Our first video show, starring Zach Abraham

And a picture tour of the studio.

Man, it is weird bing a newbie at something in media, but that’s what as I have resisted doing video ever since Whiteboard Wednesday got de-funded (I loved that feature!) You will notice: I hate being on video; I am learning to use the three cameras; the beautiful cross my wife made (those are real nails and barbed wire!) is not in every shot yet; Christopher, my tech-guy, comes in and rescues me at a point; my Rogue shirt is all mirror-world weird; Zach cannot hear a clip I played. But, we did it.

This was the first video and it was more fun doing than I had thought, probably because I love talking with Zach. The future video work I hope to create is to be additive to the Podcast experience. So, we spent a lot of time building this thing. Now, I need to practice using the tools. Here’s a look at what we have in the studio.

My wife built this cross to remember why we do this and the audience of one we, as a Podcast family (that’s all of us!), hope to please.

The motorcycle desk is another gift from my wife. When I finish the out-building, it will look a lot cooler. It represents freedom of movement The Party hopes to steal. (The Chetah on stage-right my Daughter won in a reading contest at school, it was bigger than her at the time). The books will rotate from time-to-time as I keep books I value and don’t trust our cloud-masters to not edit great works “for our good.”

There is not enough space to show this in pics, so I will describe it. There are three cameras, two very expensive Sony things and one less expensive view from the laptop, which I will enhance. I am buying two wider angle lenses to have a view of the whole studio AND the huge blackboard I want to use during segments. Radio listeners might remember “White Board Wednesdays”, I want to do that often. Through out the studio there are multiple lights to effects a warmer, life-like background and three big spotlights to add focus.

This is the cool gear, (if one is a gear-head, which I am not!)

The Rhodecaster PRO is my core Podcasting tool for recording. It stores all my clips and sounds and allows me to fire them from the big buttons, it then encodes and transfers to one my my Macs.

This thing is at ATEM, it does . . . everything. Records, live streams, fades to black, runs cameras, audio, records video and audio, it does far more than that. It presents a steep learning curve for someone who detests tech.

The StreamDeck automates a lot of the functions of doing the show: it fires my video opener that Alex Overall made for me; it tuns my mic on at the proper time; it will pull up images, videos and websites (like chat we will use for live shows) and more. Anything that is simple, repetitive and manual, it can eventually do for me once I learn to use it well.

To the stuff on the walls. On stage right, the plaque from EIB that was affixed to the wall outside the radio studio of Rush Limbaugh’s “Southern Command” and a note from Mr. Kraig Kitchin, the Maha’s dear friend and business manager of 28 years. Rush was one of my “radio fathers.” The cowboy hat was my Dad’s.

Stage left will change as the book about the evidence for Jesus is there so the Lord is represented in all camera shots. The boy in the picture is my Dad when he was probably fourteen, the guns are very old .22 revolvers from his collection (yes, checked safe!) and the Wounded Warrior Foundation Alumni hat is a reminder, everyday, that all I do is talk.

Things I will show in another post: paintings from listeners, books written by listeners, an LP featuring “Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” from my good friends and listeners. Only longtime radio people will know why that song is tied to the show.

Thank you, Lord Jesus for supplying me the resources to build this thing and the Podcast family to surround it with love and loyalty.

God be well, be strong and be kind . . . AND, as always: let’s be right with God.

-Todd