[Frameworks] Best method for recording a long distance interview

[David Tetzlaff]

Since the OP mentions a Zoom recorder, I assume John is looking only for audio.

When Scott says:

> If you try and do it over skype or something you have no control over their
> setup, or over the room acoustics.

he's on the right track. 

That is, the first key point here is that the audio quality on Skype itself is good enough for voice recording. It's better than a traditional phone hook-up. So if you use Skype, the quality will come down to the mic, mic placement, and room acoustics.

However it may be easier to assert some control over these things than to get someone locally to do the recording. Having a proxy who has decent recording gear and know how to use it would certainly be the method requiring the least work for the SUBJECT. But that is involved on "the subject's end" in other ways. 

On the gear end, you need the subject to have a decent mic. There are many headsets with mics made for use with Skype. Some of them have decent mics, some are awful. If the subject has a Mac laptop they'll need a headset with a USB connection, since Macbook/MacBook Pro etc. do not have inputs for analog mics. (PC laptops generally do... opening up more options, but a USB headset will work on a PC as well.) A good headset with a mic on a boom will solve the placement problem -- the engineering of the mic will match the position.

As for acoustics, you just need to ask the subject to find the least problematic room -- avoid small rooms, live surfaces, ambient noises. A living room is usually best, on the first two counts anyway.

So what you would mainly need to do is research headsets, identify a model with good sound quality, and figure out a way to get one to the subject (priority mail flat rate?). I would not count on anything that I had not tested myself.

> Excerpts of the interview will be used in a documentary film. It doesn't need to be hollywood quality but I'd prefer it to be audible without the use of subtitles.

You seem to set up a false dichotomy here. Clean, clear audio can be obtained with inexpensive equipment, so no you don't need the full 'professional' rig and approach. But mere audibility will not cut it. Few things in documentary work are more crucial than good audio of speech. And if the original recording is crappy there is no way to 'fix it in post' and it WILL undermine the work. If the interview is worth your time and the subject's to record, it's worth recording well, and that will take some effort (e.g. you do the work to find a good headset that will work with the subject's computer, and to deliver same to subject...)

Do not even think about using the recording capabilities of a cell phone, or using the built-in mic on a laptop, or any other similar shortcuts.

good luck,

djt