Lights, camera, action!
)
Whether you are dialling in to a conference call while WFH, or your speakers are keen to make their best impression to your audience during a webinar, here are our top tips for getting the best look and sound out of your ‘new office'.
Step One
Find a place at home where you have an uncluttered background for your video frame. Think nice shelving adorned with well-placed cultural oddments over dirty washing. Avoid doors in the backshot of which may be opened by little Timmy looking for mummy/daddy mid-call.
Step Two
Place your laptop at about arms length away from your Netflix weary eyes.
Step Three
Put your laptop on a stack of Exhibition News magazines (or any other well-thumbed printed literature) so the camera lense is only slightly higher than your home cut hair. Make sure your laptop is steady and then angle the screen down into your eyes.
Step Four
Position a tall lamp next to your laptop on the side of your face you feel is most Instagram friendly/least battle worn. This isn't an interrogation, so the lamp should be directed slightly behind the computer allowing the light to fall nicely on your face. If the light is burning your retinas, you've gone wrong!
Step Five
If light bounce can take years off Piers Morgan, it can do the same for you too. Achieve a little TV lighting trickery by placing a piece of white paper or tablecloth on the table in front of where you are sitting, making sure it isn't in shot. This will help the lamp light softly bounce up on your face.
Step Six
Find a chair that doesn't creak, swivel or have wheels. The noise picked up by wheels moving on your floor will be loud and irritating.
Step Seven
Finally, ensure your microphone is on mute before you start your video call/conference. Yes it can be annoying to start talking and forgetting you're on mute, but it's better than your audience hearing you effing and jeffing while you try to get your camera to work!
And there you have it, with your cup of tea to the side and your notes at the ready, you're good to go!
If you'd like advice for setting up webinars and video conferencing on your ASP website, we'd be happy to help, so please do get in touch.