[00:00:00] Dave Polykoff: So you want to start recording videos from your house, but you're a little worried that you don't have that sexy backdrop, like your favorite creator.
[00:00:08] Dave Polykoff: Well, you have come to the right place today because with me, I have Junaid Ahmed, who is the expert at helping people go from crappy home studio, no, uh, no backdrop, dirty laundry in the background to a beautiful backdrop. That they can be proud of and feel confident when they want to go create some video.
[00:00:29] Dave Polykoff: So Junaid, welcome to the show.
[00:00:32] Junaid Ahmed: David, thank you so much for bringing me on. I'm super excited and honored to be here.
[00:00:37] Dave Polykoff: Wonderful. Yeah. So this is going to be very prevalent to me because as you can see, and for longtime brand science viewers. You'll see that I have a new backdrop behind me. This is actually the first podcast I'm recording with this backdrop. And, uh, right at the, before we started this podcast, uh, Junaid mentioned that he has some notes for me as how [00:01:00] I can improve my backdrop.
[00:01:01] Dave Polykoff: So we're gonna, we're gonna get into all that today. But first I want to understand your background and how you got into home studio design.
[00:01:13] Junaid Ahmed: Absolutely, David. So I've been a huge enthusiast around the tech space for a very long time. And in fact, very, my very first camera. I acquired or I was gifted in 1989. It was a film camera and I was just a young kid, right? And I was like, wow, this is so cool. So I've been taking photos for a very long time, but it wasn't till 2013 that my wife was like, okay, You obviously love cameras.
[00:01:42] Junaid Ahmed: You're taking photos and videos all the time. Um, here's your gift. And it was basically a DSLR camera in 2013. I was like, wow, this is epic. I've been dreaming about this for a long time. And around that same time I had seen that TV studios and film [00:02:00] studios were using DSLR cameras as camera rigs because they have such a large sensor and the technology was there where it could capture, uh, nonstop video.
[00:02:12] Junaid Ahmed: Well, that changed everything for me. I was like, okay, I want to go deep into understanding how these cameras work. I took about 15 different courses on lynda. com, which is now LinkedIn learning. And you can still find those same courses. Uh, it was all around the foundation of photography, the foundation of video.
[00:02:31] Junaid Ahmed: Making and filmmaking and how to interview, uh, on camera using DSLR cameras. So I went deep diving, understanding all of the different aspects of cameras. And I even joined meetup groups to go take photos and videos in person. And so I've been really into that tech space, understanding the trifecta photography.[00:03:00]
[00:03:00] Junaid Ahmed: ISO, the focal length, and then the f stop, you know, what those numbers mean and how it changes photography and how it creates the image that's inside the camera. And it's basically mimicking how our eyes work, right? So the lens and the camera put together. So how did I get into helping others with their studios?
[00:03:23] Junaid Ahmed: Well, it all started with me solving my own problem of having a studio for myself. Now in 2018. I had started my podcasting and towards the end of it, a friend of mine asked me to come to this LinkedIn live event, a LinkedIn local event, basically people on LinkedIn meeting together to make connections.
[00:03:46] Junaid Ahmed: And I took my smartphone and a gimbal there and I was recording video while the host of the camera host of the event was like, wow, that's really cool. You, you know, all, all a lot about this. I'm like, yeah, I've [00:04:00] been playing with this for a few years. He's like, would you be open to come and talk at the next local event on how to use iPhone as a video production tool?
[00:04:12] Junaid Ahmed: I was like, absolutely. So I gave that talk and then what was funny is, uh, I was like, wait, I put all these slides and I put all this information together. What if I could make a course out of it? Because courses were, you know, getting started. And when I went to create the course content for it myself in my home, studio.
[00:04:35] Junaid Ahmed: Well, I did. First of all, I didn't have a home studio. I just had the camera gear and I was watching people who are using these vinyl backdrops. I was like, okay, I'll get a vinyl backdrop, put on my these yellow walls and I started recording. But what sucked is that I didn't know how to start talking to the camera.
[00:04:57] Junaid Ahmed: I've been, all these years, I've been really good [00:05:00] behind the camera, but when it came time to be in front of the camera, I was like, Oh my God, um, how am I supposed to say this? Even though I had some scripts, some pointers, I was still struggling. I was like, well, I got to go work on me. I got to go work on how to actually tell a story, how to actually hook the person to say, Hey, this is what I'm going to be talking about.
[00:05:23] Junaid Ahmed: Stick around. blah, blah, blah. So I continued to focus on my podcasting. I was still podcasting. I had interviewed about a hundred guests on the podcast in 2019 and I got better at speaking with them. And when 2020 hit, we were all stuck at home and luckily I found a job that was a hundred percent remote.
[00:05:47] Junaid Ahmed: So I was like, okay, now I can spend time building that studio out. And as I'm sitting in front of my webcam, all I saw were these big bright windows shining into the [00:06:00] camera. Like, well, that's not going to work. So I switched to move around the room around, got some work done, started playing around with the space.
[00:06:09] Junaid Ahmed: And at that time I was also watching and learning from Pat Flynn on the power of podcasting. And I saw his videos.
[00:06:18] Dave Polykoff: if that's, if you're into podcasting and all that, yeah, definitely check out Pat Flynn.
[00:06:22] Junaid Ahmed: You got to know Pat Flynn. And in his videos, all, what, what I saw was these wood slats behind him. I was like, Ooh, I need to have some wood slats behind me. So in this shot, you'll see I've basically put up a complete wood wall, which is actually vinyl flooring that I picked up from home Depot. And I just put everything.
[00:06:47] Junaid Ahmed: And so that was the beginning of the journey. And as I'm going through this, I'm watching path land. He shared his list of gear that's in his studio. And as I'm reading this blog, I was like, [00:07:00] wait, I have 90 percent of the gear that he's talking about. I have all of this. So I start putting my space together.
[00:07:07] Junaid Ahmed: And during this time, We all found communities. We all found ways to connect with other people because we weren't going in person. And I was really fortunate to join this, um, group called unconventional leaders on Facebook. And they realized, you know, they're all entrepreneurs. They realized that we need to have some kind of ongoing conversation.
[00:07:30] Junaid Ahmed: So we would, we were meeting on a daily basis at four o'clock for about an hour and a half, and we would talk to each other. So that also helped me. to tell my story in a safe place. So all these things are happening. And as I'm building and, you know, going parallel, building a studio, having the conversation, building my own speaking ability, people started asking me, how is your image so sharp and clean while, you know, we're all using the [00:08:00] same stuff, like, no, we're not, no, we're not.
[00:08:03] Junaid Ahmed: So that's how I got into helping people and podcasters, not to maneuver, set up their studios.
[00:08:10] Dave Polykoff: What I love about that too, is you, you mentioned when you were behind the camera for the longest time, and then you got in front of the camera and, uh, you, you go to press record and it is a whole new experience. Um, so that's, that's definitely something to, to discuss as well, but. What you mentioned there was you just forced yourself to continue to get the reps in.
[00:08:32] Dave Polykoff: And that's something I've heard so often is you, everyone starts unnatural in front of the camera, but then you just get the reps in and you, you see your favorite creator five years into their journey and they look so great on camera. Well. Go back to their first video. And it is not the same.
[00:08:52] Junaid Ahmed: A hundred percent. And, and, and I mentioned that to folks too, like if you look at MKBHD, he's so natural on camera, [00:09:00] but he still has that video that he posted like many, many years ago on his YouTube channel. And you can go watch that one and you can see the drastic difference between that first video and the now video.
[00:09:15] Dave Polykoff: a hundred percent. So let's start with the idea. I know a lot of coaches, consultants, so entrepreneurs who are starting their personal brand, they want to get on video, but the fear is I don't have that. Really sexy backdrop like you have, or your, their favorite creator has. And they feel that that's the only way to be successful on video is you have to have that backdrop.
[00:09:40] Dave Polykoff: So let's start with the idea of what is the importance of having that studio set up? Whether it be the equipment that no one sees because it's either recording or, you know, it's the microphone or the camera, no one sees that, but then there's the visual side of things like the backdrop. So what is the importance of having a home studio?[00:10:00]
[00:10:00] Junaid Ahmed: Well, the home studio is basically your home. impression or your first glimpse of who you are, right? And as you speak on camera, you want to inform the guest, Hey, I'm just starting this out level with me, right? But I do want to get the message out. In fact, a story that I absolutely love is Larry King. We all know Larry King.
[00:10:29] Junaid Ahmed: He show the first time that he went on radio. Uh, the current host had You know, he moved out and this was in Miami. So they were constantly coming in and going. So he was, uh, a disc jockey playing music on radio. And the producer says, Hey, you're on tomorrow. What name are you going to use? So it's like Larry, blah, blah, blah.
[00:10:57] Junaid Ahmed: We don't know his, I can't remember his last name, but he [00:11:00] said, no, that's not going to fly. You need to pick a different name. And he saw on the newspaper something Kings market or something. So he picked King as his last name and later, later on change his last name. So he's like, okay, you've got to go on, uh, you know, and you're, you're basically the new host for the show.
[00:11:19] Junaid Ahmed: He's like, all right, I'll do it. So he jumps on the radio. He queues up the music. music to start speaking and he can't speak a word. So he queues up the music again. And then about three, four minutes later, the producer walks in. He's like, what are you doing? This is a communication. We're in the communication industry.
[00:11:48] Junaid Ahmed: You need to communicate. I was like, okay, fine, fine, fine. He's like, and then he says, this is my very first time. running a radio show. [00:12:00] My name is Larry King and this is the very first time I've said that name to anybody. So he himself put on display, Hey, this is who I am. I'm not going to pretend to be somebody else.
[00:12:16] Junaid Ahmed: So when we say get started, that means get started where you are, because there are a ton of people waiting to get started, but they think that, no, I have to be at level number 10 before I start. But well, how did they get to level 10? Right? So what I teach in my book and in my different books that I've published, start with what you have.
[00:12:37] Junaid Ahmed: And what we have is a really powerful camera in our pockets already. The smartphones that we carry around, they can, like the Samsung devices can capture, I think, 8k footage, you know, iPhones can capture 4k footage. These are really powerful cameras. In fact, Apple themselves. Have been using the iPhone 15 pro on all of their own [00:13:00] productions that you watch online.
[00:13:03] Junaid Ahmed: So I think October's scary, uh, scary fast event when they introduced the M3 processor, they use all of the cinema gear, but the camera in it was the iPhone. The WWDC event that they, uh, Introduced, uh, the new operating system. They use the iPhone 15 pro I'm like, Holy smokes. That's insane because it's, it's the level of, uh, confidence that you bring and the authenticity that you bring with the camera that you have.
[00:13:37] Junaid Ahmed: So create that content with the camera that you have, because it's going to resonate with the right people. And they're going to be along for the ride. You're empowering them as well. Mm hmm. Mm
[00:13:49] Dave Polykoff: Yeah. And that, I guess that
[00:13:51] Dave Polykoff: clarity, well, we'll get back to the idea of like, when you want to get started, you know, what's, what's the equipment that you might [00:14:00] already have in your pocket, for example, that you can get started with. Right. Um, but that, that 4k image, you know, I, you know, I. I'll look, I'll scroll through LinkedIn and I'll see some videos. a bit blurry. You know, it looks like maybe they filmed it on a webcam. That wasn't maybe a 4k webcam. And just when I see that I'm not, there's, there's something about that blurriness that gives me the impression of they're not investing back into their brand, that they're, they're not taking the time to think about the audience.
[00:14:37] Junaid Ahmed: hmm.
[00:14:39] Dave Polykoff: say, you know, what, what, what do they expect from my content? Whether it be good audio or good video. So is it that there's, you know, is, is the purpose of investing into quality equipment, quality home studio, that. It's just that initial sniff test when someone's scrolling and seeing, you [00:15:00] know, your content, whether it's YouTube or LinkedIn, that there's just an automatic, okay, credibility check that, all right, you pass the initial sniff test.
[00:15:08] Dave Polykoff: I'll check out your content. Like what, what, what do you think is like the core value into actually making that investment into the home studio or the equipment? Yeah,
[00:15:18] Junaid Ahmed: I think the core values again, like you said, it's going to attract the new people to your, or to your video, to your message. But the old video, the crappy video or the crappy camera video, the webcam video, I'm not going to say crappy. The webcam video is going to continue to nurture the people that already know you.
[00:15:45] Junaid Ahmed: And that's what we're trying to, we're trying to get the top of mind. So yes, yes. You do want to invest in a good studio and guess what? It's been over, you know, pandemics been over for over a year. There's no more excuses, [00:16:00] right? It was okay during the pandemic to have the blurred background, the virtual background, all of that stuff.
[00:16:07] Junaid Ahmed: We're way past that. And if you're a professional that's trying to sell your services and your business, then it is an investment. It is a marketing expense that you do one time. to set yourself up for success.
[00:16:26] Dave Polykoff: A hundred percent. So we know the value of why we should have this home studio. It's kind of that credibility check. The initial sniff, uh, check of, you know, is this person serious with their personal brand or this is this person's person serious in creating content. Now, those who are going from, I mean, we all have different home situations.
[00:16:50] Dave Polykoff: Sometimes we're in a small apartment, maybe it's a studio and space is, is not. Readily available. Sometimes we have a two bedroom [00:17:00] and we have that extra office room that we can transform.
[00:17:03] Junaid Ahmed: Yeah.
[00:17:03] Dave Polykoff: And so we all kind of get into our heads of, you know, where am I going to do this? Where's the spacing, you know, how do I go from having absolutely nothing to having.
[00:17:16] Dave Polykoff: A studio I can feel proud of what's maybe the first step someone should be thinking about where they want to make the decision to, okay, let's start a home studio. How can they kind of find that space within their home to actually do that? Where's where's like the best space that they could probably carve out?
[00:17:36] Junaid Ahmed: I think the best space could be also depends on the type of content that you're looking to create, right? The best space for let's say a YouTube channel talking about cooking food would might be the kitchen, right? But if you're in business that are selling a specific product that can relate to a part of your room, well, use that [00:18:00] space.
[00:18:00] Junaid Ahmed: as your starting point. So the first thing that I, uh, have everybody do is analyze the space that you have, like figure out, okay, where can I really use and create content every, you know, in my videos, sometimes I'll be in my family room and I've got this huge picture frame window that has really nice lateral light coming on.
[00:18:22] Junaid Ahmed: So I would put my camera right there and I would talk to the camera, right? So that creates, you're, you're getting the good natural light. And you got a good camera and then the audio is going to be pretty good because usually in our family rooms and living rooms, you have a lot of stuff in the places, curtains and whatnot, that helps to absorb the echo that might.
[00:18:45] Junaid Ahmed: be created if you didn't have those things. So analyze the space that you're going to be in, figure out where the doors and windows are, and if there's going to be any distraction behind you if you were to create the content. So you [00:19:00] want the two types of video where one is the informal and the other one is your formal video.
[00:19:06] Junaid Ahmed: I think my friend Ken Okazaki of GoBox Studio mentioned the two, um, the Will Smith effect. We've been watching Will Smith on film forever. That's the professional look. But during the pandemic, we saw him record video with his smartphone in his pajamas or in his, uh, in his, uh, sweats and whatnot. So you want to give the people both spec, both ends of who you are, right?
[00:19:40] Junaid Ahmed: When we show up in our studio, we care about the people that we're sending this message to. We're not creating the studio for ourselves. Sure. It gives us confidence, but also we're creating it for the person on the other side, because we're coming, we're respecting them because they're taking the time to [00:20:00] watch our video content.
[00:20:01] Junaid Ahmed: So I think it's a, it's a double, a double thing that you want to do, be able to do. So first thing, analyze the space that you're in, figure out the windows and the doors, and then use that window as your main light source. Mm hmm.
[00:20:17] Dave Polykoff: It's interesting. You, uh, you mentioned that having kind of the duality, if you will, of Having a kind of more formal business setup, but then having a secondary location, which is more, a little bit more informal. That's something I don't do actually. So I'm glad you mentioned that where I think largely the reason, and we can speak to this, but largely the reason I don't do that is because I have my setup, my good camera, everything in one spot.
[00:20:47] Dave Polykoff: And then I, I, I fear like if I was to go. You know, over on the couch and set up there, then I have to like move everything over. So maybe we can get into mobility of, of setups in a bit, but [00:21:00] I do like the idea that you mentioned where it's not all your content, essentially it should, should look the same, I guess, is what you're saying.
[00:21:07] Dave Polykoff: And
[00:21:08] Junaid Ahmed: And when I said, when I say the, yeah, when I said the other type of content, the mobility factor, my studio equipment stays here. When I'm in a different location, I'm just using my phone camera. Those vertical videos, those stories. Right. So we're creating that, um, interaction with our communities because there are different types of posts that we can create on our, on let's say Facebook alone, right?
[00:21:32] Junaid Ahmed: There's a post, there's a text post, there's the photo post, there's the live video, and then there's the stories and the reels. So in the reels, we can have the production quality that we have here, or you can have the. impromptu. Hey, this is what's happening. And this is what I did. Blah, blah, blah. So, you know, you're cutting through and you're creating that real.
[00:21:55] Junaid Ahmed: And in the stories, you can do it with your phone saying, Hey, [00:22:00] this is what I'm working on. And a lot of people watch the stories because guess what? There's a very limited number of people that are in our position, creating professional content, but there's a lot more people. that are consuming the content.
[00:22:17] Junaid Ahmed: That's why 4 billion hours of video is watched on YouTube every single day.
[00:22:23] Dave Polykoff: yeah, that's a very good point. So, all right, we found our space. And we want to start kind of glamming up that space. Should we be looking to what's, what's kind of the next thing we should be thinking about once we've actually found our space and where we want to set up our studio.
[00:22:41] Junaid Ahmed: Absolutely. So once you found the studio, you basically want to get a tripod or some way to set that camera in that position. Now that you've got that camera in the position, now you're free to move around and set the things that are going to be in stage [00:23:00] or in shot. And this is something that, uh, in Hollywood call you're blocking the shot.
[00:23:06] Junaid Ahmed: You're setting the stage. And what does that mean? The camera only sees 30, maybe 20 percent of the room. Whereas the rest of the room might be a huge mess. For example, my desk here is a huge mess. But it doesn't matter because I'm creating the scene that I want the audience to see. So once you've got
[00:23:31] Dave Polykoff: a really, that's a really important point too, because going back to the idea of having a studio or a smaller apartment and people get worried, okay, well. Where am I even going to set this up to your point, especially if you're creating vertical video, you only really see a very small sliver of your, your background, especially too, if you're creating vertical video, because. You 90 percent of the frame is, you know, your head and your chest. And then, you [00:24:00] know, it's just kind of right around your head is what they see. So, yeah, I, I, I like the idea of not needing to worry about having some completely separate room as a studio. Sometimes you just need a really nice, you know, angle or corner of your house.
[00:24:15] Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. corner of your house or even, uh, go as far away because the other thing the cameras can do is you can barely see what's in my backdrop, right? Uh, in the bookshelf, I've got some, uh, I've got, I think, Darth Vader here and Kylo Ren on the other side. Um, and I've got, you know, other stormtroopers over here, but they're kind of blurred out.
[00:24:38] Junaid Ahmed: And that's the functionality of the lens that we're using. Right. It's outside of the focus, uh, point. So when we're using our cameras, we have, uh, our smartphones, we have cinematic mode, which will automatically like blur out farther away elements. So you can use that kind of mode also. But even if [00:25:00] you don't, it's so far away, people are not going to show or, you know, pay much attention.
[00:25:05] Junaid Ahmed: But what I like to do is I like to involve my background. into the conversation as well. So now I'm not hiding anything. I'm not pretending to be something I'm not right. I'm sharing, but I'm like, Hey, I'm, I'm in my living room hanging out with my kids. I've got this thing going on, but I want to talk to you about this specific subject or topic.
[00:25:29] Junaid Ahmed: So now you're involving them because that's what we want. That's what we want. When we're watching a movie, like, Oh my God, what's happened? What just happened? I want to know everything. So that's, that's the kind of, um, intrigue and connection you're creating when you create that video.
[00:25:45] Hey, Dave here... obviously, but I want to just pause this episode real quick and say, thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Brand Science. I hope that you're getting as much value as a viewer or listener as I've gotten as a [00:26:00] host.
[00:26:00] And if you are getting value from this episode, It must mean that you enjoy nerding out on all things personal branding, content creation, and strategy, which means you're my type of person. So I want to connect. Once you're done this episode, go down to the show notes where you'll find my LinkedIn profile. Click on that link, head over to my profile and send me a request. When you send the request, there'll be that little pop-up that comes up, that you can add a note in the request.
[00:26:28] Just tell me that you found me from a brand science episode so I know that you are one of those loyal, awesome listeners of mine. And let's connect and learn together. Anyway, just want to say, love you. Thanks for listening. Let's connect on LinkedIn and a yeah. Back to the episode.
[00:26:44] Dave Polykoff: So with that, we've mentioned the camera a couple of times here, and I know you've mentioned the iPhone as an option. Again, we're looking to go from zero to one here. So when people are worried [00:27:00] about camera quality and all that, a lot of times, as you're saying, just starting with the iPhone is good enough, especially in 2024 where iPhones, Apple's making commercials and movies with, with their cameras nowadays.
[00:27:16] Dave Polykoff: So for those who want to invest, who may already have, uh, an iPhone in their pocket, but if not, it sounds like just even investing into maybe in the 14 pro 15 pro or whatnot is good enough for high definition content.
[00:27:37] Junaid Ahmed: Correct. So that's a great start, right? Cause what we're trying to do and going back to the first thing that you mentioned, we're trying to get the reps in and whichever camera you have, get the reps in using that camera, and then you can level up. And having a dedicated camera in place. Now I have a few [00:28:00] people in my community that use my, my friend, she runs the scrap happy, um, podcast.
[00:28:07] Junaid Ahmed: She uses two iPhones in her setup. One iPhone is right up there for her video. And the other iPhone is, you know, mounted something like this, which sees her, uh, desktop area. So. As she's, you know, laying a layout out on, uh, for scrapbooking, people can see that and she can read, write notes and whatnot. So again, use what you have and you can level up.
[00:28:33] Junaid Ahmed: Now we've talked about the camera. I've mentioned the smartphone a few times. What's really important is lighting. So if you have the proper lighting, you can use any camera work really well. And what do I mean by proper lighting? Well, if I were to turn out, I'm using some really good cameras. And if I were to turn off the lights, well, you can't really see a whole lot of things, [00:29:00] right?
[00:29:00] Junaid Ahmed: So you want to make sure that the lighting is there. That's going to, again, highlight the subject, highlight the talent in the shot. So. Once we've analyzed the room, we already have the camera. We're not spending any money, additional money yet, but you want to use the lighting that you have available through the windows and you can make them softer by just simply putting a bedsheet on front of it.
[00:29:27] Junaid Ahmed: Tell me if I'm going off topic, but those are the different steps that I like to talk about. Yeah. Yes.
[00:29:37] Dave Polykoff: look when I'm viewing content on, let's say, LinkedIn, content that I want to stop and listen to is one that is recorded in high quality and the lighting is right because when you. When you're scrolling by default, you can't, they turn off the audio on videos.
[00:29:59] Dave Polykoff: So [00:30:00] audio is almost the third concern, if you will, because sometimes if it looks like it's low quality video and the person's recording it in a dark basement, it's not very enticing to want to click into anyway. So, you know, quality of a video lighting, um, and then obviously scene. Of where they're recording, you know, does it look like they've invested into where they're recording and then you click into it and then there's the audio aspect to it.
[00:30:30] Dave Polykoff: So maybe let's we've got the idea to recap your phone going 0 to 1, your phone can shoot in 4K, 99 percent of phones in 2024 can. And if, if yours doesn't, it's probably a good time to invest into one that can just being that. It's a phone, but it's also, um, it's a camera, but it's also your phone, right? So it's, you know, there's other uses for it, but then lighting being near a window [00:31:00] with natural light, getting front lit, it sounds like is, is what you want.
[00:31:05] Dave Polykoff: And. So let's maybe talk on that third piece then, which is just kind of the back drop to you, let's say we have a dedicated area where we're always going to be recording and we want to have a background that is Looks professional. Um, but also, you know, what are some of the other things we should be thinking about when we wanna set up our background?
[00:31:29] Dave Polykoff: And maybe we can even, you know, use, use my backdrop as an example of some things that you would tweak as well.
[00:31:35] Junaid Ahmed: Sure. So one great point, camera, lighting, the audio is number, uh, third importance, right? When they turn the audio on, you want to be able to be legible and people can pay attention to what you're saying. Right? So that's important. And having good audio also helps the software transcribe [00:32:00] your text.
[00:32:01] Junaid Ahmed: properly because even though the audio is turned off, we could still read the text that's on those videos. So design our background design. What I like to do is bring in the elements that inspire you, right? So what I noticed on, on your left side, you've got the, the Deadpool and the Wolverine, uh, you know, uh, products or, I don't know,
[00:32:31] Dave Polykoff: From the, from the, the movie that just came out, it's a popcorn bucket and a,
[00:32:35] Junaid Ahmed: there you go.
[00:32:35] Dave Polykoff: soda cup. Yeah.
[00:32:37] Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. So you've got those because those are something that you resonate with, right? So bring in the things that you resonate with in your shot, in your space. Again, when we set that camera up where it is, now you can move, now you're free to move around to your room. So, okay, what, Would look better over here.
[00:32:55] Junaid Ahmed: And then you're basically framing your, your shot according to what you [00:33:00] like in there. Now, of course, the bookshelf or like a shelf with lights, like you have all these things are going to help showcase those things. You could even probably hang things from the ceiling using, uh, uh, fishing, fishing line wire.
[00:33:16] Junaid Ahmed: I'm just kidding. I mean, that could be pretty fun though. Um, but again, bring things into the space that resonate with you. That when people see that, they're like, Oh my God, I like that stuff too. Like, for example, I've got this, uh, uh, Iron Man figurine that I just finished building. Took
[00:33:36] Dave Polykoff: How tall is that?
[00:33:38] Junaid Ahmed: That guy's 20 inches tall.
[00:33:41] Junaid Ahmed: It's almost about, you know, about, about a year tall. So if it's in, it sounds good. So that took me like two years. So when I put that in, in my shot, people like, wait, I know that golden and red color. What is that? And then they can automatically say, Oh, that's the Ironman costume. So now you're [00:34:00] engaging you people with the brand design, with the, with the set design essentially.
[00:34:07] Junaid Ahmed: And because we, we love watching television, we, we've been watching television since we were young kids, right? So we like to see good things. So bring those elements into your design, into your space that people resonate with you.
[00:34:24] Dave Polykoff: Yeah. One of the things like my setup in, in my apartment. I don't have a natural area to have an office. So I kind of had a Jerry rig my own in an area that isn't supposed to be an office. Um, but I kind of threw a table next to it. Like my kitchen is like right next to me, right? And, but there's, there's a big blank wall next to it. This is supposed to be an area where there's maybe like, uh, um, you know, uh, uh, a table to have food and [00:35:00] eat and whatever I turned it into an office. And so I have this, it's the only place that I have like a wider six foot ish wall where I could use as a backdrop. Um, what's. Once we kind of find that area where, okay, I have somewhere where I have a blank canvas behind me, what are some of the options that we can take to decorate that area, if you will, to make it look better than just a blank wall?
[00:35:31] Dave Polykoff: One thing, you know, you mentioned like a bookshelf. I've taken the approach of, you know, some curtains basically from Ikea. Um, you know, how do we, we literally have a blank canvas, a blank wall behind us. What should we be thinking about in terms of, okay, how do we start making this look professional and something like the creators we see online?
[00:35:56] Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. So what I've seen is people are using, [00:36:00] um, posters, they're using, you know, bookshelves is another one. Now that bookshelf is about eight feet away from me. So it kind of makes sense, even though the rest of the, there's a lot more room on this side in my office. But what I had started with, like I mentioned earlier, was I started with this, blank wooden wall.
[00:36:21] Junaid Ahmed: Now it's, it's a blank wall. It was a yellow wall is still yellow behind this, but I started adding this additional level of, uh, customization to the wall, but initially it was so flat. It was, you know, nothing on it. So I eventually started putting things on it. So I've got a little, uh, metal. Logo of Hacks and Hobbies podcast up there.
[00:36:43] Junaid Ahmed: I've got a poster from a, it's a signed copy of Iron Man from Stanley that a friend of mine gifted me. I've got some posters here. I've got, you know, whole bunch of things in this studio that basically resonate with me. So that's what I would start with. Take that blank [00:37:00] wall, see what kind of customizations can you do on there.
[00:37:04] Junaid Ahmed: And start putting those in and it's going to change over time. And we've, we've seen this in a Pat Flynn's back wall. Uh, he used to have all the three helmets from, uh, star Wars. He had the, um, he had an Ironman helmet. He had, uh, the storm trooper helmet. He had the Mandalorian, but now it's changed. Like he's chaining it up because, you know, as we change, as we grow, things are going to change in our, in our space.
[00:37:33] Junaid Ahmed: So look at those things. What, what resonate with you? And do a ton of research, meaning look at as many things as possible as you can, because when we're designing an interior, you know, think like an interior designer, right? There's a ton of channels talk about interior designing. How can you bring those elements into your space and what does it take?
[00:37:57] Dave Polykoff: So. [00:38:00] I mean, if for anyone who's watching this podcast, you can see I, mine is, was pretty bare in the sense of like, it's the plant it's I got like the, the light bookshelf over here with some things on it, but I almost like purposefully wanted to keep it simple to not maybe distract too much from like, I wanted me to be the focus, right.
[00:38:26] Dave Polykoff: But with a little bit of flair, um, and I think with yours. You have obviously the bookshelf that has a lot of things on it, but it's far in the backdrop and you have, what do they call it, the bokeh where it's, uh, the, yeah, so it's the blurry. So it's not distracting us from you. Like you are still the center of attention.
[00:38:48] Dave Polykoff: Is there something we should be thinking about when it comes to, you know, you mentioned having posters and things behind you and such, should we also be thinking about, okay, but how much is too much in terms of like. [00:39:00] Minimalism versus having things there that represent us.
[00:39:05] Junaid Ahmed: Absolutely. So something that I've seen other creators do, especially when they're on the move or when they're traveling or when they're creating content for education purposes, they also have a blank wall. But instead of just a blank wall, they'll shine like a light, a colored light on that background.
[00:39:25] Junaid Ahmed: Now, this light could be part of your brand, could be part of, uh, uh, the message that you're saying, but, and it's not distracting in that it's not changing colors all the time. It's just solid at one color. So that way it's creating that separation between you and that wall. I like the curtains and think I had curtains a long time when I was turning around, but Because the camera that I was using was from nine was from 2002.
[00:39:54] Junaid Ahmed: Um, you know, it was, everything was kind of not as beautiful. [00:40:00] So again, you know, All of that stuff works. Again, it needs to make sense. Now the light that's in your shot is almost as bright as your face. So I would probably try to dim it a little more or, you know, create a little more separation. And, uh, yeah.
[00:40:16] Junaid Ahmed: So again, it's, it's a, it's a process, right? It's a process that does the, like this took me maybe a year to get it right where I want it. So now I have my lights are locked into that color. Um, Okay. All the things are locked into place, but it takes time for things to come together,
[00:40:39] Dave Polykoff: So I think what's important to, to note for the audience here is that when we talk about things to add to your backdrop, it doesn't necessarily need to be things that you need to go out and buy. It could be things that you already have around your house. So for example, this [00:41:00] light that I have next to me, this is something I already had, it was just in a separate corner.
[00:41:05] Dave Polykoff: And I thought, Oh, let me throw that. To your point, I do need to dim that light a little bit, but, um, but then, you know, the extra props that I add on top of it. I don't know if you can see, but there's books down on the second shelf. That's books. I already owned. Um, you know, I bought the, I bought the Wolverine and, uh, Deadpool stuff, but, um, It's things that like were already in my house and I didn't have to go out and buy.
[00:41:33] Dave Polykoff: Um, so in terms of like zero to one, the cost of setting up your backdrop doesn't need to be very exorbitant. It can just literally be what's ever lying around your house, right?
[00:41:45] Junaid Ahmed: hundred percent. You know, bring things from other rooms, uh, other places that you have, like, Hey, this would be, look, this would look good because you own those things for a reason, because. It has some kind of, uh, affinity for [00:42:00] you. So yeah, absolutely. Bring things that you have in your room. We used to have a, a sequins cushion that had, you know, it was blue and gold on one side and red and gold on the other side, or blue and silver on one side.
[00:42:15] Junaid Ahmed: And then when you flip it over, it was the Iron Man face. And when you flip it the other way, it's blue and with Captain America. So for the longest time, I would have that back there in the chair. Till my kids took it away. I'm like, you know, it's fine. You know, it's uh, it's a look that going to be ever growing and it shows the growth of your studio and Your real life because people get to know you more on.
[00:42:42] Junaid Ahmed: Hey, you used to have this. Oh you added this new thing in there So now they're more invested in you and they'll watch literally any content that you create. Mm hmm
[00:42:51] Dave Polykoff: It's really interesting to, you know, it's a point that you continue to come back to with your backdrop really representing who you are [00:43:00] and your interests. And, uh, you know, before this backdrop, I had, uh, just a bookshelf right behind me and on that bookshelf. I had a lot more, um, elements like that, you know, books that, uh, that meant a lot to me, comic books.
[00:43:19] Dave Polykoff: Um, and then I had, uh, You know, I've, I've been running the last couple of years. I've run like half marathon. So I had some half marathon medals and things like that. So these were like things that represent who I am. That's why I wanted them behind me. And when it comes to personal branding, that's like the number one thing that we want to make sure we're getting across in our content, whether that be we're verbalizing it in a video or we're contextualizing it in a text post.
[00:43:49] Dave Polykoff: That's one thing, but to visualize it. Within your backdrop. That's also communication as well. So like having that backdrop that really represents who you are [00:44:00] is another way of, of making the personal in your personal brand, it sounds like.
[00:44:04] Junaid Ahmed: Mm hmm. Hundred percent. And the, the, the moment I saw the, the Deadpool, I was like, okay, this guy loves that pool. Right. It automatically creates a connection. It's like memes, you know, it's not a meme, but it's a, it's a pop culture item that connects us on a much deeper level. Or like, I, I already know who David is.
[00:44:26] Junaid Ahmed: He loves movies. He lo he, he went and saw Deadpool and so we could talk about the entire X-Men, uh, series. We could talk about the Marvel universe, right? So. It automatically creates that connection. And when you, when people see those elements in your, in your shot, in your video, they already have a icebreaker point to start the conversation with you.
[00:44:51] Junaid Ahmed: That's why a lot of people talk about sports. You know, they have sports helmets and, and, or football and whatnot. Uh, and you'll see that when [00:45:00] you watch sports. Like people that are coming on and being, you know, guest speakers and whatnot, or guest appearances, you can see their setup and how, what they're into by the things that they put in there, put in there, because not everybody has 30 minutes to explain who we are.
[00:45:18] Junaid Ahmed: And so that. When they say a picture says a thousand words, well, you're saying a thousand words with the setup that you're creating in your shot.
[00:45:27] Dave Polykoff: love that concept. Yeah. So we talked about. Lighting backdrop, we touched on audio, but I want to come back to that because that is a make or break for content, uh, poor audio. If you can't hear what the person's saying. So this is. I think a little bit more, I won't call it complex, but maybe just the person who hasn't made their way fully into content creation yet, or a home studio can not [00:46:00] really understand the concept of how one, how important audio actually is, but to what a good microphone means.
[00:46:06] Dave Polykoff: Why can't I just. Speak to my phone or the camera I bought naturally or whatever. So can you kind of speak to the concept of having an external microphone, a dedicated microphone, and what are some options for people who are just getting started
[00:46:25] Junaid Ahmed: hundred percent. So a microphone, it might, you know, we have microphones on literally all the devices that we use. What type of microphone that is. And the frequency that those microphone can capture is what the limiting factor is. Plus most laptops have a type of condenser mic, which basically picks everything.
[00:46:50] Junaid Ahmed: There's a lot of noise to have a limited, uh, range of the audio they're also capturing. So That's why those microphones [00:47:00] don't work really well. The dedicated microphone, for example, a dynamic or a condenser mic, depending on what type of content you're creating will also tell you which mic to purchase.
[00:47:14] Junaid Ahmed: And the more accurate you're sounding, you're capturing that sound in the microphone, the more easier people will be able to recognize you in a room full of people. And you probably know this because whenever you're, you're at a place and you know your friends are going to be there, you basically listen for their voice.
[00:47:34] Junaid Ahmed: Oh, I hear him talking. Just let me go see him there. And so. That's what a dedicated microphone does for you. And now you don't have to go exhort, you know, you don't have to spend a ton of money on it. Um, lucky for us with the pandemic and what the industry has been doing. They see the creative economy. So now there are a lot more options like the fee fine thing has [00:48:00] a.
[00:48:00] Junaid Ahmed: Dynamic microphone that's USB powered, you can pick up for like 50 or 60, right? So those are some of the things that I would recommend. If you can't even spend that one, make sure you at least have some kind of a lavalier mic that's connected closer to you because again, it'll have a much, uh, larger dynamic range compared to the microphone that's on your laptop or built into your webcam.
[00:48:28] Junaid Ahmed: Now, the cool part about the iPhones and the smartphones, they actually have more than one microphone on device because they understand that you're going to be creating video content with this. How can we use multiple microphones to isolate the voice of the speaker and eliminate or reduce the sound of external noise?
[00:48:51] Junaid Ahmed: So they do have that kind of technology built in so that if you were to use your smartphone You know, you'll still [00:49:00] sound better, but if you had a dedicated microphone closer to the speaker or the source of the sound, the better sound will be captured. So again, those are some of the things that absolutely make a huge difference.
[00:49:13] Junaid Ahmed: Human beings. Our auditory communication, uh, species, like without sound, we can't really communicate unless you're, you know, you've learned sign language, then you're, you're depending on your eyes. I mean, at a very young age, we're speaking to our, you know, unborn kid inside the tummy. So sound is very, very, very, very, very important.
[00:49:41] Junaid Ahmed: And they just said that a good idea with a, a good video with a bad sound is a bad Video because you don't understand what's happening. That's why back in the twenties, when Charlie Chaplin was creating video content, he put on a really fun soundtrack and sped up the video. [00:50:00] So it was more entertaining.
[00:50:02] Junaid Ahmed: So again, audio is super, super important. Kind of make sure that you dedicate, you know, get a good microphone and then also spend some time in treating the room that you're going to be creating this audio.
[00:50:18] Dave Polykoff: and what does that mean to treat the room?
[00:50:20] Junaid Ahmed: So thank you for asking treat the room. You know, a lot of us have, let's say really beautiful wood floors or really beautiful walls and, you know, glass panes and whatnot. They are the number one killer of good audio because they'll reflect everything you say. So to dampen that sound, you, you have some rugs, you have some posters, you have basically things to disrupt the audio signal from bouncing back and coming back to you.
[00:50:51] Junaid Ahmed: Uh, I've been on some calls where the people would put the microphone way out here. Like, Oh, I do have a microphone. It's like, [00:51:00] well, but it's over here. Like about. You know, about three feet from them, or maybe two and a half feet from them. It's like, well, that's too far. It needs to be right here so that it captures your sound as opposed to capturing the sound, reflecting off of all the things.
[00:51:17] Junaid Ahmed: So again, proximity to the microphone, good microphone, treating the room. I think those are some of the things that, uh, are really important because when you treat everything right, then your audio is more accurate and people like to listen to good sound. I mean, we, we, we love, we grew up listening to music and listening to, uh, speakers and, and watching TV and it's good sound that we are attracted to.
[00:51:46] Dave Polykoff: And here's one thing I'll say, and I know everyone has a budget and, and whatnot. And it's, this is zero to one, which could be your headphones, your AirPods. [00:52:00] And that's the, there's speakers on those, but AirPods. are not naturally supposed to be microphones. They're headphones
[00:52:09] Junaid Ahmed: Right.
[00:52:09] Dave Polykoff: you know, there's noise cancellation.
[00:52:10] Dave Polykoff: They want you to listen to things on it and there's a microphone on it to do calls and such and whatnot, but it's not supposed to be a high quality recording device for zoom calls and such. One of my pet peeves is when people use They're AirPods as their main recording device. Now, again, it is, if that's what the budget allows for right now and all that, that's one thing, but yeah, to your point about like quality audio being so critical, I would say, if you're going to put your budget somewhere, if you already have an iPhone, that's your 4k camera.
[00:52:51] Dave Polykoff: If you want to get the next investment, I would say just a quality microphone outside of your AirPods, because I've had, I've had [00:53:00] podcasts, I've had zoom calls. Or they're using their AirPods as the audio device or the, or the microphone. And it gives this muffled sounds like they're in a big hallway type of thing.
[00:53:13] Dave Polykoff: And for someone who, who then wants to take this content and spin it into social content, you're making my editing job very difficult where I have to go throw that, that audio file into some other thing to make the audio better. So help make. Other people's lives easier by, by also by, by help make the, the viewer's life easier and the, you're on a podcast.
[00:53:39] Dave Polykoff: Uh, the, the host and editor's life easier.
[00:53:42] Junaid Ahmed: Absolutely. And as a guest on podcasting, you want to make sure that you invest because you are, you are who you are when you show up on video. So it's super, super important. And I talk about all of those different levels of equipment and gear in my book, seven stages [00:54:00] of home studio. Uh, evolution, you know, we're all on a different stage and you, you're never going to, uh, get where you are till you get started and realize, okay, this is what I need to level up on.
[00:54:12] Junaid Ahmed: This is what I need to work on. So yeah, absolutely.
[00:54:15] Dave Polykoff: Well, I think that's a great place actually to end it today. Uh, because, you know, I think we really walked through the core elements you need to go from zero to one. So we can feel comfortable and confident with just using a lot of what we already have, but if we're going to make some of those, those investments, yeah, have it be in, in the audio and you mentioned your book.
[00:54:40] Dave Polykoff: So I want to make sure if people want to learn more about you. Your book, your offers, where should they go?
[00:54:46] Junaid Ahmed: Yeah. So head on over to home studio mastery. com. Uh, I've got the book listed there as well, but you can also find the book over at Amazon. Uh, I'm working on the audio book right now. So, you know. We'll have, uh, [00:55:00] the hard copy, the paperback, the ebook, and the audible versions available pretty soon.
[00:55:08] Dave Polykoff: Nice. Got everything you need there. Yeah. I'm a, I'm an audio book guy, so I'll get that for the, uh, when I go on my runs or my, my walks in the morning. So
[00:55:16] Junaid Ahmed: Absolutely.
[00:55:17] Dave Polykoff: Yeah. Well, Janay, this has been awesome. I think everyone now has a clear understanding of they can finally, you know, start showing up on video and not worrying about too much about, um, you know, the investment that's going to, going to take into, to getting started.
[00:55:31] Dave Polykoff: So I appreciate your time today.
[00:55:33] Junaid Ahmed: Absolutely. Thank you so much, David, for, for the opportunity.
[00:55:37] Dave Polykoff: Great. Thanks, man.
[00:55:39] Junaid Ahmed: Thank you.
