Mari Smith, the Facebook Queen, is committed to doing Facebook Live even though she travels a lot. Most people find it hard to do this because it requires commitment and there are a lot of obstacles. Sometimes, you just don’t have enough space to carry big, bulky gears in your luggage. Sometimes, there’s just nowhere to do it.
Mari Smith talks about the different mobile gears that you can use for broadcasting live and on the go. These are all small, not so heavy, and convenient to bring gadgets that will allow you to go live at a moment’s notice, even inside your hotel room. Be ready for some ninja tricks and hacks from the master herself.
Let’s break it down to three main cateogies: lighting, microphone, and camera.
Lighting
One of the basic things that you need to bring with you at all times is a mobile ring light. This is a nifty gadget that you can clip on to any mobile phone and what it does is ensure that you have sufficient light when you go live. It is lightweight and easy to pack so you can just toss it inside your handbag and bring it with you anywhere.
If you happen to have more space inside your bag, you can opt to bring a Rotolight. The advantage of the Rotolight is that you get to balance between white and gold tones since it has little dials at the back to help you find the right light balance that suits your skin tone. Just add a small tripod to help it stand and you have yourself a mini spotlight.
If you are on a budget, you can choose to get the lume cube. This is compact and light though the lighting can be a bit harsh so just make sure that you do not put it too near your face or it will cause your image to wash out on screen during your live broadcast.
Microphone
You can get yourself an iRig which is a tiny little lav mic that clips on to your clothes while the other end is attached to your mobile phone. This comes with a small case which makes it handy for traveling and ensures that you have a place for it inside your bag where the cords won’t tangle. It also comes with an extra jack that serves as a splitter should there be an extra mic available.
Cameras
You can either get an external webcam to attach to your laptop or a DSLR. Mari currently uses a SONY camera though there are a few things that you need to remember if you opt to go for a DSLR.
With a webcam, you just need to connect it to your laptop. With a DSLR, you need to make sure that you have the required driver needed for your camera to work with your laptop especially if you are using a MAC.
Accessories
Additional add ons that you can use to maximize your live broadcasts would be a smart phone case from iOgrapher that serves as a mobile stabilizer. What’s good about this is that it has slots for both portrait mode as well as landscape. Simply attach a mini tripod and you’re good to go.
You can also get a 360 camera by Ricoh which has two fish eye lens, put in on a tripod, and take a photo by placing it way above your head so you can show a beautiful 360 degree view of where you are at as of the moment.
Check out the full video here:
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Kathy Kenny Ngo is BeLive’s Content Manager. She handles all content on the blog as well as everything media and brand related. You may email her at kathy@belive.tv
