Last week I had a number of clients contact me asking about how to create video content when they have no access to their normal resources. We went through the basics of recording from home, recording Zoom meetings, and using the equipment they already have at home.
Of course, you have to be really careful of lighting, background noise. You also have to ensure the person you are interviewing is well lit, does not have kids running around and has set their camera so the audience is not looking straight up their nose!
In our experiments, we mainly came to the conclusion that actually the video ended up as a bit of a distraction to the audio so we decided just to host the audio as podcasts on their Passle posts giving the video a miss.
However, there is a real power to video - especially when it is an interview. There is so much you pick up from seeing people's faces, their expressions, the nuance you miss on audio. Therefore I was delighted to see this page from a friend and partner of Passle Sam Taylor of Tinker Taylor Video Production Agency who has managed to record fantastic interviews from lockdown for her clients (example below of work with Wolverhampton School of Art).
The secret - as always - is in the experience, expertise and kit of those that do this for a living. It is the attention to detail in lighting, audio control, questions asked and of course the editing.
Video content certainly can be done at home DIY but my recommendation is to have partners out there in lockdown offering up expert professional quality solutions. All of us are adapting - make sure you are chatting with suppliers and partners to see what they are now offering a few weeks into lockdown.