Kevin O'Leary On The PowerHour

The Show

This is a clip from the first Benzinga all-day live stream. It took place during the 2021 Gamestop run-up. Over the course of the day as events played out, we had guests ranging from Kevin O’Leary to Dave Portnoy to the CEO of WeBull, all coming on to share their perspective on what was happening. This was our first stream to break 100,000 views.

What I Love About This Project

As this once-in-a-lifetime stock market event was happening, we were able to be at the center of conversation reporting real-time as Robinhood and Webull halted trading. At the time I was still very new to the financial markets but it was still obvious to me that something very special was happening.

Nerdy Bits

I produce the show using primarily Vmix.

For Video, I bring in all my camera feeds through a mix of SDI, NDI, Zoom, and VmixCall.

For Audio, I use sm7b mics with Fethead in-line preamps. I bring those into Vmix with a RodeCaster Pro. For processing, I use a mix of L2 Ultramaximizer (compressor/limiter), NS 1 (Noise Remover), and some of the Rodecaster Processing.

I also have a soundboard set up for the talent. The sounds are loaded into Vmix and triggered with a StreamDeck XL

Audio Note* The talent on the left has a knack for randomly switching between yelling and talking quietly. This brought forth the challenge of getting the right volume throughout without clipping. Eventually, with the right mix of compression and noise reduction, I was able to get something that sounded much better. Here is what that sounds like!

Al Harrington On Benzinga Live

The Show

Benzinga Live is an investing and trading show that I produce. The show is hosted on YouTube Mon-Fri from 11:30 - 2 PM EST.

What I Love About This Project

Benzinga Live is always a fun show to produce but this episode was especially awesome.

My teammate Aaron Thomas and I had recently finished building a new set for the show and we were lucky enough to have NBA legend, Al Harrington, break it in.

Nerdy Bits

I produce the show using primarily Vmix.

For Video, I bring in all my camera feeds through a mix of SDI, NDI, Zoom, and VmixCall.

For Audio, I use sm7b mics with Fethead in-line preamps. I bring those into Vmix with a RodeCaster Pro. For processing, I use a mix of L2 Ultramaximizer (compressor/limiter), NS 1 (Noise Remover), and some of the Rodecaster Processing.

I also have a soundboard set up for the talent. The sounds are loaded into Vmix and triggered with a StreamDeck XL

Hugh Henne On First Trade

The Show

First Trade is a show my co-worker Michael and I started because we saw a gap in the content that was available for beginners in the financial markets. I was extremely new to the space and he was a bit more experienced. The idea was to interview experts, answer audience questions, and allow the viewers to learn as I learned.

What I Love About This Project

The trading and investing space can often be very lingo heavy and that can be quite intimidating for beginners. I loved being able to ask all the stupid questions I could in order to make sure everyone including myself understood what was being discussed. I also loved being able to interview some very kind and knowledgeable people.

Dave Portnoy On #RazReport

The Show

#RazReport is an interview podcast hosted by Benzinga CEO, Jason Raznick.

The Challenge

I was super excited for this project as it was only my 2nd week on the job and I was already getting opportunities to travel and meet interesting people.

Unfortunately, I found out I had covid the morning of my flight. So the challenge then became finding someone to film and record the podcast in New York. I was a bit nervous to hire someone who I hadn’t worked with before but I found someone with a solid portfolio and gave the clearest instructions I could.

While not a total disaster, what came back was mediocre footage at best and very quiet audio from lav mics - not the studio mics set up for the talent.

The solution

While not perfect, I was able to use a mix of compression and multiple forms of noise reduction to get something decent sounding.

The Quarantine Cast

The Podcast

When classes were canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak my roommate and I decided to start a daily podcast and call it “The Quarantine Cast”. In the 30 plus episodes created we reflected on our college experience and discussed topics ranging from growth as creators to our craziest Uber stories. In the experience, we not only got to know each other better but also greatly improved our public speaking and conversational skills. Click Here to watch on IGTV!

Nerdy Bits

This podcast was recorded with a Zoom H6, Samson q2u, and an MXL 770.

For processing, I applied a bit of compression, EQ, and de-essing.

Pls Talk 2 Me

The Podcast

Pls Talk 2 Me was my first venture into podcasting. I wanted to try it out and thought the best way to do so, would be to interview my friends.

What I Love About This Project

This particular episode was the first time I tried a video podcast. Which was really fun for me. My friends and I were finishing up a road trip up north, where we decided not to use our phones at all. We used this podcast to both document and discuss our experience. By choosing to podcast about this it helped me process what I had learned from the experience.

Nerdy Bits

This podcast was recorded with a Zoom H6, Samson q2u, and Shure SM58.

For processing, I applied a bit of compression, EQ, and de-essing. Looking back I probably would have gone a bit more subtle with the compression.