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Office

Desk

  • IKEA Karlby 98” oak countertop
  • IKEA Alex drawers with hanging file storage in white x2
  • Desky dual standing desk
  • Steelcase Leap V2 chair
  • IKEA chair mat
  • Desky cork & felt desk mat and coasters
  • Cable management:
    • My desk was too wide for the Desky integrated cable channel, so…
    • 3 linked Desky power bars
    • Yecaye J channels
    • Velcro adhesive
    • Cable management bits kit

Computer & monitors

Camera & lighting

  • Sony a6100 mirrorless camera (which I’m using as a web cam)
  • Sony 16-?mm lens
  • Elgato CamLink 4K • connects the a6100 to the MacBook via a ? cable from the camera and a ? cable to the computer
  • MountDog key light
  • Elgato multi mount + two solid arms holding the camera and key light
  • BenQ Halo monitor light bar
  • LED strip on back of desk
  • Background lighting:

Camera & light settings

  • 4K quality video:
  • Autofocusing on my face:
  • CamLink 4K freezing:
    • I experienced freezing when connecting the camera + CamLink 4K to the Studio Display (which already had 3 other USB/Thunderbolt device connected) instead of the laptop (in an attempt to hide the cable behind the monitor 😄)
    • The freezing issue resolved after I switched to plugging it into my MacBook directly instead
    • Cam Link 4K — Troubleshooting Frozen Video – Elgato
    • elgato Cam Link 4K Problems (and a Resolution!)
      • Says to use the 4K Capture Utility app and set “USB Transfer Mode” to “Isochronous”
      • That app doesn’t recognize my CamLink device, unfortunately (possibly because it connects via a USB-A-to-USB-C cable instead of plugging in directly?)
  • Pretty lighting:
    • Aperture (f-stop) set as wide (low) as the lens will go to let in more light and create more depth of field and bikes effect
    • ISO set as low as possible (to reduce grain) while still ensuring the background looks naturally lit
    • White balance and key light colour temperature both set to 5600K
    • Key light set only as bright as needed and positioned as close to my face as I can handle (the closer it is, the softer the light) while still being higher than my head and a bit off center
    • Some fill provided by the reflections of the LED strip at the back of the desk, the light at the back of the monitor light, and whatever is on screen in front of me
    • Camera aimed at the far corner of the room, which includes light from a floor lamp and bookshelf lamp

Microphone & sound treatment

  • Shure SM7B (for recording)
  • Shure SM81 (pencil) condenser microphone (on overhead boom arm out of frame for video calls and streaming)
    • 📝 Can the SM81 Dethrone the SM7B? • great comparison of the sound of the SM81 vs SM7b at various differences (sm7b has lots of background static noise floor at greater distances since you have to boost the gain); sm81 sounds better at a boom distance
  • Rode boom arm
  • Boom arm extension
  • XLR cable
  • Elgato Wave audio interface • XLR in, USB-C out; plugged into computer or monitor
  • Your Desk & Screens Sound TERRIBLE • reduce how many sound reflections from desk and monitor reach boom mic by angling it as horizontally (to reject desk reflections) and covering desk surface with fabric (e.g. a wool desk mat) to absorb reflections

Zoom

  • Zoom Dual Monitors • Various demonstrations of how to use dual monitor mode to view meeting participants on one screen and the shared screen and your notes on another • Ben Finio 📺

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