Your first professional video recording session at Record ATX will probably be easier than you think: you show up, we handle everything else.
At our studio, a first session typically runs about 60–120 minutes or more, depending on how much time you’ve booked. For most sessions, you’ll be mic’d, lit, and rolling within ten minutes of walking in. An engineer manages every technical detail while you talk on mic and camera, and depending on your service tier you leave with raw files and a basic edit (that comes standard) or with editing and publishing already in motion.
Here’s the full walkthrough, including what to do before you arrive at our Austin content studio and the mistakes first-timers make (which are all fixable).
Before you arrive
Book the right tier for your goal on our booking website.
- Video Recording-only ($225/hr) if you have your own editor and just want our professional engineers to record your content.
- Video Recording + Editing ($350/hr) if you want a polished, detailed edit without ever touching software.
- Full white-glove video ($475/hr) if you want recording with an engineer, full editing, plus publishing and show notes with thumbnails.
Let us in on your plan, even a rough one. When you book, feel free to fill out the “Notes” section in your booking form and tell us about any special requests and the format you’re imagining. The booking form also collects essential details about your session, so we’ll be prepped for your arrival.
Tell us your brand colors. Our five sets have adjustable RGB lighting; if we know your palette ahead of time (you can add this to your booking form), your set will match your brand before you walk in. No worries if you’re not married to a specific color, we can always look at different options in the studio.
Don’t buy anything. You don’t need a mic or a camera or a light or a laptop to connect to a remote participant. We have all the best gear and will take care of all prep and recording for you..
When you walk in (the first ten minutes)
You’ll get a quick tour, we’ll offer you a free drink, and you’ll take a seat on your set. The engineer sets up your mic, checks your sound levels, frames the cameras, and dials the lighting to you specifically: skin tones get lit correctly, seating and framing gets adjusted until you approve the look (you’ll be able to see every shot, live, on the in-studio TV monitors). Then a simple cue, and you’re rolling.
During your session
In my experience, this is the part nobody believes until they experience it: you can go at your own pace. You can start, flub, restart, and ramble (if you’re not streaming live, which most clients don’t typically do). The engineer is tracking everything, so if your levels drift, they fix it. And everything can be stitched together perfectly in the post production edit. Your only job is talking.
A few insider tips we give every first-timer: stay roughly a fist’s distance from the mic and talk across it rather than into it; look at your co-host or guest, not the camera, unless you’re filming direct-to-camera content, like Instagram Reels or clips. When you flub a line, pause two seconds and restart the sentence, so that pause will make the edit invisible.
Nervous? That’s totally normal. Most of our clients, including executives who lead company-wide meetings and professional speakers, can be stiff for the first five or ten minutes. I find that that fades once you forget about the cameras, and forgetting about the cameras is much faster in a studio where someone else is worrying about them.
After you record
Depending on the service tier you chose, your files will be delivered to you online typically the next day, or 3 business days+ if you opt for full editing and/or publishing (we can always try to accommodate rush jobs if needed, of course). Whichever tier, you own your content. Always.
What first-timers say afterward
The words that show up over and over in our hundreds of five-star Google reviews are “easy,” “comfortable,” and “professional.” The friction people brace for, like tech confusion, awkwardness, not knowing what to do, is precisely the stuff our studio exists to remove.
FAQ
- How long does a first podcast recording session take? Plan at least 60–120 minutes for a standard session.
- What should I bring to a studio recording session? Just yourself, your outline or script if you have one, and anything you want on camera (a product, a book). We provide water, gear, lighting, and everything technical.
- What should I wear on camera? That’s your call. But we can recommend that solid colors usually beat busy patterns, so maybe avoid fine stripes (they can sometimes shimmer on camera), and bring a backup top if you’re unsure. We’ll tell you honestly which reads better on your set.
- Can I stop and redo takes during the session? Yes, as often as you want. Clean edits are exactly what post-production is for.
- Do I need any technical knowledge to record at a studio? None. An engineer runs every session at Record ATX. The mics, cameras, levels, and lighting are handled for you at every tier, including record-only.
