How Ecamm Live Makes Recording Video Podcasts Way Easier

This article is brought to you in partnership with Ecamm Live, excellent live stream and recording software for the Mac. 

Walt Disney World is one of my favorite places to be. I have a distinct privilege: my brother is a cast member¹ there, so when I visit, I get to go for free. 

Often we’ll just pick a park to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. And typically, the park I pick is EPCOT. 

If you don’t know, EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and Walt Disney had massive plans for the park.

He envisioned a community where people would actually live there, testing new technology from companies like General Electric. There were grand plans to greatly improve transportation and much more. 

But after Walt passed away in 1966, both the Disney board and the companies he partnered with felt it too risky. EPCOT was greatly scaled back by the time it opened in 1982. 

But that hasn’t stopped Disney from testing new technologies and opening exhibitions in the park — and all the parks — where it can. 

Often, we envision grand plans for our own work — and it’s great to shoot for the moon — but we also need to asset risk and consider what’s practical for us to do at the moment.

There’s been a lot of discussion around video for podcasting, but if you’re already busy and struggling to keep up with your podcast, adding video can be too risky…if not done the right way.

Video in Podcasting Feels Risky 

Video can be a great component to add to your podcast, but the truth is it feels risky. It greatly increases many aspects of production. You need: 

• A decent camera
• Good lighting
• To be “camera ready”
• A whole new editing process
• Proper “packaging” for YouTube

…and that’s just in the abstract. 

There are plenty of benefits to adding video. However, for many, this sort of effort is enough to dissuade them from adding video at all. 

It was for me, for a long time — and it still is for my interviews. 

But my solo episodes are a different story. By scaling back how I add video, I was able to leverage a better process for including it.

How I Record Solo Episodes

I’m a huge advocate of doing more solo podcast episodes. I think they greatly simplify the production process, and put the focus on you as the expert. 

This is doubly true if you want to add a video component to your podcast. 

When I record a solo episode, here’s how I’ll usually run it: 

1. Create an outline or a script
2. If it is a script, load it onto my Elgato Prompter
3. Open up Ecamm Live
4. Create a couple of scenes for visuals, as needed
5. Hit record
6. Edit the video for content
7. Send the audio to my editor

Until now, I’ve been keeping those videos members-only to see how they’re received and to really hone the process — but I do the same thing for my YouTube channel in general. 

The key here is Ecamm Live, which allows me to do a lot of pre-production work that limits the amount of post-production work I have to do.

How I Use Ecamm Live to Make My Production Process Easier

The way I’ll usually work is, once I write the script or outline, I’ll consider any visuals — graphics, lower thirds, helpful text, or screens I want to share. 

I’ll arrange them as scenes in Ecamm Live (many of which are already created and ready to go), and use my Stream Deck XL to switch between those scenes during the recording. You can see both Ecamm Live and the Stream Deck XL setup in the screenshot above. 

I also have a Stream Deck+, which I’ll use to control the teleprompter if I need to. 

Since all the overlays and screen sharing is done inside Ecamm Live, the only edits I need to make are when I mess up. I’ll clap my hands (causing a long, thin line on the audio waveform) and search for those places to edit in post. 

Editing frequently takes a fraction of the time it takes to actually record! 

A Word on “Live to Tape”

I’ve rallied against “live to tape” for podcasters. I think many justify the lack of effort by saying, “my listeners want to hear a raw, unedited conversation,” and that’s objectively not true. 

And I still edit my videos and podcast episodes for content. As you can probably see, I put significant effort in on the front end to make the back end management easier. 

I think Ecamm Live allows us to get closer to live to tape. I can run my videos almost like a live broadcast, adding visually interesting graphics, switching scenes for viewers, and adding in certain video elements like zooms and lower thirds. That means I spend much, much less time in my video editing software. 

In fact, I’m really only scrubbing through, looking for times when I clap because I know there’s where I need to cut something.

This, in-turn, means I can add video to my podcast production without adding significantly more work to my process.

How You can Make Solo Episodes Easier

If you’re considering adding video — especially for solo episodes — I think we have a good blueprint here: 

1. Create an outline or script for your episode
2. Create a few scenes in Ecamm Live, so your video isn’t a single, long shot of you talking
3. Record the video in Ecamm Live, switching between those scenes are you record your episode
4. Open the video in Descript or some other editing software to cut any retakes. 

The scenes don’t need to be complex. Just enough to change the video up so viewers don’t get bored.

Ecamm Live Also Allows for Guests

I should also note that Ecamm Live allows you to bring in guests. I use this for when I want to bring in someone for live streams, and it’s super effective. 

However, if you’re prioritizing audio, I still highly recommend a service live Riverside, where you get local recordings of everything. 

Check Out Ecamm Live

If you have a Mac and you would like to make video production considerably easier, check out Ecamm Live. You won’t regret it. 

And if you have any questions (or want to learn more) leave a comment, or use the contact form to reach out!

1. Disney’s term for employee at the parks ↩