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How to start a hit podcast—even on a budget

Video podcasts are the most powerful way to build your brand—and can even earn you a nice income on the side. But getting started can be daunting.

From buying the right equipment to creating content to managing guests, and keeping to a production schedule. There’s a lot to think about. 

Before you get overwhelmed with spiraling costs and admin overload, we’ve got good news: you don’t need pro-level equipment—or a whole production crew—to build a pro-level video podcast.

In fact, you can easily get started today, even on a budget. Here’s how:

Start with the equipment you already own

If you’ve already got a nice DSLR, microphones, and studio lights—perfect. You’re off to the races. If not, don’t worry. Your iPhone, iPad, or webcam will work just fine, especially if you can connect a microphone for added audio quality—and use a webcam ring light for a brighter picture. Then, all you need is a simple tool for connecting and managing those devices, which leads us to…

Use different camera angles to keep things interesting

Your video production needs to keep people’s attention. At a basic level, switching between camera angles adds visual interest and helps frame the conversation. By connecting multiple iPhones and iPads, and/or digital cameras you can create:

  1. Individual shots for both the host and guest—framed similarly i.e. equal zoom and lighting.
  2. A wide shot that captures the whole setup to add context.
  3. An overhead shot to add a behind-the-scenes feel, capturing your recording equipment or featured your environment.
  4. One or multiple  remote guests. We’ll show you how to do this later through Zoom.

With Cinamaker, you can connect and control each device at the same time, switching angles and controlling the audio through one simple interface on your iPad or Mac. 

Spice things up with rich media and graphic overlays

Add drama, humor, and context to the conversation by inserting different media, including photos, gifs, videos, audio clips, text overlays, and other on-screen media.

Thanks to Cinamaker, you can do all of this, without needing years of editing experience—or extensive video skills. Just pull up Cinamaker’s newsroom-style editing suite, upload your graphics or media—or select templates from our library—and give your production an added edge.

Use Zoom for recording remote guests

Guest interviews are a powerful way to grow your podcast. Luckily, you don’t need anything more sophisticated than Zoom to host and record guests in HD—all thanks to Cinamaker’s Zoom integration. You manage the whole production—like switching cameras, managing your guests’ audio, and adding media—from the backend. And best of all, your guests just think they’re joining a normal Zoom call. 

Edit live, as you go

As with any creative endeavor, the art is in the editing. But post-production can hamstring any well-intentioned production schedule. With Cinamaker, you can edit in real-time or afterward directly from the same interface you use to record—turning an okay show into an awesome, share-worthy production. 

To go the extra mile, you can export your recording to your favorite editing software, such as  Apple Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere. 

Publish content straight to Facebook or YouTube

The fastest way to grow your video podcast is to publish it on social media—and then feed the algorithms with short, repurposed clips. Whether you’re live-streaming or posting recorded content, you need a streamlined process to get your podcast out there as quickly as possible. 

Again, you don’t need a team of editors. With Cinamaker, you can publish your fresh video podcasts to your channels, your short clips to social media, and then add your video to the archive for future access. 

Launch your podcast today

Cinamaker makes it easy to create powerful, professional-grade video podcasts using equipment you already own—and without the steep learning curve.

Our video webinar, ‘Create Your Video Podcasts Like a Pro’ teaches you everything you need to get started today.

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Create pro-level video podcasts using Zoom

Want to use Zoom to record video podcasts or webinars? Well, you can.

But, you shouldn’t just use Zoom on its own.

Here’s why.

Zoom’s designed for business meetings—so its picture and audio quality isn’t the best (neither is its editing options).

But, it’s easy to use. Everyone knows how to join a Zoom call.

What you can do instead

Connect Cinamaker to Zoom through our simple integration. You can then:

  1. Open Cinamaker to record your Zoom guests’ cameras in HD.
  2. Select a beautiful template design from the Cinamaker Template library
  3. Control and record each guest’s audio.
  4. Enhance your video with graphic overlays, media (photos, video, audio), picture-in-picture, and more.
  5. Edit the whole session in real-time or playback with Cinamaker’s in-app editor.

Best of all, your guests just think they’re joining a Zoom call. And for you, it’s as easy as hosting one.

To learn more, watch our free ‘Create Video Podcasts Like a Pro‘ webinar.

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Announcing our free webinar: ‘Create Video Podcasts Like a Pro’

Podcasts have exploded in the last few years, becoming an incredibly powerful way to build your brand and engage your audience.

If you’re thinking about starting a video podcast—or even a video webinar—but don’t know how to get started, you might be interested in our latest free masterclass, ‘Create Video Podcasts Like a Pro’.

It teaches you how to:

  1. Use video podcasts to engage your audience and build a successful brand.
  2. Create a month’s worth of content—for all platforms—from one video.
  3. Create high-quality, multi-angle podcasts—using equipment you already own.
  4. Record remote guests in high definition—from your Zoom meetings.
  5. Cut your video creation process from days to minutes.

It might just be the best 28 minutes you spend this week.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

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How to Give Your Zoom Meetings a Much-Needed Upgrade

By now it’s clear to most of us that remote meetings are here to stay. According to Buffer (2021), 97.6% of respondents said they’d like to work remotely, at least some of the time, for the rest of their careers.

Likewise, 23% of full-time employees are willing to take a pay cut of over 10% in order to work from home at least some of the time. (Owl Labs 2020)

This is a big deal for employers who want to retain top talent and maximize employee engagement, especially when most or all of their time spent interacting with the team is entirely virtual.

These trends are equally important for businesses that rely on platforms like Zoom for their live webinars. According to Optinmonster, using video in your marketing can generate up to 66% more qualified leads per year.

Using video in your marketing can generate up to 66% more qualified leads per year.

And with more and more companies using video for their marketing, it’s more important than ever to find ways to stand out from the crowd.

One surefire way to do this is to make sure you’re making the most of your Zoom presentation, thereby maximizing engagement and ultimately, ROI.

Following are a few simple tips that you can use to upgrade your Zoom meetings, events, and webinars so that they’re more professional, engaging, and impactful.

First, Master Zoom Basics

Even if you’ve logged hours as a Zoom participant, when it’s your turn to lead a meeting, it can be frustrating to find yourself stumbling around the user interface, looking for the right button to record, share screen, or adjust permissions.

Fortunately, Zoom has recently introduced its Learning Center, which is a great resource for familiarizing yourself with the ins and outs of the software.

By spending just a few minutes reviewing some of its basic functions and how to use them, you can save yourself a lot of embarrassment in future meetings.

While this is helpful to review, your best bet is to learn by doing. Start a meeting by yourself, and test out the different functions so that, when it comes time to go live, you’ll feel confident and in control.

For some features such as guest permissions and the like, invite a trusted friend or colleague to a test meeting to make sure that everything runs smoothly from their perspective.

Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to start thinking about eliminating distractions that might cause your audience to lose focus.

Curate Your Environment 

To get the most impact out of your presentation, you want your meeting attendees to focus on what’s being discussed, not on your pile of unfolded laundry lingering in the background.

Opinions differ widely on what constitutes an acceptable Zoom background, but at the very least you want to minimize the number of distracting background objects in your room.

Another thing to remember is the importance of reducing or eliminating background noise. While parents (of pets and humans alike) will recognize that it’s not always possible to keep the little ones from making noise, much of this can be eliminated by adjusting the background noise settings within the Zoom app itself.

But remember, these are just the basic starting points for minimizing distractions for your meeting participants. If you want to really make an impact at your next meeting and stand out from the crowd, read on.

How to Level Up Your Zoom Meeting

Understanding the basics above might be enough to get by without embarrassing yourself in your next Zoom meeting.

However, if you really want to make an impact, you’ll need to move beyond the basics and deliver a polished, professional look to your meetings, webinars, and presentations.

Option 1: Upgrade Your Microphone

Over the past few years, the market for headsets has expanded to more than just gamers. People working from home have quickly discovered that headsets with built-in microphones are a convenient way to hear and be heard in meetings, without the annoying feedback that can result from using built-in audio.

However, even high-end headsets often fall short of achieving the level of sound quality that can be had from most standalone microphones.

The most popular microphones on the market today range anywhere from $30 to under $200

And with the rise in popularity of plug-and-play USB condenser microphones over the past few years (thanks in no small part to the proliferation of podcasts), you won’t have to break the bank to get started.

The most popular microphones on the market today range anywhere from $30 to under $200, and unless you’re a major audiophile, you’ll get great results even from a modestly priced condenser mic.

Option 2: Upgrade Your Lighting

If you want to make a good impression in your meetings, then it’s probably a good idea to not look as though you’ve set up your home office in a medieval dungeon.

The good news is that, with a few simple lighting upgrades, you can go from “shadowy figure” to a respectable presenter in no time.

A quick search for “improve webcam lighting” turns up dozens of great tips, with a range of costs and technical difficulty to set up.

The good news is that, with a few simple lighting upgrades

From ring lights to webcams with built-in lights, all the way to full-on lighting rigs, once you find the best option for your budget, space, and skill level, you’ll be well on your way to looking your best in your next Zoom meeting.

Option 3: Upgrade Your Camera Setup

When it comes to running an engaging, professional-grade Zoom meeting, we’ve saved the best for last – upgrading your video quality.

While the improvements listed above (curating your environment, upgrading your mic and lighting) are all great investments, you’ll get the most bang for your buck by upgrading the quality of your actual video presentation.

The first way you can do this is by upgrading your camera. Prices vary widely here, and what you buy depends largely on how good you want your picture quality to be. Options range from high-end DSLR cameras to camcorders and HD webcams.

One option for achieving high-res video is actually your smartphone. Even smartphones that are a few years old have cameras that are extremely good, and can easily connect to your computer using third-party software.

And if you really want to show off at your next Zoom meeting, one of the best ways to do this is through a multi-camera setup. By switching between multiple camera angles, presenters, and media sources, you maximize engagement by tapping into the power of storytelling and professional-level visual presentation.

If the technical complexity of setting up multiple cameras seems daunting, a simple solution is to use third-party software that allows you to connect multiple video sources without the use of excess hardware.

One such example is Cinamaker, which allows you to compose your Zoom meetings and webinars using multiple Zoom remote cameras, local iPhone and built-in Facetime camera, visually appealing multi-media, set up picture-in-picture for presenting your latest slide deck, and edit in-app with Cinamaker’s video editor.

Cinamaker allows you to compose your Zoom meetings and webinars using multiple Zoom and local cameras, include multi-media, edit in real-time or after recording.

This lets you generate professional-grade video, stories, presentations, and more, without the need for expensive video production teams or video editing software with steep learning curves.

Conclusion

Whether you’re leading a team, recording a podcast, or building a webinar funnel, your success in delivering your message relies heavily on the quality of your video presentation.

And with online audiences expecting a high level of quality from the video content they consume, it’s more important than ever to make sure you keep pace with the trends if you want to be effective in your messaging.

Fortunately, by following the strategies listed above you’ll be well on your way to creating video content that is engaging and inspiring for your viewers for years to come.

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Cinamaker Meeting Director: Make Great Meetings.

Cinamaker is pleased to introduce Cinamaker Meeting Director, a powerful video switcher and media engine to enhance your live Zoom meetings, events, and much more

The wait is over!

Online video meetings are alive and well.

And to commemorate this first anniversary of the Covid-19 global pandemic, we are pleased to introduce Cinamaker Meeting Director, our powerful Mac-based app designed to increase the impact and overall effectiveness of your online video meetings, video webinars, video events, and shows over Zoom and other major meeting platforms, like MS Teams, Webex, Skype, and more.

Cinamaker: This is Meeting Director

Meeting Director is a powerful video switcher and media engine to enhance your live meetings, events, and much more

With Meeting Director you may use up to four (4) camera angles, including your webcam, video clips, graphics, photos, picture-in-picture, chromakey, multiple audio sources, screen share, and more to tell your stories and impact your audience like never before.

Meeting Director – Video Switcher, Media Engine and more for live Zoom Meetings

It’s simple to connect your iPhone cameras to your Mac and send your Meeting Director output to Zoom via the built-in Cinamaker Virtual Web Camera & Audio device.

Don’t miss out. Click to learn more and be among the first to try Meeting Director.

Use up to 4 cameras; iPhones, iPads, and digital cameras*. Control from your Mac. Output to Zoom and others via the Cinamaker Virtual Web Camera/Audio device.

And please, don’t hesitate to let us know what you think.

Happy #Cinamakin‘!

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