Greer expert gives tips for attending meetings at home

Do you find yourself suddenly involved in countless Zoom/FaceTime calls during the COVID-19 quarantine?

Layne Austin, owner of Image East Video in Greer, has some advice.

“Don’t stress,” Austin said. “These are unprecedented times, and we are all learning as we go. ‘Meetings’ are going to be different, and that is ok. Ask questions if you have them.

“This is a great time to utilize the power of our younger generations who are so comfortable with this type of communication,” she said. “Don’t forget that video chats are great for work, but are also fantastic for talking with people who live alone or family you are not able to see.”

Austin produces television commercials using a studio full of professional equipment such as cameras, lighting, microphones and editing software. She made a video last year to help students make videos without that equipment.

“These tips and tricks should translate to any other hand held devices,” Austin said. “The most important elements of video are a steady camera, good lighting, audio quality and editing. We will also include a few tips on how to present yourself on video.”

“Please do not handhold your camera while shooting,” she said. “If you do not own a tripod, there are a few options for some DIY tripod hacks.”

Four Do-It-Yourself ideas are using the strings on window blinds and a pop socket, using some sunglasses as an iPhone stand, setting the phone directly in the window sill or using wreath hangers.

Lighting
“Now, when considering the placement of your ‘tripod,’ you’ll need to think about lighting,” Austin said. “Natural lighting, as in the sun, it’s going to be your best bet.”

“Standing with your face towards a window, it’s going to give you the best lighting with the least effort, which makes tripod options like the window sill or the window blinds a great option,” she said. “A slightly cloudy day will work better than a full sun day in that the full sun will cause harsh shadows on the face. If standing at a window is not an option for you, just never stand with a window behind you as it will cause you to be a silhouette.”

If using artificial lighting, be sure to light the face as well as the background as the light in the face will cause shadows on the background.

“Also, you’ll want to avoid overhead lights as they tend to cause some shadow issues as well,” Austin said.

Audio
Austin also addressed the audio in video calls, not just the sound of the voice but the quality of the sound and the noises in the background.

“Your phone will pick up your voice beautifully, but it will not distinguish your voice from the other sounds in the room like a professional mic would, so it’s important that you choose a quiet place,” Austin said. “So, take a minute and listen to your surroundings; things like a dishwasher or a washing machine might be louder than you think.”

“Choose your location wisely,” she said. “A large room with high ceilings, it’s going to sound a little hollow; a small room or a closet, while quiet, will sound echoey. Shooting outside will leave you competing with noises you can’t control, so unless it adds to your video somehow, I would avoid it.”

The best location for shooting is going to be a medium size room with lots of fabric.

“Fabric from things like pillows and curtains and bedding, it’s going to help absorb the sound rather than bounce it back,” Austin said, “and will give your voice the richest sound possible.”

Background
“If you’ve been paying attention up to this point, you’re probably thinking, okay, I should shoot my video standing in a bedroom with my face in a window, and while that’s exactly the message that I’m trying to send, let me just mention a couple of other things,” Austin said. “No one wants to see your unmade bed or your dirty laundry or your sister eating snacks in the background.”

“Either find a way to position yourself so that you’re in the best lighting with the simplest background or create your own background yourself,” she said. “Once you have found your quiet, well-lit, medium-sized, fabric filled room, you are ready to shoot video, but beware; being on video is not as easy as it seems. There is a reason that people who appear in television commercials and other videos are called talent; it is not easy to stand in front of a camera, deliver lines clearly and concisely and come across as pleasant all while looking completely natural.”

Other Tips
Austin shared some additional tips, including: be prepared, know what to say, start and end with a smile, slow down when talking, use hands and face, move around, wear simple clothing and relax.

“Don’t talk over people,” Austin said. “Try to sit close enough to your screen so that you fill it; when a lot of people are on a call, it is easier to see who is who if you are filling your screen.”

“Use headphones, especially when there are multiple people working in one space,” she said. “Stick to the topic at hand and try to not get side tracked; video meetings are clunky and just really isn’t the time for funny stories—save that for the one on one moments.”

The best angle is for the phone to be slightly above head height with the face in natural light.

“The slightly elevated angle will cause you to sit taller and look up making you look more interested and reduce the chance for double chins,” Austin said. “Also, remember to wipe your camera lens with a soft cloth, especially phones; a dirty lens can cause cloudy video.”

Some of the worst things Austin has seen is “people who forget to see what is in the background (especially mirrors),” she said. “Audio issues that can be fixed (like competing noises). Accidental filters. People who fix their hair or adjust their makeup because they are looking at themselves and not the other people.”

For more information about Image East Video in Greer or the owners Jeff and Layne Austin, visit www.imageeastvideo.com.

kaelyn@greercitizen.com | 877-2076