- We're about to run through exactly
how to shoot an interview online,
the gear you need, and some simple video interview
tips to get you great results.
[Rock Music]
- Hey, it's Justin Brown here from Primal Video,
where we help entrepreneurs and business owners
amplify their business and brand with video.
If you're new here, then make sure you click
that subscribe button, and all the links
to everything we mention in this video
you can find linked in the description box below.
So let's jump into it.
Now there's a lot of ways out there to record interviews
online, and a ton of options when it comes
to video call recorders that can get the job done.
But they're not all created equal.
We've definitely had some horror stories with things like
audio not saving, or drifting in and out of sync.
We've also had issues with the video files being corrupt
at the end of the recording, which definitely isn't pretty.
But that's not going to happen to you, because right now
we're gonna look at my four favorite options for
getting the job done.
And I just got a mozzie.
Got him. Stealing my blood.
I need that to live.
So sit back, relax, and while you're watching
let us know in the comments what your number one
tip is for the Primal Video community to get
better results when shooting an online video interview.
And check out the tips everyone else is sharing as well
because there's always a ton of awesome insights down there.
Okay, so let's get into this, but just a quick heads up,
Don't get too excited and jump right off
after option number one.
Remember that there's four options here that we're gonna
cover off, and each one of them has
their own strengths and weaknesses.
So stick around to find the best one for you.
And as an added bonus, I'm also gonna throw
in my top three tips for getting the best results
in your online interviews, at the end.
So option number one is to use Skype for the actual
interview and for the communication part,
and to record you computer screen, or to record
that call using Quicktime or OBS, or really, any
other screen recording software.
Now, we have released videos on the best screen-recording
software for MAC and for PC, and I will link those
up in the cards there as well.
So check them out.
But the idea here is that your using Skype, the actual
communication part, the interview.
And that you're using screen-recording software
to record the entire call as it is in Skype
through to a file that you can, then, use later.
The biggest advantage with this, is that it's really
easy to set up because there is no additional
software required.
If your on Windows and you're gonna use something
like OBS, that would be the only piece of the puzzle
that you would need to get, but it's free software.
If you're on MAC, you can use Quicktime to record the call,
and it's already pre-installed on your system.
The biggest downsides would be that you're not getting a lot
of control over the end product,
and what the end Skype call looks like
because you're essentially recording whatever
the Skype call looks like.
So whatever is on your computer screen is whatever
you're recording.
But it's a very simple process to get up and running,
both for you creating the interview and for your guest
to join and be a part of it as well.
And obviously, if you don't want to use Skype you could
really use any other video-conferencing tool,
like Facetime, like Facebook messenger,
there's a heap of them out there.
For ease of use, Skype is a good go-to.
Option number two is to, again, use Skype for the actual
call, or interview, but to use a dedicated Skype
call recorder for MAC or PC.
Now we have done a full detailed video on this,
and again, I'll link it up in the cards,
but on MAC, you're going to use a piece of software made
by a company called E-Cam, called Skype Call Recorder.
For Windows, there's a piece of software called Pamela.
So the biggest advantages you'll have with using
dedicated Skype call recording software is you'll
have so many more advanced features.
Things like, being able to record in much higher quality.
Your webcam and the person on the other end's webcam
has separate files, and separate audio files,
or audio tracks, as well.
This gives you the ability in editing software
to create the look, or the video, that you're after.
You could make one really big on the screen
and one really small.
You can switch them up throughout.
When one person speaks, then they're full screen.
When the other one speaks, then they're full screen.
So you get a heap of options around them,
using software like this.
Now, while Pamela on PC is a solid option
for recording Skype calls, E-Cam Skype call recorder
on MAC is a much better program.
The amount of features and everything in it,
there really is no direct equivalent to what
you've got in Skype call recorder on MAC,
versus to what you get in Pamela on PC.
Pamela is the best option, as far as I'm concerned,
on PC, but it's not up there with Skype call
recorder on MAC.
Now option number three is to use Zoom.
Now Zoom has a lot of similarities with Skype,
but it's also got some different features in there
that are great for recording interviews, as well.
Zoom is a good one if you don't want to use Skype,
or you don't have the ability to install Skype on your
computer, or in some cases, Skype can be a bit buggy.
In which case, you'd look at something like Zoom.
Now when you're recording a call or an interview with Zoom,
you've really got two main options:
You can record the call locally to your local computer,
or you can record it in the cloud.
Now I strongly recommend that you opt for the cloud
recording in Zoom, because it's going to give you
two files at the end instead of just one.
So with a local recording you'll only get to choose one
or the other, but with a cloud recording,
you'll actually get both files.
What you could do with both files, drop them
into your editing software and you can then
switch between full screen, whomever is speaking,
and the gallery view, which is both people on screen.
It's also really reliable because the recording
is handled in the cloud, instead of your system
or the person's system on the other end,
which can slow things down.
The other thing that I really like about
using Zoom for recording the calls, is it works
really well if someone has low internet speed,
or slow internet.
Because the recording is actually taking place
in the cloud, essentially, the midpoint between the
two people in the conversation, or in the interview,
allows you to get the best possible recording
if your internet, either on your end or on the other
person's end isn't that great.
So the chances of having a bad call with bad internet
is reduced significantly with this method.
So this method of using Zoom for your interviews
is actually what we use for a lot of our interviews
and calls when we're recording them.
We also ask wherever possible that our guests on the call
record their webcam, or their camera,
locally to their computer as well.
And to do that, all they need to do is use Quicktime
on MAC, or again, OBS on PC.
You can also use OBS on MAC, as well,
and that will let you record your webcam to your computer
while you're in the Zoom call, as well, as a backup.
But it's also a higher quality picture than what
you'll get pushed through Zoom.
We'll obviously record our webcam at our end as well,
and after the call we'll get them
to send us their recording.
We'll combine the two of them in our editing software,
along with the Zoom call,
to keep everything synchronized up,
and that way the actual call has been run through Zoom,
but the recordings have actually been done using Quicktime,
or OBS directly from the webcam.
So you're getting the best quality recordings
that you can.
And obviously with that as well, you get all your
flexibility in your video editing to,
again, reposition your shot and make it look
the way that you like.
Make one full screen. Make one picture-in-picture.
Really, however you'd like the shot to look
you can customize all that up afterwards,
now that you've got the best quality recording
in your editing software.
And option number four is to run the interview
over Skype or Zoom, or really any other platform,
but record the actual interview with a camera on each end.
So, it could be a videocamera, a DSLR, a point-and-shoot,
or even a phone, for that matter,
but both people are talking to their actual cameras,
not their webcams.
Really, Skype or Zoom is just used in this case
to actually run the interview.
Both people won't actually be talking to each other
and looking at each other, they'll be answering every
question and looking back at their actual camera.
So this will get you the best quality picture you can
because you're using an actual camera instead of a webcam,
and quality-wise this is gonna look as good
as if you were both sitting in the same room
with a camera on each of you.
The biggest downside with this method, though,
is the size of the files that you're
gonna have afterwards.
Obviously, you're going to want the person that
you're interviewing to send you those files.
So, hopefully they've got decent internet to get the
high-quality files over to your end for editing.
And we've actually used this exact process
for recording interviews for documentaries.
We've set up a laptop with Skype on it, for the actual
communication between myself and the
person I'm interviewing.
We set up a camera there to actually
do the interview recording.
It was almost exactly the same as me actually being
there in the room asking the questions and running
the interview, except that they're actually seeing me
and communicating with me over Skype or Zoom.
So you've really got some awesome possibilities here
to create high-quality interviews anywhere in the world
using one of these four methods.
So as for my top three tips for the getting the most
out of online interviews:
The first one is to check you internet speed.
Remember, you're going to be using the internet
to communicate, whether it is just the audio
or both audio or video.
And in some of the methods, we were pushing to
potentially HD video streams live.
So your internet speed is going to play a big role in this.
So you can head over to a website speedtest.net
and run a speedtest on there.
You can also grab the mobile app, as well.
So you can speed test the internet on your phone.
I recommend that you be aiming for, at a minimum,
two megabits per second, both upload and download,
for a solid call recording using something like Skype.
Obviously, if you've got more bandwidth on both
the upload and the download, you're not going
to have any dramas.
But this is really something that you wanna check
ahead of time, or before the interview.
So try and do a pre-interview, or a pre-check
to see that this is actually going to work with
the internet on both ends.
Tip number two is if you're using your webcam
to create these interviews, you'll really want
to lock down your webcam settings.
You can do that by either using the software
that came with your webcam.
So if you're using a Logitech webcam that would be using
the Logitech camera control software, which is amazing.
Or, you can also get access to aftermarket apps,
like webcam settings on MAC.
And these are gonna give you all the functionality
to remove any flickering in your shot,
from any of the lights that you've got to really
dial in the colors and make this looking the best,
and to lock down your brightness so that nothing
changes during your interview.
Tip number three is to use an additional light,
wherever you can.
So, grab a desk lamp or whatever you have lying around,
or a cheap light.
The lights that we use are called the Yongnuo YN300 Air.
You can currently pick these up for around
forty dollars each, and they are actually the lights
that I'm using right here now in the room to light
me up for this video.
And it's also something that no matter where I go,
I'll fit one of these in my backpack, just in case.
So no matter which camera you're using for your interview,
a light is definitely going to make your shot look better.
But it's really important, if you're using a webcam
or even your smartphone, because typically those cameras
aren't as good in low light.
So definitely add some light on your shot, if you can.
If you want to find out more about the lights we recommend,
and the best portable lighting options,
then check out the video linked on-screen now
where we do a full walkthrough, and you'll also
find out more about that and own your light as well.
And I'll see you soon.