Teaching Remote: Studio Setup

Boy have things changed these past few months. As most (if not all) have had to be flexible in how they work and live these past few months I learned very quickly to roll with the punches, use what I have on hand and make investment purchases at key times.

Below are some key items that I started with, as well as some pieces of technology that I upgraded to as time stretched on.

I switched over to teaching through recorded lessons and live ZOOM classes in March and for the first month or so utilized the items I already owned to set up my new studio set. I already owned an OTT light that has come in super handy over the years. I often find myself working late night, and the temp and brightness of this has made working at night when everyone in my house is sleeping possible. It also came in handy to add extra light while filming. It sat on my desk and gave great neutral light from overhead skill demonstration videos. In the beginning I only used this for added brightness, and though the GVM lights below made a noticeable difference, this daylight lamp was a good starting point. It still gets plenty of use on and off camera.

I had purchased a small ring light for my phone to help add additional light for shots a few years ago. For $10 bucks this gets a lot of use. In the beginning before I purchased the document camera below I would have my phone in this holder and clamp to record and project. It worked quite well - though the tools below have made my process just a lot more streamlined.

I have gradually upgraded as things looked like they would not be changing back to in person learning anytime soon.

The first item I invested in was a pair of GVM lights like you see above. You can control them from your phone and they are sturdy and flexible so I don’t worry about them falling over. These came recommended by a photography friend of mine because of their build and the ability to control light temperature and strength. I paid around $200 for them, so a fair investment, but now I can record videos when my kids are sleeping without worrying about their being enough light - so no regrets! The GVM lights lit my desk surface really well, but on a whim I also bought a larger ring light to help light my face for ZOOM calls - to be honest, I didn’t need this. It really didn’t make a significant difference, but I only paid around $30 for this light when it was on sale so I’m not feeling too guilty.

The other investment that I’m so happy about is a document camera. I use it as a secondary camera during Zoom lessons, making it so easy to switch over and still stay completely connected to the ZOOM software since it’s all integrated, as well as to record all my videos. This is so much easier than recording on my phone and then uploading to my computer. I’m happy with the InSwan brand - it was easy to install and has the ability to record, auto focus, a decent zoom, and captures sounds fairly well. I have the document camera set on a small acrylic stand to give it a little height so I can capture a larger surface area. I also bought a small mic that helped a bunch when I was using my phone to record, but when I switched to recording on the document camera I stopped using as it as much because I didn’t notice a huge change in sound quality.

I use my macbook to connect to ZOOM and I set it on a similar acrylic stand as the document camera. It’s actually a magazine holder, but it works great to give the computer a little lift to make my face stay more centered while I’m teaching - and provides me with a little space to store items in.

What are you all using as we shift to teaching virtually? I would love to hear what everyone else has found to be helpful!

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