[HN Gopher] What remote YC demo day looked like
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What remote YC demo day looked like
Author : cheeseblubber
Score : 74 points
Date : 2021-01-25 14:32 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (papercups.io)
(TXT) w3m dump (papercups.io)
| Nullabillity wrote:
| Disappointing and telling that YC would use Zoom.
| flatulence wrote:
| Your disappointment is noted
| breck wrote:
| I thought this was going to be a long blog post, which also would
| have been cool.
|
| But it was way cooler than that--a dataset of zoom workstations!
| Thanks for putting this together.
|
| Definitely going to share with a lot of people that are always
| hacking on their zoom setups.
|
| "When I was a kid" we used to do our demo days in person, and
| showed a lot less creativity than the new batches. Well done!
| [deleted]
| telesilla wrote:
| FYI, a large portion of the links are broken. Lovely display of
| 2020-ness otherwise!
| cheeseblubber wrote:
| Ooops I just fixed them. Let me know if you find any others!
| gpas wrote:
| hypotenuse.ai
| cheeseblubber wrote:
| Thanks! fixed that one too
| BryanBeshore wrote:
| This post is prompting me to ask the HN community: do you have a
| camera/mic setup that you recommend?
| capeterson wrote:
| I run the production for a livestream and I use a Sony a6400
| with a 50mm f1.4 plus a Shure SM7B. IMO this is about as high
| quality as you should go without real studio soundproofing and
| lighting. I chose the a6400 because it's not crazy expensive
| and has some of the best/fastest autofocus around, which is
| extremely important when you can't touch the camera. Here's a
| list anyways, though:
|
| Mandatory: Ring light and/or cheap amazon LED panels, proper
| placement and setup of lighting+mic+cam. Minor attempts at
| soundproofing are also encouraged.
|
| Low end: Logitech c920, random USB mic from Amazon
|
| Mid end: Sony a6000* (up to a6400* OK) with kit lens (or go
| body only and get a vintage manual lens for cheap), Shure SM7B
| (or Rode NT1/NT1-A). Blue Yetis are also okay but require
| moderate soundproofing. If you're getting a mic better than a
| Blue Yeti, you should also get mixing equipment of some sort.
| You can also just stick with a cheap microphone at this level
| as long as it doesn't sound awful.
|
| High end: Blackmagic pocket cinema*, Shure SM7B
|
| Highest end: Hire a production company, this is the big leagues
| now
|
| * = Requires capture card
|
| For lighting setups, soundproofing, and optimal cam+mic usage,
| you can maybe check out YouTube in order to learn a bit. You
| will probably need more than is just on this list, but this is
| just the bare minimum.
| fossuser wrote:
| Interesting to see BMPC for the high end - I've heard it's
| not great as a set it and leave it option (also bad battery
| life).
|
| For the capture card: elgato camlink 4k works well.
|
| Is the Sony software any good? I've hard that people still
| say to use the capture card with that anyway. I have a decent
| mic, but I'm still using the kind of crappy logitech webcam
| because I couldn't decide between all the camera options that
| all seemed to have tradeoffs (lumix gh5, lumix g100, sony
| a7siii, sony zv1, etc.)
|
| If you'd be willing to break some of those down in a comment
| I'd really appreciate it. Why is the a6400 the right choice?
| what lens is best for remote work and why? Is the ring light
| better than key lights? Why prefer one of the other?
|
| Thanks!
| capeterson wrote:
| IMO the blackmagic pocket cinema is perfectly fine
| undisturbed if you're just standing/sitting at a desk, but
| I was thinking more like you'd pair it with something like
| ATEM in order to have more control. As for battery life,
| you're probably going to have it plugged into a dummy
| battery and then a converter and then into the wall. That's
| kind of the funny thing with nicer cameras though, they
| usually require a little bit more interaction because they
| have so many capabilities.
|
| And for capture cards, yeah the elgato camlink is all you
| really need- the small form factor is a plus, too.
|
| Sony's interface on their camera is pretty awful, it can be
| hard to navigate and some things need a ton of button
| presses just to change simple things. However, this clunky
| interface comes with the benefit of a staggering amount of
| features that (in general) work better than its
| competitors. They just have a really good price:performance
| ratio, a good form factor, best in class autofocus on the
| a6400+, and a good selection of compatible lenses. It's
| just a really solid generalist that isn't missing any
| important features.
|
| I would still recommend a capture card because I feel like
| it would reduce the potential for overheating- however, I
| have not tried using the Sony camera link software yet, so
| maybe it's fine.
|
| For lenses, it depends on what type of look you want. IMO a
| lens upgrade is probably the last thing to purchase since
| you're usually looking at a $300+ price tag. For that
| amount of money, you could have your lighting down pat
| which will give you a more immediate bonus in quality than
| a nicer lens would. A basic 16-50 kit lens will perform
| fabulously with proper lighting, however it will lack
| significant background blurring and bokeh.
|
| If you're looking for bokeh and background blurring (as
| most people are), you want a fast lens with a wider
| aperture and a longer focal length. However, the more
| towards that end that you go, the harder it will be to
| focus on the subject, so you _must_ pair it with good
| lighting and decent autofocus. For a good idea of what to
| look for in the mid-low range, a 50mm f1.4 (or f1.8) prime
| lens should do well.
|
| Also a big tip for desktop setups:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RZeivVQaiM
|
| You can slightly modify a single pole monitor mount and use
| it as a way to hold cameras, lighting, audio, etc. Here's
| what I have at home: https://i.imgur.com/ix7xSc1.jpg
|
| You can also purchase those twin VESA mount arms on Amazon
| for like $20, so you can mount a ton of things for
| relatively cheap.
|
| I already have a separate boom arm for audio, but you can
| see there's all sorts of good stuff like a (sort of hidden)
| camera ball mount and jury-rigged LED panels. I made some
| reflectors and diffusers in order to make sure I'm not
| sending tons of light out behind me, which helps exaggerate
| that nice background blur and makes me stand out. I also
| have a light behind me over my head, which lights up the
| hair and provides a nice effect. Something to light up my
| room could be useful, but I have big windows with a good
| amount of indirect natural light.
|
| As far as what specific lighting you want- it really just
| depends. If you're willing to spend a little extra time, I
| would probably avoid ring lights because you can achieve a
| better effect with LED panels and creative use of
| diffusers/reflectors. Ring lights are a good plug-and-play
| budget solution, though.
|
| -------
|
| Now for choosing a specific camera- this is a good thing to
| google since there's a ton of specs and most cameras are
| pretty similar. IMO you don't need in-body image
| stabilization, so I would leave out the A6500. The
| A6100-A6300 are so close in price to the A6400 that I'd
| prefer the A6400 and say it's a choice between the Sony
| A6000 and the Sony A6400. The A6000 can be had used in the
| $250 range and is about 85% as versatile as the A6400, so
| if you don't care too much about the absolute bleeding edge
| fastest autofocus and some other luxuries, then the A6000
| is a very solid pick. Plus, it gives you a lot more cash to
| spend on a lens and lighting.
|
| I'd say make a choice between the A6000 and A6400, and then
| look up comparisons between your choice and its competitors
| and see which one looks more solid. I don't have much
| personal experience with brands other than Sony, Canon, and
| Fujifilm, so most of the time I'm just googling and
| comparing features, sensors, etc.
|
| Hope this helps!
| BryanBeshore wrote:
| Fantastic breakdown. Thanks.
| tasn wrote:
| Webcam: Logitech C920
|
| Mic: a <$100 USB mic, I don't remember the exact model, but
| it's by FIFINE
|
| Headphones: just standard ones
|
| Do everyone a favour and buy a good webcame and a USB mic. :)
| umeshunni wrote:
| Why a USB mic rather than a 3.5mm mic?
| capeterson wrote:
| In general, USB mics are assumed to be a little more
| featureful (e.g. they have an on-board sound card). This is
| mostly an assumption, though. For super low end
| microphones, it's kind of difficult to compare
| specifications, so I'd just rely on user reviews on YouTube
| and the like.
| davidedicillo wrote:
| Sadly, that's what 2020 looked for many people even outside of YC
| (the lucky ones who could just work from home)
| fabioborellini wrote:
| Yes. Ergonomics and work-life balance are in worse situation
| than we could imagine a year or two ago. And some anticipate
| this appalling situation to be "a new normal" for years to
| come.
|
| Thought workers coming out of their dens in 2022 are hardly
| mobile and have anxiety for the rest of their lives. Young
| people's relationships are ruined for good.
| artsalamander wrote:
| Hey, papercups looks like something I was searching for the other
| night but never managed to stumble upon. I just checked my search
| history and maybe that will be useful for you to see.
|
| 'intercom', 'intercom alternative', 'intercom alternative
| producthunt', 'slack live chat integration'
|
| I remember that the majority of the producthunt recommendations
| were dead projects and the 'Top 5 intercom alternatives'(etc.)
| articles didn't seem to mention you.
|
| Hopefully this will help in some small way :)
| cheeseblubber wrote:
| Thanks :D We are both engineers so marketing is not our strong
| suit we gotta get better at letting people know about us.
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