Every comms person has experienced the dread of losing an important file at the worst time – bad sound, a corrupt memory card, a broken cable or unexpected device damage in the field.

As a small business owner and non-profit comms consultant I don’t have the budget for the most expensive, most complicated set-up. I need to be able to fit it all in my carry on luggage, but be confident I’ll have decent quality content to edit when I get back home.

Here’s how I (affordably) save my bum when the tech goes wrong.

Audio

Getting good sound is one of the most important things you can do as a content maker and comms professional.

In fact a 2018 study found that the quality of your audio can be one of the most important factors in gaining or losing your audience’s trust.

But it’s also one of the hardest to get right – especially if you’re a solo producer or in a chaotic live environment.

That’s why one of the most important parts of my kit these days is microphones with on-board recording.

What’s on-board recording?

It’s a fancy way of saying that the microphone keeps a backup recording of your audio for you.

RODE’s Wireless PRO microphones* (not sponsored, no relationship, just a fan) have been a revelation for me as an audio producer for nearly 20 years.

These microphones can start recording the moment you take them out of their case. They then keep the recording in their own storage as well as transmitting to your camera or computer.

So, if something goes wrong with the camera or computer – you’ll always have the backup file sitting there waiting for you.

This has already saved my bum more times than I can count – if you invest in anything, I recommend some microphones with on-board recording.

*The RODE Wireless Go 3 microphones also have these features and are a bit cheaper if you’re looking to minimise costs.

Video

My portable video recording pack uses an iPad Pro, my personal iPhone Pro 16 Max and 2 refurbished iPhone 13 Minis* I picked up on sale.

Paired with the RODE Wireless PRO, this set-up gives me multiple redundancies for when things go wrong – and they all fit in a backpack I can easily take with me on a plane, train or rushing across a city.

Aim for a minimum of 2 audio sources and 2 video sources

Whenever I film a case study or interview, I aim to have at least 2 audio sources and 2 video sources. That way I can focus on being present as an interviewer and feel confident that if something goes wrong with the tech I will most likely be able to salvage something.

If one camera goes down – you have the second camera as your backup. If your microphone goes down, you have 2 cameras providing alternative audio, etc, etc.

With 2 refurbished iPhone 13 Minis and a RODE Wireless Go 3 set you can get a broadcast quality kit (I’ve had footage used by all major Australian broadcast networks from similar set-ups) for capturing case studies and interviews on the go. For around $1000(AU) you can have a portable, reliable kit with multiple redundancies built in.

The added bonus of a kit like this is that it’s very easy to teach to colleagues – if a non-comms or non-techy person needs to go and film something for you, the redundancies in this set-up can make sure they come back with something useful.

*I use iPhones because I’m a fan of Apple’s Multicam recording feature on the iPad – but the specific brand doesn’t matter. A decent range of phones produced in the last 3-5 years can film broadcast quality footage and be cheaply bought second-hand or refurbished.

Photos

Good photography matters more than ever in comms – in a sea of slop, audiences are starting to crave more authenticity and one of the best ways to achieve this is real photography of real people.

Thankfully this can also be done affordably too.

Will a phone photo do the job?

Phone cameras can do the job. Even with an older refurbished phone like the ones mentioned above, you can hand it to a colleague and if they take enough photos, you’ll probably get something useable.

Something is better than nothing!

If you want to elevate your photography a bit more, you can do this affordably. I recently got a Nikon z30 camera (again, no commercial relationship) on sale as my second camera and it’s a fantastic addition to my portable set-up.

BUT – there’s a couple of bum-saving essentials when using a dedicated photography camera:

• Buy a memory card with lots of storage. Don’t trust yourself that you’ll be diligent and transfer files on a regular basis – the last thing you need to see is “memory full” when you’re out at an event or in the field.
• Buy some spare batteries. You can usually find some cheap batteries online – have a spare battery charged at all times.

Don’t let the tech get in the way of the story

The most important reason to have these redundancies isn’t actually technical – it’s psychological.

As a solo producer, you need to be present with your interview guests. If you’re focused on the tech, you’re not focused on the person and their story.

Building in these redundancies and simplifying your set-up means you can focus on the person in front of you – and not on cameras, cables and settings.

I hope these tips help save your bum someday too! Shoot me an email to comms@jbau.com.au if you’ve got questions or tips of your own to add.

-JB

Hi, I’m JB – I’ve been working as a broadcaster, content maker and comms advisor for nearly 20 years. Aus Comms Guide is my newsletter to share comms tips for good people and good causes. Sign up on email at auscommsguide.com

Interesting stuff!

A HUGE shout out to Georgy Falster who has just won a Women in Science Fellowship – I worked with her when I was at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes and it’s just wonderful watching her career as a scientist and science communicator go from strength to strength.

Here’s a profile I did on Georgy a couple of years ago:

One of the best parts of my job is watching people I’ve worked with go on to amazing things. Well done Georgy!