Tips for Recording High Quality Zoom Interviews

During social distancing, we're obviously limited in the types of video content we can create. One type that can work well is face to face video interviews.

They're simple to set up and shoot, but there are a few tips that can help make them go really well.

Here's an example from Goldman Sachs:

And another example, a video I recently produced as part of a series of these for CFA UK:

Zoom is currently one of the most popular tools for recording video calls, so that's what I'll focus on here.

There's two approaches here:

1. Just record with the default settings and don't edit everything. Try and get it right 'live'.
2. Record with settings optimised to be able to edit. Just focus on the conversation with some of the pressure taken off, knowing you can edit after.

For this, I'm going to focus on the second approach where you can edit. So I'll briefly go over how to set up Zoom for this type of recording, and then how to edit after.

Interested in ideas for more ways to create video content whilst we're all working from home?

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Zoom setup

Depending on which type of Zoom account you have, there's different options. On the free account, you're limited to just recording on to your local computer, and it only records one 'angle'.

On the paid account, we can have Zoom record two separate video streams: the current speaker view or 'closeup' and the gallery view or 'wide shot'. This gives us a lot more flexibility in editing, as we can remove mistakes, pauses, etc, whilst hiding them in a shot change - just like we would in a traditional video shoot by filming with two camera angles. This gets recorded and automatically saved on the cloud, and is more resilient to internet connection issues.

Free Version

Just press the record button in a meeting as soon as you're ready. When you're done, either end the meeting or press 'stop recording' and Zoom will open a window with the recording file in it.

If you decided not to go down the route of editing your recordings, then this file is ready to be uploaded to LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. If you want to edit, then hang on to that file and I'll show you the editing process in a minute.

Paid Version

If you have a company account, or you've upgraded your own account, then you have a few more options here.

What you want to do is go to your Zoom settings here: https://zoom.us/profile/setting and click the 'Recording' tab.

First, switch on 'Cloud recording'.

Then select 'Record active speaker, gallery view and shared screen separately' and check all the boxes within that.

You also want to select 'Optimize the recording for 3rd party video editor'

That's it. You've now got the correct default settings.

Scheduling a meeting

Now, let's go ahead and schedule a meeting. Click 'Schedule a meeting' on the top navigation bar, or go here: https://zoom.us/meeting/schedule

It's important to give your meeting a name, as this will help keep your recordings organised later.

Setting the correct time isn't essential (you can still start a meeting outside of the official time) but it will also help keep you organised.

Next, you want to scroll down to the bottom and check the record meeting automatically checkbox, and make sure 'In the cloud' is selected. This way, you won't have to worry about remembering to start the recording later, you can simply focus on the conversation.

Click save, and you're done! Now you just need to send the meeting link to the person you're interviewing.

Remember to try and leave a little extra time at the beginning to help the person you're interviewing with their setup. You can share my tips, on looking and sounding good on camera, with them ahead of the call too if you like.

Looking and Sounding Your Best on Camera

When it comes to recording like this, your audience's expectations are not that this should be a super polished, studio interview. However, there's a few things you can do to make sure that you come across loud, clear, and sharp.

Sound

Just like any video, your audience will tolerate bad images a lot more than they will tolerate bad sound. As a bare minimum do you want to have headphones with a built-in microphone. Part of the reason for this is that without headphones you will likely end up with a lot of echo in your recording.

Just the basic Apple earphones are good enough, but if you are able to get hold of a podcasting microphone, then that is ideal. If you going to purchase one then I would recommend something like a Blue Yeti or a Zoom recorder like this one here.

With any microphone, it should be reasonably close to your mouth I recommend about a fist distance from your mouth.

If you're using simple earphones with a built-in mike, then try to make sure that it's not brushing up against your clothes too much as this will record rustling sounds.

Video

Whilst it's not necessary to go overboard and set up a whole home studio, a few small tweaks to where you place your laptop will make a big difference to the image quality.

The biggest and easiest win here is light. Firstly, if you can, schedule your calls for daytime, so that you can take advantage of natural light. If you absolutely have to record your interviews in the evening, then I've got a few tips for that which I will share in a second.

Basically what you want to do is position your laptop so that you're comfortably facing a window, but not in direct sunlight. This is going to bath your face in natural daylight and give the camera in your laptop the best chance of recording high-quality video.

Try to position yourself so that you're comfortable, and also a medium distance away from the camera, so that you appear as slightly more than head and shoulders.

Once you've got comfortable with your setup, you will be better placed to help the person you're interviewing with theirs.

If you do need to record in the evening, then try to find a desk lamp, ideally one with diffuse, soft light, and place that behind your laptop, so that you're facing it.

Editing

Once you've finished your interview, then it's time to either send your recording link to your video editor, or download it if you're editing yourself. It typically takes a few minutes to process and be ready for download, and you'll receive an email from Zoom with the link when it's ready.

That's it, you're done! Check in with your video editor and get the video published when it's finished. Maybe now's a good time to enjoy your one bit of allowed exercise time outside ?????♀?

If you're going to edit yourself:

I recommend Adobe Premiere Pro. If you already use Adobe Creative Cloud, then it's included with that, so you probably just need to download it. If not, you can get a free 30 day trial here: https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere/free-trial-download.html

I plan on creating a future post focusing on how to best edit these types of interviews, so stay tuned for that.

If you have any questions or would like help creating or editing videos like this, just email me: [email protected]

For more ideas on creating video content during the current situation, I've researched and written a 23 page PDF 'How to Grow Your Business With Video Without Leaving the House'.

Click here to download a copy for free.