While the Coronavirus has forced all but the most “essential” employees to work remotely from home, we have seen a tremendous increase in the use of video conferencing applications and programs such as Zoom, Skype, and Cisco Webex. What this has meant to the broadcast news industry is remote studio guests who normally would be booked at professional TV studios, have been going live via these applications from their own homes.

It has been a challenge on many fronts, as the quality of a live shot from a guest’s webcam is definitely not on par with a broadcast quality fiber live shot. No doubt there are many obstacles to making a home setup look and sound professional.  You likely are working with: inferior fixed camera lenses (from a laptop computer or webcam) internal microphones that sound off mic or hallow, uneven lighting, rooms and workspaces that are not properly soundproofed, and most critically unreliable public internet connections that can and do cut off. But, the good news is, with a few adjustments to your setup, and investing in some equipment (that’s not expensive and won’t break the bank!) you can improve the look and sound of your camera shot.

This video is an overview of what you can achieve with a home setup. As a South Florida broadcast TV studio owner and media coach who trains clients for media interviews, I took some equipment home with me and setup a mini studio set at home. I show some behind the scenes shots of what my home studio looks like. Although my professional studio, Florida Sun Studios is based in Fort Lauderdale, and I cater to clients in the tri-county area of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, with this setup I have the ability to coach my media training clients remotely via Skype, Zoom or Cisco Webex. This added flexibility is especially important, given the environment which businesses and society as a whole have been forced to operate and function in while we deal with the threat of Coronavirus.

If you are someone who is a featured guest expert in the news and wants to build your own home studio setup for remote TV interviews, I invite you to check out my book, TV News Live Shots: A Media Training Guide To Crush Your On Camera Interview! The book is sold on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and there is also a link on the floridasunstudios.com website under the bookstore tab.

Best of luck to you as you get ready to CRUSH your next on camera interview!

https://vimeo.com/408464009