With the rise of video conferencing technologies, it is now easier than ever to record interviews remotely and sync them up in editing. Tape sync interviews are a great way to capture conversations between two or more people without having to be in the same room. You can record both sides of the conversation on separate devices, and then edit them together later for a seamless result. This guide will help you get the most out of your interview recordings by teaching you how to get the most from your session and avoid common mistakes.
1. Plan a Pre-Production Meeting with Your Guest(s)
As you won't be in the same location (or even continent), you often won't get the opportunity to meet your guest and get to know each other before your conversation. Therefore if possible it's advisable to hold a short pre-production meeting where you can get to know them a bit, outline topics for discussing and establish limits. Preparing a list of topics to discuss during the interview helps to make the conversation more natural and productive. If you are afraid that the guest is going to be intimidated or uncomfortable with certain topics, you can limit your talk about them. Consider these questions for your pre-production meeting.
2. Consider Your Guests' Recording Equipment & Environment
Often the host of the podcast or programme will be in an acoustically treated professional studio environment, using quality equipment. However, if the guest is not able to do the same or has little or no experience of recording they may be dialling in from another location. Ask your guest to be aware of their environment.
For example, avoid public places with ambient noise they cannot control. If they are at home, keep windows closed and be aware of the reverberation in the room. If they are in a very large room with wood floors and hard walls, you will likely hear reverb from the room in the recording. Small rooms with soft furnishings will control reverb better, although this may still be present in the recording.
If the guest is not in a studio, it is unlikely they will have access to a quality microphone. They may want to use the microphone in their laptop or headphones, which can produce decent audio depending on the quality of the device. This should be tested during the pre-production call. If it not of a sufficient quality, the guest may have alternatives or the production team may consider sending a simple USB microphone which they can use instead.
3. Allow Time for Technical Issues
Tape syncs depend on multiple devices streaming in real-time over the internet, therefore the risk of an issue with any one of these components increases. Plenty of interviews have ground to a halt due to an unstable internet connection. Often guests are in remote locations, if this is the case ask them if they can find a quiet place which has a stable connection which they have tested ahead of time.
Furthermore, at the beginning of a session, allow at least 5-10 minutes for setup. Both recording devices will need to be configured to give the correct input / output settings to the recording software, headphones and mic levels will need to be checked, and then the online recording software will need to be set to record. Factor in this time when planning your studio time.
Engineers, producers, guests and hosts will always do their best to minimise issues, but given the amount of variables in settings and devices, issues are common but normally resolved easily and quickly. The better the preparation and planning, the less issues you will encounter.
4. Consider Using An Online Recording Software
There are a number of online recording softwares such as Riverside, Zencastr, SquadCast or Anchor. These have a range of audio and video capabilities which can help your complete your production and provide a central location for files. Recordings created by participants of a podcast can then be edited and saved to a local hard drive, in order to work with the file offline. Having a central stream of audio and video is also very valuable when editing as it allows audio from each side of the conversation to be easily synced.
5. Plan Your Post-Production
After recording your interview, the next step is to transform it into a polished, professional audio piece through editing and mixing. If you possess the necessary skills and software, allocate sufficient time to handle this task before submission. However, if you lack the expertise or tools, consider budgeting for hiring an editor or audio engineer to finalise the project. Don't underestimate the importance or difficulty of quality of post-production—even in remote interviews—as it remains a crucial, specialised, and often undervalued aspect of the process.
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