Be sure to read our recommended Zoom Settings prior to reading this article.
Overview
This article will provide guidance for recording guest speaker interviews using Zoom.
Check For Updates
Before you start the call, be sure you are running the latest Zoom Meetings Client.
Open the Zoom desktop app and sign in using your Boise State credentials
Click your profile icon in the top right and then click “Check for Updates.”
Ask that any guests do the same thing before you start the meeting. Zoom is constantly rolling out new updates, features, and bug fixes.
Start a new Zoom meeting
Click the “New Meeting” button to get started. This will launch the Zoom video chat, and you will see an overwhelming set of controls. So take a minute to just look around at the different controls. Where is the mute button? Where is the camera toggle? Open and close the chat panel. Knowing where the controls are in advance will make you a better host in the middle of your interview.
Send an invite link or meeting ID to any guests
The first control you will need is the Invite button at the bottom. Tap “Invite” and then tap “Copy Invitation” to get the meeting ID and passcode. You can send this to your guest however you want — just paste it into an email, message it to them, or include a link in the calendar invite. (see also https://boisestate.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/LTS/pages/37716116/How+to+Schedule+a+Meeting+with+Recommended+Settings)
Allow participants to record the meeting
If you’re recording an interview, Once your guest has joined the Zoom call you will see the number of participants increased from 1 to 2 in the Manage Participants button at the bottom. Tap “Manage Participants” to see the full list of guests on your call.
Grant your participants permission to record the call. To do that you hover over their name in the Participants listing. You will see a “More” button. Tap that and “Allow Recording.” After I did this, Colby was able to record our Zoom call locally. An option to Record appeared in his menu bar and all the recording controls are unlocked for him to begin recording.
(Studio Environments Only) Turn on Original Sound and ask your participants to do the same
Everyone should start recording and “Turn on Original Sound” at this point. At this point, you want to run through a quick checklist before you start the interview.
Do we all see “Turn off Original Sound” in the top left?
Are all of our microphones working?
Is there a red recording bubble next to every participant?
Start recording
Beautiful. You can finally get to the business of recording the interview. Ask all participants to start recording as well. Once you are finished, ask everyone to leave some time at the end after the call to sort out the recordings. Zoom will take a few minutes to save all the audio files and then each participant should share their tracks. Give clear instructions for how to handle the recordings.
End the meeting
Now tap “End Meeting” and then “End Meeting for All”. After you end the meeting, Zoom goes to work converting your tracks and preparing to save the call. It’s important for you and your guests to stay put while this is happening so you don’t lose any recordings.
Wait for Zoom to save all recordings and ask your participants to do the same
Next Zoom will ask where you want to save the files and automatically open the folder with the files. If you can’t wait for the conversion, you can tap “Stop Converting” and do it later by opening the .zoom files in the recording folder.
If you are working with the eCampus Multimedia Team, an m4a audio track is needed from you and each of your guests at a minimum. Each person should collect the file with their name from the Audio Record folder and send it to you and/or eCampusvideo@boisestate.edu.
The .zoom files are the original Zoom native format used to convert to m4a files. You shouldn’t need these, but you should keep an archive of the entire session just in case you need to recover some audio in the future.
Should I Record My Interview with Zoom?
It depends. Zoom has exploded in popularity, and you and your potential guests have likely used it already. So the convenience of recording with Zoom is an advantage.
Having worked with several video chat software, Zoom is now hands-down the best video conferencing experience and packed with features.
However, audio quality is the primary concern when it comes to remote interviews and you will need to decide if the audio you are getting out of Zoom sounds good enough for your listeners. The “Original Sound” feature in Zoom shows that they are listening to podcasters and musicians and constantly improving the system.
Next Steps
Record a short interview with Zoom to test it out
Next time you schedule a phone call, use Zoom instead. Test it out on a low-risk call
Install the Zoom app on your phone so you can easily join calls when you are away from your desk
Install the Zoom Scheduler Chrome Extension. This is our favorite feature — you can add Zoom calls to any Google Calendar meeting with one click
