Why you shouldn’t shoot video over Zoom

If you follow our stuff, you know that the majority of what we shoot happens in-studio or on-location–meaning with a crew and big, cumbersome cameras. 

Every now and then, however, a client’s timeline or circumstances require us to shoot things over the good ol’ World Wide Web. And for basically everyone out in the world, recording video over the internet is synonymous with Zoom.

And that’s because Zoom is really, really good at doing the specific thing it’s designed to do–namely, keeping a consistent live feed going without too much stuttering. Basically, if you’re running a meeting, Zoom is great.

But if you’re recording content? Not so hot. 

It turns out that the REASON Zoom is so good at keeping a steady feed going is that it makes compromises in other areas; specifically, the areas that make video files look and sound pretty. Many people come to us frustrated that even though they’ve invested in all sorts of high-dollar webcams and microphones, their footage still looks cruddy. 

And more often than not, Zoom is to blame. Without getting into specifics about specifically what it’s specifically doing, just know that it’s built to to crush files to smithereens.

So what can we do about it? Here are three distinct options:

1. Record locally. Without exception, a video you record on your phone or on your computer will look markedly better than one over the web. When recording with a simple webcam on Mac, we tend to use Quicktime to easily snap videos, but there are a ton of third-party apps you can choose. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a viable option. Maybe you’re doing an interview or need a director. In that case…

2. Use a dedicated recording app. When you conduct a Zoom meeting, it basically takes everybody’s webcam, crushes up all the pixels, and makes a video stew that gets doled out to everyone in the call. Now obviously, that’s not scientifically accurate. There are other applications and services, however, designed to prioritize quality (bitrate, resolution, etc). They record files locally and then upload them to the host individually. That way, an editor can have full HD (or even 4k) footage while still being able to talk organically with the expert. 
   
   We use Riverside. I would link it here, but I don’t want to imply that we’re affiliates or whatever–just moderately happy customers. 

3. If all else fails, at least click this box. We get it. Sometimes, the ease of use associated with Zoom makes it the best option in the moment. Everyone across geography and generations knows how to click a Zoom link and understands the basic protocols that go along with that. So naturally, many people will default to Zoom when they need to capture a quick testimonial or soundbite. But no matter what, always, always click this little box in your settings. This will force your recordings to default to some sort of industry standard in terms of aspect ratio, frame rate, etc.

So that’s it, really. Not everyone has easy access to a studio. And even if you do, sometimes you just want to do all that for a quick thing. But just because you’re not able to capture world-class cinema doesn’t mean you have to settle for bottom-of-the-barrel video that looks like it was shot on a Gameboy Camera.