It is not unusual for a videographer to need to record a telephone conversation or telephone interview on location.

In the old days of broadcast, this required some specialized pieces of equipment, known as phone patches or hybrids. This equipment can get expensive; although if you are in the telephone talk-show business, the advanced features and high quality make them worth the investment.

Less demanding and less permanent situations may not warrant that kind of budget outlay. Thankfully, there is a simple alternative: Skype.

For those of you unaware, Skype is an internet application that can be freely downloaded and installed onto your laptop or desktop computer. It allows you to connect to one or more other computers anywhere in the world, and talk. If you are webcam equipped, you can even video conference. All you need is a built-in or external microphone and a headset or speaker system connected to your computer. The person, or persons, that you are connecting to also needs to be similarly connected to their computer(s) at the other end.

For example, I routinely participate in monthly board meetings of the British Kinematograph Sound and Television Society (aka The Moving Image Society). I am in California, but the meetings are held in London. Using the magic of Skype, those of us outside of London are able to conference call and “attend” via long-distance internet. Meetings often last 2 or 3 hours, yet the cost of the “call” remains free!

Back to the original premise of this article: How to Record a Phone Conversation.

Rather than being limited by the quality (or lack thereof) in your laptop built-in mic, I recommend employing a portable mixing panel to serve as the microphone interface.

The ENG-44 Mixing Panel (manufactured by Sign Video and sold by pro audio dealers such as Equipment Emporium) is extremely affordable and fully portable. The ENG-44 can accept up to four XLR inputs (mic or line level) and has true 48vPhantom mic powering. Because the outputs, in addition to XLR line/mic, include 3.5mm stereo mini mic and line, it is easy to plug into your computer.

On my own VES/Delta 3000 laptop, I just plug in a short cable from the 3.5mm stereo mini mic out to the laptop mic in. I connect regular XLR mics for the “host” and “guest” at my end into the mixer. In addition, I can use either the mixer’s built-in slate mic or an additional XLR mic to enable either the sound mixer or production staffer to be able to converse with the telephone caller “off the air”.

For the highest quality “host” audio, you could take the XLR output from the ENG44 and send that directly to the recorder.

For recording the “phone-in” portion, just send the headphone output (or line output, if you have one) from the computer to an empty soundtrack on your recorder. I use a “Y adapter” cable stereo to stereo headphone splitter on the output of the computer, so that one leg of the Yadapter goes to the recorder and the other leg of the Y adapter can feed either headphones, wireless ear-wigs, or speakers. On the ENG44, you could even take advantage of the audio return feature that allows you to switch the mixer headphones from direct (the ENG44 mixer inputs) to return (the audio output from the computer).

Skype allows you to connect either to a single computer at the other end, or create a “multiple party” conference call. If you demand the highest audio quality, you should arrange for a good microphone at the remote caller’s location. The XLR-Pro adapter box from Sign Video works very well at adapting XLR mics to stereo mini mic out for connecting to computers.

If your “caller” does not have access to a computer setup, you can also use Skype to connect to a regular phone line (there is a slight fee for that, but it is really insignificant).

So there you have it. Professional grade “phone-in” audio at an amateur’s budget!

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Fred Ginsburg C.A.S. Ph.D. MBKS is a highly experienced Production Sound Mixer with over two decades experience in professional filmmaking and video.

Being an independent videographer usually means all expenses are coming out of your own pocket. Whether you’re just starting out as a videographer or have been making videos for some time, there probably are occasions when your greatest obstacle is working around a tight budget. The secret to making your budget stretch as far as it can is getting a handle on Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects.

DIY projects can save you handfuls of money while allowing you to achieve the look you want. One example of a fairly easy project is making your own green screen. The folks at Indy Mogul explain how you can build a portable green screen with PVC pipe, material and a budget of only $40.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwZQq156MDM

Once you have your green screen constructed, you’ll be able to recreate the same effects as the big-budget Hollywood movies. But don’t stop at the green screen. There are many more DIY projects that can increase your production value while keeping your costs down and your wallet happy.

Don’t know what to do with your green screen once you’ve got it built? Check out our green screen articles, tutorials, and Tips and Tricks videos which will help you get the most out of your newly constructed green screen.

I’ve often been asked what my opinion is on the best material to look at critically when learning about video. So I thought that I’d pose the question to all of you out there & see what you guys think? For myself, the best possible video to learn from are commercials. They are direct, tell the story in a very short amount of time and are the best example of the “shoot to edit” technique. Of course thats just my opinion, but commercials are out there to capture every type of audience. So there are many different types of ads that are done in so many different ways that it’s impossible not to find the answers to at least some of your video questions by watching them critically.  What do you guys think? What has helped you learn the most about video?