Studio Updates and Changes
When I first uploaded to the ZeroDotCMD YouTube channel, it was never my intention to do YouTube. The idea was to show a few people a simple mod that I did and to move on with my life. Almost right away, the channel gained traction that I wasn’t expecting, so I kept creating more videos for my audience as they requested more. It quickly became obvious to me that my current studio setup wasn’t going to be a viable option for the channel and that it required a complete overhaul.
My studio space has always been deeply personal to me as I spend the majority of my life in this space. The space has always been a reflection of parts of me, and over the years, it grew with me into what it’s become. One of the problems is that while I love my studio, it’s only a reflection of a single side of my personality, and it doesn’t reflect the other halves of me. I’ve always loved design and certain aesthetics, but I’ve also loved the design and aesthetic of an almost “tech minimalist” setup. As the channel continued to grow, I knew that I not only wanted to change this aesthetic but also make the studio a more viable option for filming. This meant getting rid of and tearing apart everything that I spent years of my life to build. This wasn’t exactly easy, but at the same time, I’ve always been the kind of person who jumps into things without much hesitation. I knew that I was going to miss this place, but I knew it just wasn’t going to work. Deep down, I know I will always have a part of me that regrets this decision, but personal growth is learning to be willing to cut away the things that are holding back that growth.
This studio space was focused around not only my own personal projects but also working with clients in multimedia video and audio production. Mid-2024, I decided to shut down operations and move into 3D printing full-time. Making this decision, I quickly sold off almost all of my production equipment aside from a single camera and a few accessories. All of this money would be redirected into 3D printing and future tech-related endeavors. One major part of my personality is product design and manufacturing, a side that I haven’t really shown on the channel for various reasons—reasons I will most likely explain in future videos.
With all the studio equipment being gutted and sold off, I tried to keep my aesthetic and the overall vibe of my space. But this just wasn’t possible. So now it was time to do it again, take a major part of myself and remove it. I’ll always be a little sad that everything changes and everything is gone. But growth is important.
What is the point of all of this?
Like I said, I have several sides to my personality. I love multimedia production, and I love tech. I wanted the studio to reflect that. The changes I’ve decided to make will guarantee an easier filming setup in the future with more options and possibilities when creating projects. This also allowed me to make sure I always have my filming equipment set up and ready to go. It’s not going to happen overnight, but my goal is to be able to increase my productions to more than a single video per week. There are several factors to this, and I am addressing them as the new studio changes slowly take shape.
Right now, I’m filming on a single Blackmagic Pocket 4K, one of the cameras that I kept from my prior production equipment. Previously, I had more of these cameras, and in the future, I plan to purchase more to decrease the action time during filming. Filming a multicam setup with a single camera isn’t exactly easy; it means for every 15-second shot, I have to stop and reposition the camera. This works for now, but in the future, this isn’t an ideal solution. Opening the studio up brings me more options for a dedicated multicam setup. This was one of the primary goals of redesigning the studio space.
The new studio will have a primary set that will be featured in most of the channel’s content. This set is more focused around tech and projects, as I’ve made sure the surfaces aren’t surfaces that would be bothered or damaged by projects during the filming process. I wanted to go for that more minimal/industrial tech vibe with this set, and I feel it’s a more neutral set that will accommodate more content in the future.
Since I have the extra space now, the channel has been opened up to future options for projects and videos. Resin? Laser engraving? CNC? I’m not really sure, to be honest. But whatever it is, now there will be room to grow and to expand content.
It wasn’t the most exciting thing to tear apart and redo something that took me years to build, but it wasn’t the least exciting either. Part of me will always miss it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited to see what the future holds.