- Get a Better Webcam
- Improve Your Lighting and Watch Your Background
- Frame Yourself
- Use a Different Microphone
Use a Different Microphone
Finally, let’s pay a little attention to the sound of your video. Most webcams have a built-in microphone, but it’s adequate, at best. You’ll get much better – and understandable – results by using a different microphone.
One option is to use a desktop USB microphone. The only problem with this approach is keeping the microphone close enough to your face without having it show in the shot.
A better approach is to use a lavaliere microphone, which you can find for under $50. Just clip the mic onto the front of your shirt or blouse and you’ll get clean, clear, in-your-face sound – much better than what you capture from the webcam microphone.
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Figure 6 Use an external microphone for better sound.
Whatever type of external microphone you use, you’ll need to connect it to your PC either via USB or the computer’s mic input jack. You’ll then have to configure your webcam to use the external mic instead of the built-in mic; this should be fairly easy to do.
Follow all these tips and you’ll produce much better-looking and better-sounding videos from your webcam. Whether you’re uploading the video to YouTube or just sharing it with friends, viewers will appreciate the superior results.