If you are a YouTuber, an influencer, a gamer or anyone who wants to be known among thousands of people, then social media and live streams will play a huge role in your bread earning. Live streams have become a new mode to catch up with all the people from all over the world. To grow as a ‘celebrity’ you need to reach out to people and live streaming is the best way possible. For professional live streams, you need to have a perfect setup and some must-have equipment that will enhance the quality of your live stream.
HOW DO I SET UP LIVE STREAMING?
Live streaming is a puzzle and the equipment is the pieces that you need to fix in order to solve the puzzle. The basic that you will need is the device to stream for, it can be either PC, Macbook or you can also go for a game console or smartphone. It depends on what type is your content and what is quality that you want to present to your audience. The second thing to keep in mind would be to have a stable and constant internet connection. Lack of internet can actually ruin your whole live stream idea because the audience will not pay attention to you if there are glitches. The rest that you need to build a professional setup is mentioned below –
VIDEO SOURCES
You would need a source to film your video for your stream and for that you can prefer:-
Web Camera – If you are a beginner and create content related to games or if you want to hold a casual sit-on live session then webcams will do the job. Web cameras connect directly to your computer and have an in-built audio mic. They offer up to 1080p video resolution which is pretty impressive. Currently, the best one in the market is HP w200 HD Webcam.
DSLR Camera – For a better investment, DSLR Cameras are the most effective ones. They have better image quality and the variety of settings led you to very professional streaming. In cameras, you get to choose the lenses which help you in getting a better profile for the stream and you can fix accordingly the wide-angle or aperture along with white balance. Panasonic Lumix FZ80 is the most suggested and user-friendly for vloggers and YouTubers.
Camcorders – If you are running on a high budget and would love to invest in only THE BEST options then camcorders are your bet. Very professional shoots are done with camcorders and not only for your streams, but they will also be perfect for your every kind of shoot. These offer 4K resolution with HDMI outputs and they will transform your videos smooth as butter. Canon XA15 will fulfill all your needs.
AUDIO SOURCES
Under this comes your microphones. It plays a huge role in streaming because why will your audience join your live if they can’t hear you and if by chance your camera misbehaves, your microphone will save you from the disaster. The microphones that you can use for your streams are:-
Condenser Studio Mic – It’s a go-to go microphone for every influencer, gamer, and YouTuber. Overall, these microphones are of good quality and do satisfactory jobs but the only disadvantage of these mics is that they are highly sensitive. So if your studio or room has a minimum sound even the humming of your fan or the sound of your refrigerator, your audience would be able to hear it. Razer Seiren Mini is the best in business.
Dynamic Microphones – As a beginner, this would be a great investment because they not only are within budget but are better in every way. This is a very commonly used microphone and you might have seen every other person using it on several occasions. If you have noisy surroundings then you can hands-down on these mics. They are less sensitive so the audience gets to hear your crystal clear voice. MXL BCD-1 Dynamic microphone is suggested by most of the users.
These were the two best microphones for live streaming, other than these there are lavalier mics and shotgun mics which can also be used.
LIVE STREAMING SOFTWARE
Once you are done setting up your equipment, the last step before streaming is to choose your streaming software. These softwares increase the quality of your streams by letting you add text, images, or video clips. Gives you unlimited streaming hours and you can control the beginning and end of your stream with your phones as remote controls. You can experience these amazing features with irl stream.
CONCLUSION
After you organize these three fundamental steps, there are a few other things that will enhance your live streaming. You should focus on your background and lighting as well. Even though you zoom in while you stream, you can’t just hide your mess. If not a maintained and fancy background, you can use backdrops as well. The other factor is that the lighting should be good. Your room or studio should be bright enough so that you are visible to your audience. Alternatively, you can always have ring lights. Placement of your video source would be another factor. Place your camera or phone on a stable platform or use a tripod. These were a few little things that can get you some bonus points while you stream.
