Speaker 1: 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. Hi, 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 I'm not gonna go into all of them, but 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 gonna 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, that 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 your 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 you're using Skype for 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's no additional software required. If you're on Windows and you're gonna use something like OBS, that will be the only piece of the puzzle that you'd 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. But 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 Ecamm called Skype Call Recorder, or on 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 as 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 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, Ecamm 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, 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 can do with both files, drop them into your editing software, and you can then switch between full screen, whoever 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. And 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'll 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 video camera, a DSLR, or a point-and-shoot, or even a phone for that matter. But both people are talking to their actual cameras, not their webcams. So 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. And we've set up a camera there to actually do the interview recording. So 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 getting the most out of online interviews, the first one is to check your internet speed. Remember, you're gonna 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 gonna play a big role in this. So you can head over to our website speedtest.net and run a speed test on there. You can also grab the mobile app as well, so you can speed test the internet on your phone. I'd 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. But obviously, if you've got more bandwidth on both the upload and the download, you're not gonna have any dramas. But this is really something that you'll 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 wanna lock down your webcam settings. And you can do that by either using the software that came with your webcam. So if you're using a Logitech webcam, it will 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 this is 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 $40 each. And they're actually the lights 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 gonna 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. Now if you wanna find out more about the lights that 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 Yongnuo light as well. And I'll see you soon.