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Skype Interview Calls: Help Requested
Need to do some skype interviews for my new Actors Talk Podcast.
Advice please:
Is there a difference in audio quality if calling Skype to a landline vs skype to skype? Skype to cell phone?
I'm not going to try to do the calls 'live'...cause I'm chicken...and a newbie. Would prefer to do skype out (think that's the term) as some people may not be skype users and I'd rather not complicate things for the interviewee.
Besides Cliff's information on mix-minus for skype is there another source that's a good tutorial.
I'm pretty paranoid about messing up my first skype interview and I've never been a skype user.
Thanks All.
Views: 67
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tommy G. Kendrick on -
If this should be posted elsewhere, please advise. Thanks.
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Permalink Reply by Cliff Ravenscraft on -
Ideally, technical podcast related inquiries would not be posted here in the gspn.tv community forum. I prefer such questions to be submitted as audio feedback to be included in the Podcast Answer Man podcast.
To quickly answer your question. Yes, there is a MAJOR difference in audio quality from Skype to Skype and Skype to Telephone.
If you were to record this question, in audio form, and email it to me at feedback@PodcastAnswerMan.com, I would be happy to go into detail in next week's episode... That would be episode 244
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Permalink Reply by Tommy G. Kendrick on
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i'll do that.
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Permalink Reply by Cliff Ravenscraft on
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Thanks, I see the email. I'll preview the audio file later and try to get it in this next show.
Thank you so much Tommy!
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Permalink Reply by Justin on -
I look forward to hearing that as I plan to base my entire podcast on interviews only. :)
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Permalink Reply by Anthony Joh on -
Something else I would suggest is getting the Call Recorder app from ecamm. For my podcast I exclusively do interviews and I love using the call recorder app. First thing I like is that it allows me to split the call into 2 tracks, one for me and one for the guest which makes editing much easier. It also has a built in exporter so I can convert the mov file to aiff for easy editing in Garageband or Audacity or any other audio editing app.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulryne on -
Hi - I have used Total Recorder which takes all the hassle out of the process. I don't have a mixer or any fancy equipment - just me and my USB condenser microphone (until I recently acquired a Shure SM 58). The quality from Total Recorder can be really good and it produces two tracks of .wav which I edit in Audacity. If the Skype quality of the call both ends is good, then the result can be good. If you'd like to hear the best quality I've got so far, take a listen to this interview which is me in the UK talking to MJ Murphy in the US:
http://www.mulryne.com/yesmusicpodcast/episodes/interview-special-1...
If I had a better set up I'm sure I would follow all the advice in the fantastic recent podcast answer man episode and some day I'd love to be as good at all this as Cliff - here's hoping!
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Permalink Reply by Tommy G. Kendrick on
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Thanks for the replies guys. I have conquered Skype fear and recorded my first interview. It went 1.5 hrs without a hiccup from Skype. Will edit it down a bit and get it up for a special Bonus episode of my Actors Talk Podcast . Before recording the first interview I got assistance from a friend in MI who has skype on his laptop and we did a test recording. He had only his built-in computer mic but the results were certainly acceptable...at least to me. The interview I recorded this morning went GREAT and I am very excited about future possibilities. Thanks for the link Kevin, I will check it out. I am recording through my mixer into a Zoom H2 onto an SD card. I think in that situation, the recording software being spoken about doesn't apply. Is that correct? I'm not recording to my hard drive. The only 'issue' I'm having is that because Im running a usb sound card out of my skype laptop (much better quality sound than the on board card), I'm getting a stereo recording of MY side of the conversation even though I've got my mic channel potted all the way left. The skype caller is recording ONLY to the right channel. Hopefully that's not a problem...didn't cause a problem on the test recording. Thanks again for the follow up comments.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulryne on
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Congratulations on the interview, Tommy! I heard Cliff's answer to your question on podcast answer man, didn't I? I'm on my way to check out your podcast!
Think you are right about the software. If I had more kit I wouldn't use it either. Keep up the great work!
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Permalink Reply by Tommy G. Kendrick on
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Just as a followup : Here's a link to my very first Skype interview. The intro voice is rough as I'm having major allergy issues but the interview is fine. Guess I didn't have the gate set quite right as some background baby sounds can be heard but I'm very pleased to say a 1 hr 20 min conversation went off without a hitch. I've edited the interview down to under 1 hr. Thanks for all the help here to make this possible. Hopefully it will only get better:
© 2012 Created by Cliff Ravenscraft.
