Checklist for your interview
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Send pre-interview email to your guest
Your guest(s) need more information than we usually give in-studio guests. Here’s a template:
“Hi (name of guest), it’s (your name) from KPFA confirming our interview for (date). I just wanted to send you some info for our interview that will help you sound your best. Here’s some advice we’ve been giving our guests during shelter in place interviews –
We’ll need a quiet room, without a lot of people coming in and out or where outside sounds are able to disrupt us. You’ll need a pretty solid internet connection. And it’s better if you use a headphone/mic headset. Usually whatever you use on your phone should work great.
If there’s a video option, we turn it off on both sides, to maximize bandwidth.
If we’re talking over the internet, we’d prefer you to use your laptop instead of your mobile phone, and most applications work better on Chrome. If we’re calling you, your iPhone should be fine, unless you happen to have a landline, and then that’s usually better sounding.
Here’s the link we’ll be using for our interview (link). You should be able to just click on it and it’ll send you to the site.
We look forward to talking to you tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to speak to us, and for being patient while we figure out how to use all of these new remote recording applications!”
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Make sure you have some way of recording your interview.
Most online sites will allow you to record your own voice/questions on a separate track but its not a bad idea to have your own mic set-up to get the best sound.
That means you’ll have to sync both files. Which means you’ll have to learn some basic multitrack editing. Here’s a quick overview of how to edit a single track on Hindenburg. Here’s some basics about multitrack editing. You can also take a class through KPFA, which is open to all programmers!
There are a lot of remote recording options. See below for some recommendations.
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Test your set-up the day before your interview
By this I mean: TEST your computer, mic, connection to the website etc.
Nothing ever works, so I’ll repeat: The day before your interview, TEST YOUR SETUP. Pretend to interview a friend. Make sure you can reach them or they can reach you. Make sure you can record both your questions and their answers. Make sure you can access your files. Make sure you’ve pressed record (this is seriously a more common mistake than you would imagine) Make sure that when you import your files into your editing software, it works.
Troubleshoot as much as possible beforehand. Do not do wait until the interview itself, and end up making mistakes or losing your interview.
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Make sure your own chrome browser is up to date
You need to be able to run squadcast or zencastr or IpDTL on your computer and they all prefer chrome. Also make sure you can log into the sites you are using. Do you have the password and username?
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Schedule your interview using the shared calendar if you’re using ipDTL.
Contact the producer using the recording platform before or after you to check in and assure them that your interview is on time and that you’ll be done with the application in an hour so that they can use it after you. Here’s a link to the calendar. There’s more information about ipDTL and KPFA’s account below.
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Use some of the new remote recording sites.
Phone tape is the lowest quality remote sound. Don’t just go for the lowest bar because it’s easiest. Try one of the new platforms and see if it sounds better.
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Have TWO options, in case one fails.
I’m primarily using squadcast. But sometimes squadcast doesn’t work. So then I use zencastr. If zencastr doesn’t work. I use ipDTL. If all else fails, I call through my computer and record the interview through Hindenburg. That’s four layers. You should have two tried and tested methods you can count on.
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Have your guest’s phone number.
The internet sites will freeze sometimes. You will have to text your guest if you get knocked off and need to reconnect.
Our Recommendations for Websites/Platforms for Remote Recording:
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ipDTL –
What is ipDTL ?
It’s essentially a beefed up internet phone connection. It makes connecting to ISDN lines much easier, and cheaper, but you can also use this site to connect to people’s phones and get better recording quality than you usually would.
What would help my ipDTL interview sound the best?
Everything that applies to recording regular phone calls applies here – if the person has a bad signal, the recording will sound terrible. If they’re at a protest or distracted, you won’t get good sound. Ideally you’d pre-interview the caller for five minutes and check the connection and sound quality.
You should also have a decent mic set up and have access to a stable internet connection.
How do I access ipDTL?
KPFA has two ipDTL accounts. One for the on air studio and one for pre-recorded interviews. You can set up use of this ipDTL account via this scheduling calendar.
NOTE: you must make your reservation 2 hours in advance
Only one person can log into ipDTL at once. If your interview is slated for one hour, do not exceed that hour. Try to leave five minutes early so the next person can log in. DO NOT EXCEED your slated interview time.
The interface for ipDTL is a little confusing to use – so contact engineering for a quick rundown.
Finally, you need your guest’s phone number.
https://ipdtl.com/support.php – this is their support page. They don’t have the most comprehensible FAQ page, so if you need extra support reach out to engineering.
- SQUADCAST AND ZENCASTR –
What is Squadcast? What is Zencastr?
These sites basically use the same concept. They record a local copy of your interview – on your computer and another on your interviewees computer and then sends those local copies to the server. Once you’re done with the interview the sound is stitched together and it’s pretty good. It’s nowhere near studio quality but it’s not sound recorded through the internet, it’s a copy of the sound recorded from your mic through your computer.
What would help my Squadcast interview sound the best?
You need a very stable internet connection. The good thing with both sites is that if your internet connection drops in and out, the sound quality doesn’t change and there’s no choppiness in it. However, your guest still needs to hear you well, and you still need a good connection to send your local copy to the server. Find a good quiet place with great internet. Ditto for your guests.
Your guest needs headphones or you’ll hear an echo. If they’re using simple headphones they also need a mic. OR they should use a headset with an attached mic. The mic on their computer is too far away from their mouth to record decent and clear sound.
How do I access Squadcast or Zencastr?
These sites require a paid subscription, and currently KPFA does not have one. Zencastr is quite affordable at the moment, if you want to get your own subscription. I have my own and have used it often.
You must set up the interview and send the link to your guest, who joins via their browser (only chrome is supported)
Both sites are easy to use, but zencastr seems to have fewer problems, and the interface is not so distracting. Both require up to date versions of chrome. Zencastr has more built in production options, like the ability to lay in intro/outro music.
Both will send you your questions on one file and your guest’s responses on another file. But, zencastr has the added benefit of mixing both files for you into a single track. I prefer to have them separated for finer editing but that’s up to you and how comfortable you feel using a multitrack editor.
Here’s Zencastr’s support page and here’s Squadcast’s support page.