If Matthew McConaughey looks like this in a zoom call, imagine what we look like

[MineralMan]

36. Exactly. The pros depend on the studio people to

handle lighting, makeup, etc. The amateurs on YouTube and elsewhere have to figure it out for themselves, and some do a pretty good job.

I've been surprised at how little prep TV personalities have done when working at home. I'm more surprised that the producers of the programs they're on haven't sent people to those home studios to do a little setup and sound-deadening.

It's funny to see kids on YouTube creating better video than the pros. They understand the limitations of their medium and work to maximize what they have.

There's no excuse for the washed-out face and clutter in your top video. It's not difficult to make it work better. Of course, I did a lot of photography when i was writing how-to articles on woodworking, etc. The magazines had high standards for photos, so I had to invest in equipment for lighting, backdrops and other stuff. I did it on a tight budget, but got the results I needed. So, that's why I could set my wife up to look good on Zoom.

The BBC guy appears to be using a desk lamp that is turned to shine on his face to light him up. Ugh! It probably has a halogen bulb in it, which produces that flat, washed out face. That's sort of what my wife was using. So, I switched it out for a soft full-spectrum LED bulb that had no glaring effect. Then, I positioned it where it would produce some gradations in her facial lighting. Then, I moved her camera so it didn't aim directly at her face straight on and from a high angle. I picked out a top for her that had a color than enhanced her skin color, and simplified the background, using a rug on the wall to also deaden the echos in the room. Finally, I killed the mic in her web cam and plugged in a better mic and positioned it out of the camera's view and adjusted the volume to get a good sound that didn't overdrive the audio and cause distortion.

We had to check everything by recording video and playing it back. Then I made further adjustments. It all took about half an hour, but the difference was remarkable. Most people just don't take the time to check things before going live. They should think about it and optimize their setup.