The Phoenix FM Bible : information for Phoenix FM presenters

Recording interviews using Zoom



You'll need:
  • a desktop computer or laptop
  • conversion software (or convert online)
  • editing software
You can't host/record a meeting on a phone or iPad - but your interview guests will be able to use their phone to take part.
  1. Open the Zoom program/app (it's called "Start Zoom" on my Windows PC) and make sure you are logged in.

  2. Click Settings > Audio > Advanced and make sure "Show in-meeting option to Enable Original Sound from microphone" is ticked.

  3. Click New Meeting to start the meeting.

  4. Click Participants > Invite > Copy Invitation. You'll see something like if you press paste in an email of message ...

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79619677400?pwd=RVI5c2l4aWw4Uy9zSTEvYnRQWERVUT90
    Meeting ID: 796 1967 7400
    Password: 3ETdHU

    That's the link info you need to send to your fellow Zoom interviewees.

  5. I would also click ... (three dots) in the Participants box and make sure Enable Waiting Room is not ticked.

  6. You can test the mic and speaker before you join the room - and once in it you should click the little arrow between Mute and Start Video which will tell you which device you are using for Microphone and Speaker to make sure they're correct.

  7. When your guests join the room, click Record.

  8. If you see a box at the top saying "Turn On Original Sound", click it once and it will say "Turn Off Original Sound" (this box also turns blue in Windows). You need Original Sound as this increases your own recording quality.

  9. Once the interview is over, leave the meeting. The call will automatically save and you'll see a progress box while it does this.

  10. This then saves three files to my Documents in a folder marked with the time and date:

    audio_only.m4a (the audio from the call)
    playback.m3u (I don't use this)
    zoom_0.mp4 (video and audio from the call)

    Convert audio_only.m4a to .mp3 using your preferred method (Any Video Converter, zamzar.com, iTunes etc) and edit using an audio editor (Audacity etc).

  11. Remember that if you use Zoom and you have more than three people in the room you will have a 40 minute limit (this is occasionally being waived at the moment for some new accounts but assume it's there). If you need to record more than 40 minutes it's probably easiest for everyone to leave the room and for you to reinvite them in as per steps 3 and 4.

  12. TEST IT, TEST IT, TEST IT. If it's your first time set up a meeting with family/friends and do a quick dry run to make sure you got the audio recording you expected.