Fair warning to HCM execs - make sure your employees don't see this - alternatively get ready to approve big budgets for WFH:)
Paul Greenberg gave me a sneak preview into his new home studio
"Brent Leary and I have had a lot of time at home lately - and that's given us the opportunity to regularize our CRM Playaz show - a show on the CRM, CX, and customer engagement industry we have been doing for twelve years. Because working from home is now what we are doing and will be for the foreseeable future, we decided to upgrade our production capabilities and ultimately, we each built studios that were based on a principle that Don Schuerman CTO of Pegasystems threw at us on the show - "We've got to move from the theatrical to the cinematic." As a result, thanks to an idea that my wife Yvonne had, I was able to dedicate an 8'X9'X8' room to become a studio and invested thousands of dollars into upgrading the equipment needed to have a professional level studio through the eyes of an amateur - that would be me. I spent hundreds of hours choosing equipment that would not only provide the best lighting and sound possible but would allow me to seamlessly switch camera shots, (I have three, with a fourth possible), and at the same time be able to stream to multiple channels via a single streaming platform. We use Streamyard. With the dual monitors and a pretty hefty machine I can not only record audio and video and but edit both on the machine. I made a point of investing in everything from a professional highly regarded broadcasting microphone (Shure SM7B) to a professional mic arm (Yellowtec) which cost me more than the mic - because a C-clamped boom arm wouldn't work on the desk that was using. There were hundreds of decisions that were major (the cameras and several different lenses for several different purposes, lighting and sound e.g. acoustic panels) to small (the cables and even the lengths of the cables and the power sources) to table stakes - running an ethernet connection and multiple electrical outlets to the walls and ceilings. There is still a lot to learn and the investment was hefty and still going - almost $10,000 I would say all in all but when all is said and done, I'll have what I want and a new area of knowledge that I didn't have and Brent with his setup and me with mine will be able to produce a show with extraordinary production quality - and not only is that valuable but its fun. A lot of fun."
Paul and Brent will be starting a regular segment on home audio/video technologies on their show. More reason to watch them! BTW if you want to see their "before" studios watch my interview with them here
Tamas Hevizi had walked me through his elaborate home studio and described it here
In addition to technology, Tamas has also invested in training "I enrolled in a course with Cornell called The Executive Presence course. It is taught by the theater program and, of course, delivered online. You record 15 video sessions. The faculty reviews them. In addition, your fellow students critique them. You could have dozens of students, in parallel, comment on your recordings. You get a lot of feedback about how you think you're presenting versus how you're actually presenting. You learn where your voice is, and how you're gesturing because if you don't have a physical experience, and you and I are not in the same room, some of that gets lost."
Jeremiah Owyang's studio is a permanently parked AirStream in his backyard. As he describes with his specs here, his tech goals were a bit different: "I had to research what’s the ideal gear for my setup, in this case in my existing backyard office, to maximize the quality, without filling the 130 square feet (39 square meters) with equipment. Simply put, I’m seeking the best quality for a small location."
Geoff Scott, CEO of ASUG described to me his basement has been turned into what he called a "TV studio". Will have to get him to share more details.
Impressive as each of the setups above is, it will be tough to keep up with Troy Hunt. He describes his rigging in excruciating detail here
I am envious of each of them. But, honestly, I not sure I want to be tied to so much technology in one room. I cannot wait to try out all the other parts of the house, my wife Margaret has set up waiting to be used as backgrounds. I have largely done my interviews from the library (though you see many of the books I have authored, I need to emphasize it's her library - I rent it by the hour)
I must admit I am also enjoying POTS - meetings and calls with plain old telephone service. OK, not the old Ma Bell wired kind, the mobile kind. I like to get at least half my daily 10K FitBit steps walking around the house and talking on the phone.
During breaks, I also like to get steps while watching replays of the Smithsonian "Aerial America" episodes. Below is from an episode on Nebraska - a picture from space of the state's many farms and crop circles. The vast majority of the 72 episodes are shot with a gyro-stabilized camera on a helicopter. That makes for a relaxing set of steps and refuge from the Florida summer heat.
Besides it allows me to TFH - Travel from Home. I find I have less WFH Envy that way:)
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