It took me hours upon hours of research to figure out how to setup an indoor video studio for recording my video podcast<\/a> and other videos for social media.<\/p>\n I have combined all of that research into this article to share all the things I\u2019ve learned, including the software and equipment I\u2019m using. <\/p>\n I\u2019ll start my talking about the overall look and design. Then, I\u2019ll move into the technical components for audio and video. <\/p>\n The hardest part about setting up a podcast or video studio, other than the cost of everything, is finding an ideal recording space in your home. <\/p>\n Hopefully, you can find a room that\u2019s free from a lot of distracting background noises. <\/p>\n Ideally, you want a long wall that is adjacent to a window. The wall will give you the blank canvas to work with and the window will provide natural light. <\/p>\n The length of wall needed depends on your height and if you\u2019re shooting horizontally or vertically. <\/p>\n If you\u2019re shooting horizontally, you\u2019ll need to set your camera up and look at how far you need to be zoomed out to put your whole head and shoulders in frame. <\/p>\n For perspective, my wall is 9 feet long. This is what the space looked like before. I didn\u2019t like the cabinets I had on the left wall because they were open and looked cluttered. <\/p>\n The width of the room is also important, because you need enough space for your lights, camera and tripods. Having at least 10-12 feet of depth is ideal. <\/p>\n To get started, I browsed the internet for furniture and bookmarked the styles that I liked. Then, I copied the pictures and pasted them into a document so I could see the design before I built it. <\/p>\n Because my speciality is food related, it was important for me to have a lot of counter space both in front of me and behind me. <\/p>\n I also decided I wanted cabinets instead of just a simple backdrop. This both works to frame me as a subject and allows me to use this space in my home for more than one purpose. <\/p>\n You can find furniture for your backdrop at so many different price points. I started by shopping at furniture stores, but I really didn\u2019t want to spend thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n I found all of the pieces I wanted online and used a graphics program to copy and paste pictures so I could visualize the final look. <\/p>\n I ordered more affordable, build-it-yourself furniture from Amazon and painted it. The side cabinets are freestanding kitchen pantry cabinets<\/a> in white. They were $260 each.<\/p>\n The center back counter cabinet was white and was also form Amazon, but it\u2019s already been discontinued, so I don\u2019t have a link for you, sorry. It was $387.<\/p>\n For the front counter cabinet, I purchased a different counter sideboard buffet cabinet<\/a> in black. With tax and shipping, it was $260.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t like the look of my plain wall, so I jazzed it up by getting a piece of wood paneling from Lowes. It comes in a few different styles. I went with the weathered pine MDF wainscot wall panel<\/a>. It was $30.<\/p>\n The cabinets I purchased were white and black, but I wanted something with my brand colors of orange and blue, so I decided to paint the back cabinets.<\/p>\n Because the cabinets are fairly cheap and are just made of laminated MDF, you can\u2019t just apply paint because it won\u2019t stick. <\/p>\n First, you need to apply bonding primer<\/a>. A quart will cost around $15. It\u2019s amazing stuff. It makes the surface dull instead of slippery, so colored paint will stick. <\/p>\n Then, choose your paint color. I color matched the dark teal blue color I use on my website to a color swatch at the store. It\u2019s called Deep Water. <\/p>\n Make sure you choose an interior paint and one that isn\u2019t too shiny. I went with Valspar Eggshell<\/a>. Because I chose such a dark color, it needed about 3-4 coats of paint, so I bought a gallon, which was $35. You may be able to get by with a quart. <\/p>\n I used a small paint roller for the surface and sponge brushes for the nooks. I also bought a drop cloth to protect the floor. All of that cost me around $30.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lastly, I purchased some spray paint. <\/p>\n The handles on the cabinets were yellow gold and black. Instead of buying new handles, which can cost $5 a piece, I just painted the existing handles with Krylon Fusion All-in-One Satin Metallic Rose Gold Spray Paint<\/a>, which was $10. <\/p>\n I also have cans of Dupli-Color Chevy Orange Engine Spray Paint<\/a> to touch up my Hunsaker Drum Smokers.<\/a> I used that to spray my microphone stand. It\u2019s $12 a can. <\/p>\n I have some future plans to make this studio pop even more. Right now, my counters are just plain painted MDF wood. Eventually, I plan to add custom-fitted Dekton countertops<\/a>. I\u2019m just waiting for Home Depot to have a 20% off sale. <\/p>\n I\u2019m going to use Laurent for the front counter, it\u2019s black with gold veins. I\u2019ll be using Entzo for the back countertop. It\u2019s white with gold veins. <\/p>\n I also plan to add rusted corrugated metal<\/a> around the front counter, so the backside (or frontside on camera) is more finished. I grabbed them from Amazon for $27. They\u2019re not as orange as I was hoping, but they\u2019ll do. <\/p>\n I considered adding floating shelves and may do so in the future, but for now, I just have a couple of props on the counter for accent pieces. One is a metal cow, pig, chicken statue and the other is my logo plate from my Oklahoma Joes Bronco Pro<\/a>. <\/p>\n This is one of the most important factors to having a good video studio. You can make a really cheap backdrop look good with great lighting or really expensive furniture look bad with poor lighting. <\/p>\n Through my research, I learned that it\u2019s good to use a 3-point lighting setup. <\/p>\n You want a key light to be in front of you at about a 45-degree angle and above you pointing down. <\/p>\n I\u2019m using the Westcott Solix Bi-Color 1-Light Kit with Apollo Orb and Stand<\/a>. It\u2019s $300 at B and H. <\/p>\n I had to watch this YouTube video to learn how to attach the Apollo Orb to the Solix light<\/a>. <\/p>\n When I\u2019m facing the camera, I have a window to my left, so I have this key light to my right. <\/p>\n Because the key light is at an angle, it will cast some shadows on your face. A few shadows are good because you want depth, but you don\u2019t want really harsh shadows. A fill light will help soften those. <\/p>\n If you have a window, you may not need a fill light. <\/p>\n I do have a window, but I found that I liked an additional fill light, too. <\/p>\n For this, I\u2019m using a NEEWER BH30S Light Wand<\/a>. It costs around $95 and runs on battery. It has so many amazing colors and settings, and you can control them all from an app on your phone, which is cool. <\/p>\n I have one light mounted vertically to a light stand<\/a> that costs around $34. <\/p>\n It\u2019s in front of me at a 45-degree angle on the opposite side as the key light. The height is pretty even to my eye level. <\/p>\n We talked about depth on our face, but we also want depth between us and the background. This is where background lights come in, and this is where you can have some fun with color. <\/p>\n You can use another NEEWER BH30S light and set it to virtually any color. In fact, in the app, you can point your phone to anything and grab the color. <\/p>\n Just go to the picker tab, point your camera to something, and tap to select. The brightness, hue and saturation levels will automatically adjust to match that color. <\/p>\n Once you have a color you like, tap the star. That marks it as a favorite. <\/p>\n In the future, you can just tap the bookmark icon to find your color. Once you tap your saved color, the light will adjust to match. <\/p>\n For my backdrop, the BH30S lights were a little too large, so I opted for the NEEWER TL96RGB<\/a> handheld light wands. They cost around $60.<\/p>\n They\u2019re also battery powered. You simply turn the light on and adjust the colors and intensity. Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t connect to the app, so you do have to do that manually.<\/p>\n I set these to orange (branding!!) and tuck them behind the props on my counter. <\/p>\n While the lights are super important for video, having great quality audio can make or break a podcast. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t recommend using the microphone built into your camera. Instead, go with a better quality microphone and external recording device. <\/p>\n The Shure SM7B Dynamic Vocal Microphone<\/a> seems to be a top pick among podcasters. Now that I\u2019ve been using it, I can see why. <\/p>\n At $400, it\u2019s a big investment, but I\u2019m really pleased with the high quality audio. <\/p>\n My microphone is mounted on a $25 desktop mic stand<\/a> and connected to a CloudLifter CL-1 Mic Activator<\/a> with XLR cables. It costs $155 and includes the cables.<\/p>\n The CloudLifter is optional, but it helps improve the signal-to-noise ratio, sending cleaner audio quality to the recording device. <\/p>\n The CloudLifter is then connected to a Zoom H6<\/a> with another XLR cable. The Zoom is $230.<\/p>\n It\u2019s battery powered and records the digital audio onto a SD card. It has four inputs and tracks, so it will work great if you have multiple guests on your podcast. <\/p>\n For now, I\u2019m recording a solo podcast, so I just plug the XLR into one track. I press that track button to make sure the red light is on. Then, I just push the record button. <\/p>\n Because my counter has drawers, I set my microphone on the counter and run the cable into the drawer where I have the Zoom and CloudLifter. <\/p>\n I recommend listening to your audio with a set of headphones, too. That way, you can make sure the sound quality is to your liking. <\/p>\n The Zoom has a 3.5 mm port for virtually any type of headphones.<\/p>\n I\u2019m testing the Shure SE425 PRO Wired Earbuds<\/a>. The sound quality is top notch, but the fit is a little odd for my ears, even with the different fittings. They cost $270. For a podcast and social videos, you can go with a much less expensive option. <\/p>\n As you can see the costs can add up quickly, and I haven\u2019t even gotten to the camera, editing software or server storage yet. <\/p>\n If you want to get into this, you really need to be committed because it will take some time to get a good return on your investment. <\/p>\n When it comes to a camera, the least expensive option is to use your smartphone. Nowadays, they provide really good quality video, and you don\u2019t have to worry about audio because you\u2019re capturing that separately. <\/p>\n A con with a smartphone is that the rear camera is better than the front camera, so it\u2019s best to face the rear camera toward you. But then, you can\u2019t see the screen, so you can\u2019t really see what you\u2019re recording. <\/p>\n Fortunately, you can purchase an external camera monitor or buy software so you can use your iPad (if you have one) as an external monitor. <\/p>\n I didn\u2019t go this route, so I can\u2019t really recommend which equipment or software to buy. <\/p>\n For better quality, I recommend shooting your video with a DSLR camera. Nikon, Canon and Sony all sell great cameras. I\u2019ve been a Nikon girl since I began shooting on film, so that\u2019s what I use. <\/p>\n For food photography, I use a Nikon Z6II, but for my video studio, I use my Nikon Z30 Mirrorless Digital Camera with a 16-50mm lens<\/a>. You can pick one up for around $700. <\/p>\n You will also need either an EN-EL25 battery charger<\/a> and extra battery<\/a> or a long UC-E24 cable to keep it plugged into the wall, so you don\u2019t lose power. The batteries run about $57 each and the charger is $55.<\/p>\n I bought a five-pack of USB Type C to Type A cables<\/a>, so I can keep my NEEWER light and camera plugged in. They cost $17.<\/p>\n And don\u2019t forget the SD cards. You need one for the Zoom audio recorder and one for the camera. I use 128GB SanDisk Extreme Pro cards<\/a>. They\u2019re about $25 each. <\/p>\n Although the Nikon Z30 has a flip around screen, so you can see what you\u2019re recording, it\u2019s super tiny. <\/p>\n When I setup my monitor for the first time, I did a dance. I was so happy that I could see if I was in focus. <\/p>\n I went with the FEELWORLD FW279 7-inch 2200 Ultra Bright DSLR Monitor<\/a>. It costs $260. You also need the FEELWORLD power supply<\/a>, which is $20. <\/p>\n I have my camera on a tripod and the monitor mounts to the hot shoe on the camera. You can use any tripod. Mine costs $200 because I use it for other things, but this is an area where you can save some money. <\/p>\n One of the absolute coolest things about the monitor is that I can turn the grid on, which shows me a bunch of lines on the screen, including the zone I need to stay in for vertical video.<\/p>\n That means I can shoot horizontal video and crop later to vertical video without cropping out important areas. <\/p>\n Once you\u2019re setup and start recording your videos, you\u2019ll need a few tools to edit them and publish them to the web. <\/p>\n There are several video editing options out there. I\u2019m not going to go into the pros and cons of each one. This is a BBQ website, not a software website. I\u2019m just going to share what I use. <\/p>\n I have a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud and use Premiere Pro for editing video. It is a rather advanced software program, but it\u2019s getting easier every day. <\/p>\n Now, you can import your audio and video files and synchronize them with a push of a button. <\/p>\n The software will also transcribe the audio into text, and you can then edit using the text instead of the video clips. <\/p>\n Plus, you can push all of that transcription into captions and style those captions to match your brand. There are a ton of tutorials within the app, which costs $59.99-$89.99 per month. <\/p>\n A bonus is that this software comes several other programs, including PhotoShop and Lightroom, which is what I use for photo editing, and Audition, which is great for just audio editing. <\/p>\n In order for your podcast to go to Apple, Spotify and all the places, you have to host it somewhere. <\/p>\n After you edit it and export a video format and audio format, you need to publish it. <\/p>\n Again, there are a lot of options out there. I chose to go with Libsyn<\/a>. <\/p>\n As of writing this post, my podcast is brand new, so I can\u2019t really outline the pros and cons. The service came highly recommended from some podcast friends, and I\u2019m pleased with how easy their drag and drop interface is to use. They also have a lot of easy-to-follow tutorials. <\/p>\n It looks like it\u2019s only going to be $20 a month for audio. I simply upload my artwork, descriptions and audio files to their site and they take care of pushing it to all the big podcast companies.<\/p>\n It will take a few weeks for the big podcast platforms like Apple, Spotify and iHeart Radio to accept it, so plan ahead for that.<\/p>\n I also publish a video version of my podcast, which is why I built the entire video studio. For this, I\u2019m starting with the YouTube podcast platform<\/a>, which is free. <\/p>\n Libsyn also offers a video podcast publishing service, but I\u2019m not ready to jump on that yet. <\/p>\n I know I just dumped a ton of information on you. If you\u2019re still with me at this point, you must be committed to starting something exciting. <\/p>\n Setting up a legit video recording studio is going to cost you close to $4,000.<\/p>\n There are areas where you can save money and build up to the higher-end stuff, but it\u2019s definitely an investment. <\/p>\n If you found this information helpful and used it to start your YouTube Channel or setup a home podcast studio, I\u2019d love to see your setup. Please comment below with your link, so I can check it out. <\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/web-banner-spices.webp)
<\/source><\/picture><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"video](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/podcast-studio-scaled.jpg\"\/)
![\"video](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/podcast-studio-scaled.jpg\")
<\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\nChoosing the location<\/h2>\n
![\"office](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/studio-before.jpg\"\/)
![\"office](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/studio-before.jpg\")
<\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\n
\nThe video studio backdrop<\/h2>\n
![\"mock](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/teal-cabinets.jpg\"\/)
![\"mock](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/teal-cabinets.jpg\")
<\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\nCOSTS SO FAR: <\/strong>So far, the total costs for this studio are around $1,200. Again, you can spend more on furniture, or a lot less, depending on what style you want. <\/pre>\n
\nBranding the backdrop<\/h2>\n
![\"cabinets](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cabinets.jpg\"\/)
![\"cabinets](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cabinets.jpg\")
<\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\nCOSTS SO FAR: <\/strong>My paint costs totaled around $100. So our total so far is $1,300.<\/pre>\n
\nAdding accents<\/h2>\n
![\"black](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rust-front.jpg\"\/)
![\"black](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/rust-front.jpg\")
<\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\n
\nLighting equipment for a video studio<\/h2>\n
Key Light<\/h3>\n
Key Light Settings: <\/strong> I set the Solix light color to 56 and the intensity to 50.<\/pre>\n
Fill Light<\/h3>\n
Fill Light Settings: <\/strong>I use the NEEWER app and choose the light sources tab and modeling lights. <\/pre>\n
Back Lights<\/h3>\n
COSTS SO FAR: <\/strong>These lights cost $500, which puts my studio total at $1,800.<\/pre>\n
\nAudio setup for a podcast studio<\/h2>\n
![\"podcast](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/mic-setup.jpg\"\/)
![\"podcast](\"https:\/\/girlscangrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/mic-setup.jpg\")
<\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\nAudio Setting:<\/strong> On my Zoom H6, I set my track volume to 6 and turn all other tracks to zero. I have the PAD set to 0. In the menu, I turned Phantom on, since I'm using the CloudLifter. The record format is set to 44.1kHz\/16bit<\/pre>\n
COSTS SO FAR: <\/strong>The audio equipment, not including the headphones, was around $800. The total costs right now are at $2,600.<\/pre>\n
\nCamera options for a video podcast<\/h2>\n
Smartphone<\/h3>\n
DSLR Camera<\/h3>\n
Monitor<\/h3>\n
COSTS SO FAR: <\/strong>The camera equipment I'm using, not counting the tripod costs are about $1,050. Therefore, the total costs to just build a video podcast studio like the one I designed is around $3,650. <\/pre>\n
\nEditing software for video podcasts<\/h2>\n
\nPublishing your podcast <\/h2>\n
\nTotal costs for building a video studio<\/h2>\n
\n