Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Masilotti.
Mike, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Upstate NY, a first-generation American with parents from Italy and Venezuela. When I was 13, I bought my first camera and started to record everything. I was fascinated with filming and slowly taught myself how to compose and edit the videos I gathered, from VCR to VCR recording, to Final Cut Pro.
I began doing stand up comedy in late 2013. By then, my filming habits only got worse. I walked around with a hidden camera on me filming my entire night before, during, and after my sets. I then edited those videos and interactions with comics into a show called “100 SETS,” named after my goal of completing my first 100 stand-up sets in one year. My 100th set happened just four months later and I kept going. I released over 100 episodes and that project really helped me begin to focus on not only the video aspect of filming, but the audio aspect as well, so I purchased a Zoom H5 (audio recorder). That was a game-changer.
To get the maximum use out of my Zoom H5, I used it for tons of different types of projects. I started a podcast with it, then another one, and another one. I was recording multiple podcasts a week to not only perfect the tech side but also learn how to be both a host and podcast guest. This helped a lot but I still felt like I was missing something – the thing that I was actually confident with before I started this audio delve: video. I set up cameras and started to film the podcasts, which was something I felt very comfortable with. I matched the video to the H5 audio after each podcast. It felt like the studio was leveling up little by little. I recorded podcasts in my Seattle apartment for almost a year and when I moved to Los Angeles, I continued to do the same at my new place.
I connected with my friend Nolan Culver, who I previously knew in Seattle, to start a new podcast together. When we got the podcast to the level we were happy with, we thought that was it. The set up at my place looked and felt professional, so much so that I would actually get asked how much the studio we rent is. I responded by saying that we don’t record in a studio and it’s actually all being done in my living room. I could see that people were honestly shocked by this after watching videos from our podcast. Fielding all of these inquiries about renting the studio proved that there was a definite value in everything we had learned in order to make our own podcast better.
In May of 2019, Nolan and I decided to take everything we were doing with our podcast in my living room and move it to a professional location, building it into a studio for others to rent as well. I literally sold just about everything I owned, investing everything into the studio. We wanted to make sure we had professional equipment across the board that was capable of doing everything we needed on the tech side, including multiple camera shots with live switching, live streaming capabilities, incorporating Skype calls and pulling up videos on the TV and screen for the viewers to also see. We achieved something that I am so proud of and we’re still continuing to find new ways to improve the studio and set up to make it the best it can be.
We built the studio website ourselves to handle all bookings and inquiries. We record over 15 podcasts a week, ranging from sports talk to comedy shows to retail rundowns. We are growing fast and don’t expect to slow down anytime soon. Right now, the goal is to keep improving and to stay at the forefront of podcasting while continuing to fill up our studio. We have only been around for six months but that’s the exciting part; this is only the beginning.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The business has only been around for six months and we have definitely experienced our fair share of roadblocks along the way. Getting the right equipment and software combination capable of running the entire studio was a challenge. We never want to settle for less perfect with the quality of the podcast, so we’ve had to completely bail on old interfaces because they weren’t reliable enough, and research and test completely different ones until they met our standards.
We know that in this field there are always advancements in technology and hardware. This pushes and keeps us constantly researching and improving what we do to stay on the cutting edge with what is capable for a podcast studio. There are always going to be unexpected issues to deal with, and learning how to manage the stress that comes from it all is a game changer. Luckily, I have Nolan to help out whenever I get stuck, and vice-versa. I also stay positive and realize the reason I am dealing with these obstacles is because I want to get better and don’t want to settle. Also, nothing feels better than figuring out the issue and seeing how much better all the hard work made everything in the end.
Third Wheel Podcast Studio – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The company is a podcast studio. We specialize in recording not only audio but multiple camera video with live switching between cameras. We are capable of live streaming on multiple platforms at once and playing music or videos live during the podcast as well. We can also pull up anything on a TV in the studio as well as on the screen for all of the viewers to see. The studio can do it all. We have a sound engineer monitoring the audio and adjusting it in real-time so the moment you are done recording the podcast we can email you the audio and video files fully ready to be posted, song included and all!
We are so proud that we have created a place where someone can just come in, sit down and record, and when they are done, have the files ready to post without needing to do anything else on their end. We also help clients set up their iTunes accounts and give any and all advice needed to help build their podcasts. We love all of the podcasts that record with us and we truly want to see them all succeed. Helping people create something they are proud to promote and share makes us unreal happy.
What sets us apart from others is that we are podcasters to the core, constantly evolving and bettering ourselves and the studio. We have real relationships with all of our clients with open communication. We really care about helping people build something of value and know that we are easily capable of doing that.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment was when we decided to establish and build our podcast studio in Mid City, LA. Our studio went from being an idea to multiple trial setups in my living room to a professional enterprise that we are now financially responsible for. We love the pressure though. We had no game plan in the beginning other than to build the perfect space that we know people would want to use it. We had a very “Field Of Dreams” mentality. It was a very “if you build it they will come” mentality. Taking this big jump was honestly a life changer and every day I am grateful that we did.
Pricing:
- $75 hr audio podcast
- $100 hr audio and multiple camera video podcast
- $25 hr podcast editing
Contact Info:
- Address: 5670 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036Floor 18
Suite 1825 - Website: www.ThirdWheelPodcastStudio.com
- Phone: (425) 205 7496
- Email: ThirdWheelPodcastStudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: @ThirdWheelPodcastStudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThirdWheelPodcastStudio/
- Twitter: @ThirdWheelPS
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/third-wheel-podcast-studio-los-angeles-4?osq=third+wheel+podcast
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