Are You Ready to Be Inspired?

Earlier in the week I made a quick video while driving home. I put my iPhone into my car charger/phone holder, hooked up the R0DE Wireless GO II, and hit record. Watch the video here:

Is this the most fantastic video I have ever made? Of course not, I never even looked at the camera. Is the sound quality perfect? With the ambient road noise, far from it. Will this win me any awards? Not even close. But it does illustrate a crucial point.

I was ready to be inspired.

Like most people, I always have my iPhone with me. I recently got the R0DE Wireless GO II and, as you know, I’m still diving into it’s various features and uses so I have been keeping that with me as well. I had the opportunity to help out a local school with their beginning band clinics and, as I was heading home, felt inspired to make a video about the experience. I wanted to capture my thoughts and the moment before it passed. Now the trade off to this kind of spontaneous recording is production quality. But in this case I was not trying to make cinematic history. I wanted to affix a moment in time.

Too often we get caught up in making everything “just so”. I always say that we cannot let perfect become the enemy of good. Rather than get caught up on the bumpy video, road noise, or messy hair I wanted to create content I could share that would bring the viewer into that moment and get the word out about the cool things that are happening in our community. Isn’t that better than fixating on writing a script or adjusting lighting?

Equipment Analysis

This was a super simple setup and made possible by the compact size of the R0DE Wireless GO II. I connected the receiver into the iPhone with the included 3.5mm cable which was connected to an adapter (3.5mm to lightning). This allowed me to record the sound directly into the iPhone and, since it was never going to be perfect (which is okay!), I did not bother to edit it when I edited the video. The transmitter I clipped to the phone holder. The whole setup allowed me to record good video and sound, remain completely hands free, and not get tangled in wires or cords. Because the R0DE Wireless GO II is so portable and compact, I had it with me and was ready to use it when inspiration struck.

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