Recording video and audio for content sharing and events is important; learn about what environments are best to record in, and what you can do to guarantee a great video or audio recording!

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🎙️ Audio

Audio is the top priority as it's what is most important to get across to the users viewing and engaging in your content.

Here are some tips that will ensure good quality audio recording:

Headphones

We encourage you to use headphones during your recording (unless you’re recording by yourself). This will help eliminate echoes or feedback.

Reflective Surfaces

Try to avoid recording in a room with no furniture or just hard walls and windows. These surfaces are very reflective and will make the recording sound “empty” or “echoey”. Kitchens are never our first choice!

Microphones

Generally, the closer the microphone is to your mouth the better. Headphones, AirPods, usb mics are all usually better than the mic on your computer. But if all you have is your computer mic, that’s okay! Just try to eliminate ambient room noise, computer fans, background noise, etc.

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💡 Lighting

Here are some tips that will help ensure good video quality and lighting regardless of camera and setup:

Prioritize Front Light

Most of the light on you should come from the front, not behind. Avoid sitting with a bright window behind you or with bright overhead lights above you in the frame.

Indirect/Bounced Light

Often times a desk lamp pointed at your face won’t look great. We want “softer” light meaning light that is indirect or diffused. Try pointing your light at a wall in front of you. This will “bounce” the light and provide softer light on your face.

Light temperature

If you have bright daylight outside and warm amber light inside, your camera won’t know which “temperature” to use to determine its white balance. Try to avoid mixing too many different “colors” of white light to avoid this.

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🎥 Video

Here are some tips for a nice video presence regardless of your specific equipment:

Position

The ideal camera angle for most people is having the center of the camera lens in line with your eye line or slightly below. We want to avoid extremes where we’re looking down at your head or up at your face.

If on a laptop or tablet, set the device on some books or a box to get the camera more directly in-line versus looking up. If using a webcam on top of a large monitor, experiment with temporarily lowering the monitor.

Frame

Ensure your background is free from clutter or distracting items. If you want to get more advanced, give some depth to your background with leading lines or light.

Face

Smile! Poor video can be overcome by speakers and guests who are happy and enthusiastic about their topic.

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For recommended tools and video specs, check out this resource.