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Your Recording Setup

Watch this video to get your home recording setup for Windsor. Following these instructions will make sure your videos are of high quality.

Picking a Space

Things to consider when picking a space and optimizing that space for recording:

Considerations When Picking a Space

  1. Size

    • 6 ft or 1.8 meters of distance from your camera to work with.

  2. Lighting

    • Well-lit and even across your face. If you have a window to one side, causing half of your face to be shadowy, you may need to change the orientation of your setup so that the camera is in front of you, or you may need to order a ring light or two to even it out.

  3. Noise

    • As noise-free environment as possible. We want to capture clean audio only - free from outside sources, such as your A/C unit, construction outside, a loud refrigerator, etc.

Equipment Recommendations

Microphones

  1. We require clear, high-quality audio to build your AI model.

  2. The mic must be at a consistent distance from your mouth, regardless of your distance from the camera.

We recommended a few microphones in the video. Here are links to the latest ones recommended:

Lavalier Mics (Our Favorite Option) + Adapters You May Need

We recommend Lavalier mics the most for 3 main reasons:

  1. They clip onto you, making it easy to maintain a consistent distance from the mic when recording at different distances from the camera.

  2. They're discreet compared to external USB/XLR mics.

  3. You won't have to worry about a mic stand, like with USB or XLR mics.

Here are just a few great options:

Prefer a wireless setup? Any of the options below will let you do this:

Each of these includes a built-in mic and can clip onto your shirt, but they're more distracting to viewers than Lavalier mics due to their size. However, you can connect a different Lavalier mic to the Transmitter and use that as the mic instead (this technically means your setup would be mostly wireless, but is still more discreet overall and is likely to give you higher-quality audio than the built-in mic).

Adapters

For iPhones/iPads with Lightning Connectors - Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter

For phones with USB C Connector - USB C to 3.5mm Headphone and Charger Adapter

If you're plugging into your iPhone, you may need this adapter - Apple Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

USB Mics ($50+) + Adapters You May Need

Adapters for USB Mics:

If your computer only has USB-C ports, you'll need a USB-C to USB-A adapter in order to connect the USB mics listed above.

XLR Mics

XLR mics are the gold standard when it comes to recording high-quality audio. However, these mics are more expensive and the setup process is more complicated.

They require an audio interface in order to connect them to your computer. Here's one from Focusrite ($99.99) that is rated highly and commonly used.

XLR Mic Options

There are several great brands selling XLR mics, such as Audio-Technica, Elgato, AKG, Neumann, Røde, Sennheiser, and Shure.

Here are just a few options we'd like to mention:

  • Audio-Technica AT2040 ($99)

  • Elgato Wave DX ($70)

  • Shure MV7 ($249)

    • This mic can connect through XLR or USB.

  • Sennheiser Professional MKE 600 Shotgun Microphone ($319)

    • Shotgun mics like this one are generally used in TV/movie sets and a nice benefit of them is that they can be placed further away from your mouth than any of the other mics we've mentioned.

    • The XLR cable that comes with this mic only connects to video cameras/camcorders. To connect to an audio interface instead, you'll need an XLR cable like this one (choose the cable length that you'll need).

Positioning Your Mic

The mic must be at a consistent distance from your mouth, regardless of your distance from the camera.

Positioning Lavalier Mics

The ideal on-clothing mic position is mid-chest. Anything too high may affect the frequency response, and placing it too low may result in a lower audio level. The mic shouldn't touch the clothing either and should point straight up toward the speaker's mouth.

Positioning USB and XLR Mics + Mic Stands

Position your mic

  • 1ft (0.3m) from your mouth and no further than 2-3ft (0.5m) away, and

  • ~1 inch below your chin so that it doesn't block your mouth and thus interfere with the model.

Mic Stands

You may need a mic stand in order to position the mic properly when recording at different distances. Here are just a couple of options.

Cameras / Webcams

When setting up your camera to record Windsor videos, remember

  1. The camera angle must be at eye level or higher.

  2. Double-check that your camera is free of any smudges. If there are any, be sure to wipe the lens with something soft like a microfiber cloth, being careful not to scratch it.

Any camera with a 720p resolution or higher will work, but here are a few great options:

Cameras / Webcams

  1. The camera on your smartphone

  2. Logitech Webcams

A built-in laptop webcam will also work but the video quality will be noticeably worse than any of the above options.

Lights

It's important to have even lighting across your face for the AI to work properly. Adequate lighting also makes for a better-looking video. There are many options out there. Here are just a few.

Lights

Lights that also include a phone holder (if using your phone to record video)

To use your smartphone as a webcam, check out the 3 options listed here.

Once your setup is ready, read this doc to set up your Avatar. If you prefer, you can also schedule a Recording Session with Windsor to have someone on our team assist you.

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