BROADCASTS.com

Published: July 15, 2020, 10 p.m.

The COVID-19 lockdown forced lots of people to get comfortable with video conferencing in a hurry. In fact so fast, most of us weren\u2019t prepared with the right equipment or setup from our new \u201chome offices.\u201d

Podcasters may have had a leg up on this situation, but it has become even more important to understand what is needed for recording better podcasts.

This is day 15 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge.

Here are some tips for looking and sounding more professional when you are on camera from home.

Reduce Echo

Your home is not designed as a recording studio. That can mean audio recording, live teleconferencing calls or video recordings can sound echoey.

The trick is to eliminate hard surfaces that may reflect sound. Sofas, pillows, clothes and blankets can all help reduce echo. Even a towel on a desk can mean less sound bouncing around. 

Buy A Decent Microphone

I always suggest to not rely on internal microphones on your phone, camera or laptop. If you are using a laptop then a simple usb mic will make a huge difference.

There are a number of very affordable usb mics. Just decide how portable you want your setup to be, like a Samson Go Mic. It is tiny, clips onto your laptop screen, and the audio quality is good.

If you are willing to spend a little more you can get a Audio-Technica ATR2100 Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone. That usually comes with a foldable desktop stand. With that microphone, I also suggest purchasing a Microphone XLR to USB Cable.

To get a bit techie, it has Premium 3 Pins XLR Female to USB A Cable, with Extra to USB Type C Cable for Extension. Do this because the connection plug on the back of ATR2100 can become loose. Connecting into the mic\u2019s XLR pins, and then into your computer will always be a safe connection for you. 

Naturally with microphones, the more you spend the higher quality you are likely to achieve.

Lights 

Lighting plays a very important role in making your videos look good. You can use natural daylight, but avoid shooting towards windows. A small LED ring light can be useful to add a bit more light to your shot.

If you want a more professional setup, or your room needs the lighting, then two or three LED standing lights may be needed. Remember to light your background, not just your foreground.

Don\u2019t forget your background 

The things that will make your background look better are depth, detail, balance and lighting. 

Considering depth first. Avoid filming yourself right up against a wall. It can look claustrophobic. Get your camera setup so you have some space behind you. 

Secondly, detail. This is about avoiding blank walls. A neatly stacked bookshelf or nicely staged props will look better than a plain wall. Keep in mind, messy backgrounds will be distracting. 

Thirdly, balance. Consider the composition of what is on camera. If you have something tall on one side, have something similar on the other side.  

Finally, lighting, which we covered just a moment ago. Or you can look getting affordable backdrops for green screen etc.

Other thoughts

Make sure your camera is set at eye-level. I can\u2019t tell you how many times I have seen professional speakers looking down or up at the camera they are using. It looks unnatural, and can be disturbing. To fix this, it may mean you will need to put the laptop on books to raise it. 

When you are doing video conferencing calls, remember to look at your camera and not yourself on the screen. Try and put your eyes two-thirds of the way up the frame. Following the \u201crule of thirds\u201d will make your shot composition look more professional.

With some creativity and affordable equipment, you can go live or record audio and...