How to zoom like a pro

Many of us spent the last few months on Zoom and Teams calls with the familiar dialogue; ‘you’re on mute’, ‘can you turn your camera on?’ and more! The pandemic has forced people all around the world to work from home. Love it or hate it – work from home is here to stay for the time being.

We are offering and delivering remote recordings using the popular platforms on a weekly basis now and there are a few key things you can do to make sure you look and sound your best; beyond making the software work. Here are our 7steps to video calling heaven! Whether this is for recording marketing videos or simply for your general virtual meetings -read on and share if you think this might help others in your team.

1. Composing your screen

• Try to keep yourself in the middle of the screen.
• Keep your head height level with the camera.
• Avoid pointing the camera up or down at your face (we want to see your full face not just a chin!).

2. Lighting

• Use a space with good natural light and avoid direct sunlight where possible.
• Do not have the main light source behind you.
• Think about purchasing a low cost LED beauty light/ring light online.

3. Eye contact

• Not sure where to look? Try to appear to look towards the camera. We would recommend adding a little sticker next to it to remind yourself.
• Look directly at the camera to better engage the audience.

4. Wardrobe

• Avoid busy patterns. Solid colours are best.
• Try wearing clothing that contrasts with the background.
• Where smart/casual clothing or professional dress (but make sure you feel relaxed and comfortable too).

5. Noises and distractions

• Make sure your room is quiet and turn your phone to airplane mode.
• Turn off any apps that might have audio alerts, for example email.
• Keep pets and other household members out of the room.
• If you have an external USB microphone then use one.
• If you’re using Zoom go to your settings and soften your background noise (this is a brand new feature – very handy for when the neighbours are drilling!).

6. Device Support

• Do not shoot handheld! Rest or support the device/laptop / tablet. Make sure you shoot 16×9 and not in portrait mode.

7. Internet Connection

• If at all possible plug a cable into your router instead of using Wi-fi. Wi-fi connections can drop which may lead to audio and video sync problems.