Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Brunch
Take Your Video Conference Game To The Pro Level
Since WFH seems to be going on and on, you just need to be at your best
There are people I know who had never ever made a Zoom or Teams or Webex call in their life, and who are complete experts today. The lockdown and ‘work from home’ life has made all of us embrace this technology and most of us have taken to it like a duck takes to water.
Unfortunately, the expertise is only in learning the features of the video-calling software. The rest of the experience is truly horrible. The number of people asking, “Can you hear me” and, “Can you see me” is more than the number of video calls made.
Most people make calls with a window behind them and sunlight streaming in (terrible idea: you look like a ghostly silhouette), and the sound quality we all get is horrendous.
The more we use video calls on a daily basis, the more this nightmare of terrible video and audio is blossoming. It’s time to make each and every one of you a total and absolute videoconference expert. And that time starts now.
BASICS
Clean the front of your webcam with a fresh microfibre cloth and some alcohol (the liquidy, non-creamy sanitiser works best). Adjust your position so there isn’t any strong light source behind you, like an open window or a huge light. Try not to have a busy background (like printed curtains or crazy wallpaper pattern) behind you. It’s best to have a plain colour as a backdrop. Have everyone understand the basic rule of muting themselves when one person is speaking or else you’re all in this endless audio feedback loop. Make sure the distance between you and your device (phone, laptop or desktop) isn’t too vast when you’re speaking. The microphones on these devices are tinny-tiny little things and do a horrible job with sound when you’re far away. Switch to HD video if your video call software allows it.
Now that we’ve got the basics in place, it’s time to go pro.
VIDEO
Light
The first thing you need to do is, get some light on your face. I don’t care how well-lit your room is – if there isn’t some direct light falling on your face, you’re not presenting your best face. A video call is all about people seeing you properly (or else you might as well do an audio call). Switch on a lamp with the light on your face, switch off all the light behind you and keep all the lights in front of you on. Or buy an LED ring light (a simple 10-inch one now costs about ~1,000) and keep it just behind and above the webcam.
Basically the light from the front needs to be more than the light behind you. Also, it shouldn’t be a harsh light (soften it with some wax paper if it’s too bright) or else you will age
10 years in front of the camera.
Now if you really want to go super pro (if you’re doing multiple critical video calls a day or recording yourself in them) and own a DSLR or mirrorless camera, then buy a video capture card like Cam Link and use that professional camera as your video source. You will be shocked with the professional studio-quality video you get.
SOUND
CAMERA
Webcams on desktops and laptops suck! You already own something that has a far better camera. Your phone! The back camera of your phone is usually awesome. Just download the right app (ivcam works on both IOS and Android) and download the equivalent of that on your desktop. Some will work wirelessly and some with a USB cable. Either way, the video and image you get will be startlingly better. Just choose that as your video source in your favourite video conference software
and you’re good to go.
PRO VIDEO
Simple Changes
This one is simpler. Use headphones that are wired into your 3.5mm headphone jack or bluetooth headphones (even the TWS earbud styles work very well) and that boomy sound will be immediately gone.
PRO AUDIO
The number of people asking, “Can you hear me” and, “Can you see me” is more than the number of video calls made
If you want to go super pro, invest in a good USB microphone set up (like Blue Yeti) or go even more super pro with a Sennheiser or Neumann (I use the Neumann TLM 103) with a USB interface. Once again, you will be shocked with the studio-quality audio.
There you have it. The quick step-by-step guide to take your video conference game to the pro level. Start using it now, dazzle everyone on your next video call and thank me later.
BEGIN AGAIN
“I wasn’t pursuing music because I wanted to make other people happy. But once the flood happened, it was weirdly refreshing for me because I lost everything else and I realised music was all I needed to be happy in life. So I quit my job, and gave myself no other option,” Trevor reminisces. To help himself do this, he dived deep into his diet of artistes such as Kanye West and Kid Cudi, besides “punk and trance chopped and screwed sounds,” to find his own voice.
DEAR DIARY
Now, it’s the scribbles in his diary of what he’s going through and things in the past, and growing as a person. Selena recently mentioned that she felt the same way and could relate to the song. I’m blessed to have her as a part of it,” Trevor explains.
FINNEAS, THE CHEERLEADER
Trevor is no alien to working with supremely talented people. Take Finneas O’connell, who has co-written Trevor’s 2020 album, Nicotine. “One thing I specifically remember was thinking that I could not hit a certain note. And then I would see him, so excited in the other room, pressing the talkback button and screaming, ‘You can do it!’ Since he believed in me so much, it really motivated me, and once I hit the note it made me realise I should never doubt myself in any situation. He gave me new perspective on how to push myself in the studio,” reminisces Trevor about Finneas, who picked up a couple of Grammys in 2019, with his sister Billie Eilish.
YOUTUBE VS TIKTOK
What’s this millennial’s favourite platform to release content? Everything, it seems! “I love that we have the option to use social media to push our art,” Trevor laughs. “The reach of both Youtube and Tiktok is the same, as far as I have observed. But you are catering to different crowds. Youtube has proven to be a long-term platform for artistes, as everyone loves watching videos.”
When it comes to the rapidly-evolving Tiktok, there’s always the risk of not knowing whether something is going to work or not.
“It’s unpredictable and people can use your sound whether you like it or not,” he says. Trevor also hopes to visit the country next year, and has already acquired a taste for butter chicken at an Indian restaurant in Houston!
Well, wait till you taste the dish in Delhi.