Take a stand

By Joe Peterson 5/2/2024

My videography journey took a thrilling turn when Kristen, a wonderful woman from the Graham County Substance Abuse Coalition, contacted me. This non-profit supports those battling addiction, their families, and anyone seeking help.

Their original live streamer for a public speaking event had fallen through, and with my experience in sports games, I saw a perfect opportunity. Little did I know, a pre-event snafu would become a valuable lesson in resourcefulness.

As with any good adventure, there were bumps in the road. My trusty microphone decided to take a vacation, leaving me with only my laptop's built-in option. Anyone who's ever used one knows it picks up every whisper, stomach gurgle, and cricket chirp within a mile radius. Perfection is my goal, and with a potential audience and crowd noise, this built-in option just wouldn't do.

Being resourceful is second nature to me. I hopped on the "information highway" (aka Google) to explore budget-friendly wireless microphone options. Living in Graham County has its perks – stunning night skies, tranquility, and wide-open spaces. However, the downside is limited shopping options. In my previous Mesa stomping grounds, a quick trip to Best Buy would have solved the problem.

Here? Walmart was the closest option. Radio Shack, a former tech haven, is sadly gone. The local music store offered no help for my microphone woes. Walmart did have microphones, but only corded ones. Visions of a 20-foot cable snaking across the room, a tripping hazard waiting to happen, quickly nixed that idea.

The internet, once again, proved to be my hero. I found a solution – using a spare phone and downloadable software to create a wireless microphone via Bluetooth! It wasn't perfect, but hey, it was an option! I downloaded the necessary software and got things set up, but of course, it wasn't smooth sailing. The audio was a bit choppy, and the quality wasn't stellar. I tinkered with the settings to improve things, but it wasn't a flawless solution. Time was ticking – the event was happening that very day, and I had no time to explore other options. This would have to do.

The big day arrived, and my excitement was palpable. The last thing I wanted to do was fumble the opportunity. Unfortunately, the technical gremlins weren't done yet. The "wireless" microphone plagued me with audio issues all day.  It cut in and out, morphed into robotic gibberish at times, and even completely died on me a few times, forcing me to reconnect. This resulted in missed parts of the presentations, and to top it all off, the volume was incredibly low. Viewers at home were forced to crank their TVs to max volume just to hear the speakers. The culprit? A subscription fee within the app I was using to boost the microphone volume. Absolutely ridiculous!

I finally figured out the culprit behind the audio issues! It seemed to be related to the power source for the wireless microphone. Whether it was the cable, the power adapter, or the outlet itself, plugging it in caused problems. Unplugging it solved the cutting-in-and-out and robotic voices, but left me with the low volume issue.  Unfortunately, the app's solution was a $30 monthly subscription, which wasn't ideal.

Despite the rough start, nearly a quarter to a third of the program had decent audio. I still got to listen to some great talks, which ultimately made the experience worthwhile.

Last night, I noticed the host's husband was also recording the program.  This morning, I reached out to Kristen and she offered to send me a copy of his recording! This is a huge win.  I can now swap the good audio from their recording with the bad audio on mine.  Matching them up and creating a final video with perfect audio and visuals will be a breeze. It's a win-win situation!  Once I have the final product, I can give her a copy and upload it to my channel for everyone to enjoy.

So, for a first attempt, it wasn't a total disaster (unless you count all the audio woes!).  I'm already working on solutions – new audio and microphone equipment are on the way for next time.  Plus, I'll have a backup plan in place. This experience solidified the importance of backups – for video, audio, and streaming.

I'm eager to tackle my next gig! Until then, see you later and have a good night!