A video podcast is an audio show that also has to survive being looked at. Almost everything that makes one watchable is cheap or free. Almost everything that makes one expensive is optional.
Get audio right first
Viewers leave over bad sound long before they leave over soft focus. Budget your attention in this order: microphones, room, lighting, camera. A phone camera with good audio beats a cinema camera with laptop audio every time.
Framing and eye line
Put the lens at eye height and frame each person slightly off centre with a little space above the head. Ask people to look at each other, not the camera, unless they are addressing the viewer directly. Two locked off cameras and one wide shot is a complete visual language for a talk show.
Lighting
One soft key light per person, slightly to the side and above, and enough light behind them to separate them from the wall. Avoid overhead office lighting, which puts shadows under eyes, and avoid a bright window behind anyone.
The room
A background with depth reads better than a flat wall. Keep it tidy, keep logos off it unless deliberate, and avoid anything that will date the episode. A studio built for video podcasts gives you all of this plus multiple camera positions and a person to run them.
Recording and sync
Record audio separately to a dedicated recorder or interface, not only into the camera. Clap once at the start of every take so the editor can line everything up. Check card space and battery between segments.
Editing workflow
Decide before you shoot whether you are cutting between speakers or leaving a single wide shot. Multicamera editing takes several times longer. Many shows publish the full wide version as video and cut short vertical clips from the close ups for promotion.
What to skip at the start
Skip the custom set, the moving camera, the graphics package and the second editor. Publish ten episodes that look consistent, learn what your audience watches, then spend money on the parts that actually get noticed.
When to hire help
Bring in a videographer or an editor when your time is worth more than the hours the edit takes, or when you need a look you cannot achieve yourself. Hire per episode before you hire permanently.