Professional Podcast and Interview Content Doesn’t Always Need a Big Production Budget - Here’s How Jessie Byrne Proved It
Jessie Byrne opened her first dance studio when she was nineteen. In the years since, that one studio grew into multiple locations - and eventually into Studio Freedom Formula, the 12-month coaching program and mastermind she built to teach other studio owners how to step out of the daily grind of running their business and back into owning it.
When it came time to tell that story properly - the ‘how it all started’ version, not the highlight reel - Jessie didn’t book a production crew. She booked our content studio, brought in her own business coach, Laura Piccardi, curated a set and started recording video using her phone and audio using our RØDE podcaster pro mixer and microphones.
The set
Jessie paired two of our bouclé lounge chairs face-to-face, anchored on our round jute rug, added a round travertine side table between them, and attached two RØDE PSA1+ Professional Studio Arms with microphones. Our soft curtain backdrop did the rest. It’s a simple set - a couple of coffee cups, a stack of books, two chairs, two people talking — but it reads as considered, warm and entirely hers.
The Gear
Both Jessie and Laura sat with their own RØDE microphone on a boom arm, recording straight into our in-house RØDECaster Pro onto an SD card. The whole conversation was filmed on Jessie’s own iPhone. No camera operator, no sound engineer, no separate lighting truck — just the studio’s existing RØDE equipment and two Godox Knowled M200Bi continuous daylight lights, all included with the room hire.
The story
Across the conversation, Jessie traces her path back to opening that first studio at nineteen - teaching kids from around the neighbourhood, several days a week, long before ‘studio owner’ was a business she’d coach other people through. She talks about what success used to mean to her versus what it means now: peace of mind, a calm family, and the ability to coach other studio owners through the same thing she once figured out the hard way.
Laura Piccardi - presenter, MC, speaker, author and comedian, and founder of Uppy - was the one asking the questions. Getting people talking is Laura’s day job: through 1:1 coaching, online training programs, live workshops and keynote presentations, she spends her working life helping people find the confidence to tell their own story without burning themselves out along the way. That experience shows in how the conversation moves - instead of Jessie performing a rehearsed monologue to camera, Laura’s questions draw the story out in the order it actually happened, which is what makes it feel like two people talking rather than a script being read.
It’s the kind of story that needed a real conversation to land - not a script, not a highlight reel. Which is exactly what the room was built for, and exactly why the right interviewer matters as much as the right gear.
Why this matters for your business
Our content studio isn’t just a fully equipped photography space. It’s now also a fully equipped podcast studio - kitted out and ready for any Central Coast business owner who wants to record an origin story, a client interview, or a recurring show, without owning a single piece of equipment.
What’s included in the hire:
RØDE podcast equipment - microphones, boom arms and a RØDECaster Pro - for broadcast-quality audio, already set up
Two Godox Knowled M200Bi continuous lights on rolling stands - a 230W bi-colour LED light built to deliver cinematic daylight and adjustable warmth for professional video and photo
Our full furniture and styling library - lounge chairs, dining chairs, coffee tables, a dining table, curtain backdrops or plain walls, architectural windows and doors, plants and props - for you to create a personalised set
55sqm of light-filled space with 4m+ ceilings and an east-facing window
A workflow built for phones, not crews - record video straight to iPhone and audio onto an SD card, and walk out with both
You don’t need to be a professional podcaster, and you don’t need a huge production budget. You need a room that’s already set up with all the gear to create, and about ninety minutes.
Book the Studio
The Content & Podcast Studio is $120 +GST per hour, 6am–12pm, seven days a week. Book online or get in touch at hello@thestudioco.com.au / 0414 277 350.
📍 13 Kerta Road Kincumber, Central Coast
Watch Jessie’s full story: @studio.freedom.formula on Instagram, or at studiofreedomformula.com.
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