Gear List and Recommended Set Up

If you’re deciding how to record your meetup, this guide shows the simplest setup choices and what gear to use for each one.

This page is a companion to Community Videos: Press Record. We’ll Handle the Rest.. Read that first for the full overview of the program, the upload workflow, and how HQ can handle the editing afterward.

Choose a setup

Setup	Best for	Records	Recommended?
Solo Setup	Fastest, simplest meetup recording	Speaker + projected screen + room audio, all on one phone	Backup option
Zoom Setup	Best-quality meetup recording	Speaker video + lapel mic audio on phone, plus screen demo in Zoom cloud recording	Yes

Solo Setup

Solo Setup uses a phone, tripod, and lapel mic to capture the speaker, screen, and audio in the fastest possible workflow.

Recommended gear

• Phone
• Tripod: Phone tripod
• Lapel mic: Wireless lapel mic kit

Steps

1. Ask permission to record.
2. Attach the lapel mic to the speaker.
3. Plug the lapel mic into the phone.
4. Mount the phone on a tripod.
5. Frame the speaker and projector together.
6. Start the phone recording.
7. After the meetup, upload the recording to https://aitinkerers.org/media/upload.

Zoom Setup

Zoom Setup uses a phone, tripod, lapel mic, and Zoom cloud recording to capture the speaker and screen separately for cleaner audio, a sharper demo recording, and easier editing afterward.

Part	Tool	Notes
Speaker video + audio	Phone on tripod + lapel mic	The phone should be the only audio source
Demo / screen	Zoom cloud recording	Record the entire desktop, not one app window

Recommended gear

• Phone
• Tripod: Phone tripod
• Lapel mic: Wireless lapel mic kit
• Zoom with cloud recording enabled
• Projector or screen

Step-by-step

1. Permission: Ask the speaker for permission to record.
2. Phone + mic: Mount the phone on a tripod, frame the speaker only, attach the lapel mic, plug the mic receiver into the phone, and start phone recording before the demo begins.
3. Zoom: Give the speaker the Zoom meeting ID, admit them or disable the waiting room, and start the Zoom cloud recording.
4. Screen share: Ask the speaker to share their entire desktop, not a single app window, so they can switch between browser, IDE, and terminal during the talk.
5. Audio + visibility: Mute the speaker’s Zoom mic and all other participants to avoid echo, and ask the speaker to increase font size, zoom in on code or UI, and avoid tiny terminal text.
6. Zoom layout: Spotlight the speaker feed if it is visible and hide other participants from the speaker view.
7. Final check: Confirm before the talk starts that the phone is recording speaker video and audio, and that Zoom cloud recording is on for screen capture only.
8. Upload: After the meetup, upload the recording files to https://aitinkerers.org/media/upload.

Best-practice summary

• Prefer the Zoom Setup for speaker demos.
• Use the Solo Setup only when you need the fastest fallback.
• Keep the phone as the only audio source and use Zoom cloud recording for screen capture only.