How to record a podcast remotely (on video too) without it showing

You can record remotely, and it barely shows

A few years ago, a remotely recorded podcast sounded like a phone call: dropouts, metallic voices and someone freezing mid-sentence. It does not have to be like that any more. Many of the interview shows you watch on YouTube have at least one episode where the guest was in another city, and unless someone tells you, you will not notice.

The key is a simple idea: what gets published is not the video call. The call is there so people can see and hear each other while they talk. What gets published is what each person recorded on their own computer, with their own microphone and camera, at full quality. Then, in the edit, those tracks are put together as if everyone had been at the same table.

That opens a lot of doors. You can interview someone in Asunción, London or Miami without paying for a flight. You can keep your release schedule even if a co-host moves away. And you can record with experts who would never have a free afternoon to visit a studio, but do have an hour to connect from their office.

What you cannot do is improvise. A remote podcast needs more preparation than an in-person one: the technician is not next to each person to place the microphone or switch on the light. So this article is about exactly that: how to prepare each part so the episode works first time.

The three ways to record a podcast remotely

There are three ways to do it, from lower to higher quality.

The first is to record the video call as it is, with Zoom, Meet or Teams. It is the easiest and the one most people use at the start, but it has a problem: the call compresses audio and video so they travel quickly over the internet. If someone's connection drops, the recording drops with it. Zoom has an option to save a separate audio track per participant, which helps a lot in the edit, but the picture is still the call's picture.

The second is a local recording platform, such as Riverside and similar tools. On the surface it looks like a normal video call, but each computer records its own audio and camera in high quality and uploads it while you talk. If the connection drops for a moment, what you hear live breaks up, but the recording does not. It is what we recommend for almost every show.

The third is the double-ender. Each participant records in their own space with their own kit, for example a camera and a microphone into a recorder, while talking over any video call. Afterwards, everyone sends their files. It gives the best result and needs the most organisation, because each person has to know how to run their kit.

There is also a hybrid: the host records in a studio with full equipment and the guest connects from outside through a local recording platform. Half the episode has studio quality and the other half the best quality possible remotely.

What each person needs to record from home

For a remote podcast to sound and look good, each participant needs five things. It does not take a big spend; it takes good choices.

A microphone that is not the laptop's. A USB dynamic microphone works very well at home because it picks up the voice and little of the room. If there is no other option, a headset with a microphone beats the computer's built-in one.

Headphones, always. If someone hears the others through speakers, their microphone records those voices again and you get echo. It is the most common mistake and the easiest to avoid.

A camera at eye level. A laptop camera raised on a few books will do, or better, a phone on a stand recording at the same time. A camera looking up from below is the giveaway of home recordings.

Light from the front. A window in front of you or a lamp behind the screen. Never the window behind you, or your face will be in shadow.

A quiet space and a stable connection. A room with furniture, curtains or a bookcase is better than an empty room, which echoes. And, if possible, a wired internet connection.

On top of that, one habit saves a lot of trouble: connect fifteen minutes early to test sound, camera and light. In that time you fix almost every problem that cannot be fixed later in the edit. We go into more detail in how to prepare a podcast guest.

Recording with guests in another country: time zones, language and permissions

When the person speaking is in another country, three things join the list.

The first is the time. Between Spain and Asunción, for example, there are four hours of difference in winter and five in summer, because Paraguay keeps the same time all year. A 6 pm recording in Barcelona is 1 or 2 pm in Asunción. Miami is similar, six hours behind for most of the year. Always set the appointment with both local times so nobody turns up late.

The second is language. If the show is in Spanish and the guest is from another Spanish-speaking country, there is no problem, but let them know the tone: more formal or more conversational. If it is in another language, decide beforehand whether there will be subtitles or a translated version, because that changes how you record.

The third is permission. Before recording, ask the guest for written consent to publish the episode and use excerpts on social media. It is basic courtesy and avoids misunderstandings later.

And one more practical point: send the guest a short guide on how to connect, what they need and how to send their files if required. A page with five points is enough. If you want to know how producing a whole show from Latin America with a team in Spain works, we explain it in producing a podcast from Asunción with a production company in Spain.

How a remotely recorded episode gets edited

A remote episode takes more editing than a studio one, because several different recordings have to become something that looks as if it was made in one place.

First, the tracks are synchronised. Each person recorded on their own computer and the files do not start at the same moment. They are lined up by sound, which is why it helps if everyone claps or says a phrase together at the start.

Then the sound is matched. Each microphone and each room sounds different, so noise is removed, levels are balanced and the voices are made to feel like they share a room. It is the step people notice most and the one that most separates an amateur podcast from a professional one.

Next comes the look. There are two options: split screen, with faces side by side, or shot by shot, cutting to whoever is speaking as in a studio. The second feels more natural but needs cameras that look alike. So each camera is colour-corrected and sometimes a common frame or background is used to unify the picture.

Finally, the usual: intro, titles, thumbnail and clips. Being recorded remotely changes none of that. We do this work every day: post-production for shows like The Sage Steele Show is done by our team in Spain while the show is recorded in the United States. If you want to know how that back-and-forth of files is organised, it is in how remote podcast post-production works.

How we help you record your podcast remotely

At Bostak Films we work with podcasts recorded in very different places: in our studio in Viladecans, in clients' offices and in guests' homes thousands of kilometres away. What we have learned is that the result depends above all on what happens before recording.

So when a show has remote parts, that is where we start. We choose with you the recording method that suits your show and your guests. We prepare a simple guide so each person knows what they need and how to set it up. We review a test before the first recording and tell you what to change if something is not going to work. Then we take care of the full edit: syncing, matching sound and colour, intro, thumbnails and social clips.

If part of your team is in or near Barcelona, they can record in the studio with full equipment while the guest connects from wherever they are. If you are all elsewhere, you record remotely and we post-produce from here, in Spanish, in English or in both.

The easiest way to start is to tell us about your case. Book a free audit: we look at how you record now, or how you want to, and tell you what we would change so the show sounds and looks as if you were all at the same table. Everything we do with a podcast, start to finish, is on our podcast production page.

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