that we are all stronger together.
Links to everything are included.
Software
Camera
Light
Sound
TelePrompter
Makeup (because, yeah, vanity)
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This is my current tech set up.
1. Software
I run everything through Ecamm, which not only allows me to adjust the framing, the lighting, the color, and all of the aesthetics, it also allows me to build slide decks for client keynotes and do fun stuff like drag in comments during social media livestreams to be more engaged with my audience. Ecamm also runs through Zoom and other video conference software. In addition, I use Streamyard to pre-schedule and perform my BigTalk interviews that stream live to LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch.
I run the slides and the tech through a Streamdeck, which operates as my command center to change slides, switch camera angles, shift lighting, and more.
This is my Limitless Course, filmed on the Logitech Brio, housed on Kajabi. It’s great, you should take it!
2. Camera
The cheaper option is the Logitech Brio Webcam. I filmed my entire online course in it, and edited that course in the Mac’s built-in QuikPlayer. Here’s a screenshot to show how good it looks. Not a brag, just a testament to the fact that even this “cheaper” set up is still a billion times better than the built in webcam on your computer.
Later, when actual gigs started coming back, and some media came calling, I upped my rig to a fancier set up which included this Sony a5100 DSLR. It was a big investment, but the quality is off the charts great. You can see the quality in this interview I did on Good Morning America. (Stick with it for the first minute for the green screen sight gag reveal so you can actually see the camera do its magic.)
The photo below of the difference in lighting also shows the quality of the DSLR.
TIP: The 50mm lens on the camera is what gives it the sharp focus on me, but blurred background “bokeh” effect. This is achieved by my being about 18 inches from the camera, but the background being about eight feet behind me.
A FEW CABLES: You’ll also need a Micro HDMI to HDMI cable and a Thunderbolt cable, as well as a Black Magic Studio Converter so that your computer receives the camera as a webcam.
A note on Green Screens: I don’t use them, so you won’t see them on this list and you’ll hear me malign them in the Good Morning America interview. But not everyone has the privilege of a designated and private space to set up their rig. If you need a green screen, go for it. My friend, Liane Davey, PhD, has one that is custom made and looks amazing made by Anyvoo.
UPDATE: I recently made one to reclaim my office after four years and here’s how it looks. Big wow!
3. Light
Of course, the easiest thing to get is the Neewer Ring Light. But after a while it gets too hot, and it gives you a washed out look.
I vary between using half the warm orange and half the cool white for the right balance on my face and the full cool white. I keep it very low, with the rest of the room dark.
Then, I pop two of these LituFoto Lights on each side of me for more of a 3D effect. I keep them on low too.
This gives the benefit of great lighting without me having to stare into a bright (and hot) white light for an hour during a keynote.
You could put another behind you to light the back wall and give more depth, too. But, that’s just showing off.
(Update: I totally show off now with a back wall light, too. #shameless.)
The top photo is just the Ring Light on high, while the bottom is the Ring Light and the Litu photos on low.
Homemade sound booth, feating the “Quarantine Mullet” of business on the top, and cut off jean shorts on the bottom. This is what the behind the scenes looked like of Good Morning America.
4. Sound
I have a different mic now, but I filmed my course with this microphone pretty much placed at lap level. Mine now is a Shure mic that I rooted out from my husband’s band gear, but I can’t find a link right now.
Will update soon. That mic is plugged into the Universal Audio interface which processes the sound and lets me control levels at the turn of a knob. The mic is also attached to the cheap IKEA bookshelf that houses everything with a gooseneck arm. This gives me a great sound, and eliminates virtually all clicks and pops.
To avoid background and reverb, you’ll want these cheap, clear, in-ear headphones that I learned about from Tamsen Webster. Make sure to get an extender cord, too, if you wander like me.
Anything you buy for good sound is bullshit if you don’t control the room’s acoustics. You could do that by propping up pillows or acoustic panels, or you could do the crazy thing that I did which is to make a sound book out of step and repeat frames and a bunch of old moving blankets and camp blankets.
Eventually, when I realized that this wasn’t going away any time soon, I made another upgrade with acoustic cubicle dividers — something way more expensive but slightly less precarious. That said, if you have a closet that opens up to a room, I’d covert that baby into a sound booth in a heartbeat.
5. TelePrompter
For my course, I filmed with PromptSmart as a teleprompter, and then am uploading it to Kajabi. (Or, at least my assistant is, after she trims the videos in iMovie.) It looks like the attached. For my current videos, I’m using Ecamm Live (pro edition) to run through Zoom and FB Live every morning on my personal page, and for the chats in my course group.
Once I upgraded to the DSLR, I got the Parrot Padcaster, which sits right on top of the lens and allows me to look straight at it, through it, and connect with my audience. It’s been a lifesaver during the pandemic brain fog moments that we’ve all had.
I’ve started using Duet Display as a second monitor for my iPhone while on Zoom calls. I just pop it into my teleprompter and it allows me to look my Zoom guest in the eye while speaking to them which improves eye contact and also has been a boon to my mental health.
6. Makeup
And, if you are a makeup person, this will be the most important section.
Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow will change your life. It’s like soft focus in a bottle. Pair that with the Light Wonder Foundation, and a little Film Star Bronze & Glow and you will look like you are using a gorgeous filter with perfect lighting. It’s like a juice cleanse and botox had a luminous baby and that luminous baby was your gorgeous face.
It you really want your eyes to pop, fake lashes are the way to go. Glamnetic is the bomb. It’s my go-to lash now. Easy to apply, lasts forever. Tons of different shapes and sizes. Also, I just recently interviewed the founder of Glamnetic and she’s the bomb, too. Check out our interview, here.)
7. Was this helpful?
Want to thank me for this help? Easily 95% of the brilliance you see here has come from three men who spent hours of time helping me learn how to get this far: Brant Menswar, Mitch Joel, and Scott Stratten. (They were useless about the lashes, just so you know.) If you enjoyed this list and found it helpful, thank them, not me, and do that by going ahead and buying a few of their books. I put them in a neat little Amazon list for you right here. Buy their books, buy my book, and leave us all Amazon reviews. It helps us authors more than you can ever know.
Please note: each of the links in the blog post are listed though Amazon Associates, which means that I get a tiny fraction of a cut of anything you buy, and I send all of that money to nonprofit organizations who have been helping those most affected by the pandemic. So, you’re helping yourself, but you’re also helping others. Go you!
Good luck, and see you in the virtual world!
Trying to act cool when Robin Roberts tells me that Limitless was one of her favorite books of the year. (But also, here’s how my set up looks on camera.)