Q&A with Marcin: Insider tips and advice from our video guru

Meet Marcin

• Currently lives in Skierniewice, Poland

• I'm in charge of videos and webinars

• I started at The Remote Company in September 2013

You’ve been with us for nearly 8 years! How do you keep motivated and challenge yourself?

First, my career path changed throughout the years, so that kept things exciting. At the very beginning, I was a regional partner, then I worked in support, and now I'm in charge of video education and webinars. I create videos for MailerLite, Ycode, and our other products.

The company is growing so fast that it’s difficult to lose motivation—there are always new projects! I challenge myself is by trying new things and finding ways to improve our current video production workflows. I strive for perfection, but balance this with knowing when to stop because something is more than good enough.

Tell us about your home recording studio. What are the essentials to record great videos?

I previously recorded everything in my small home studio, but now I have an office that's set up with all my equipment. After my son was born, it became too difficult to record at home.

I've worked with Screenflow for both the camera and screen recordings and editing, but recently I started working with our video editor, Ash. I use Quicktime for the screen recording and a separate camera (Panasonic LUMIX G9) to film my face.

My favorite microphone is the Rode NT-USB. For non-tutorial videos, I either use a Tascam DR-10L lavalier microphone and recorder, or one of my shotgun microphones (my current favorite is an Oktava model).

After recording the videos, everything is synced and edited in Final Cut Pro X. Most of the videos are shot in Full HD, but we’re moving to 4K for the newer tutorials.

What does the video recording process look like?

The first step of each video tutorial is knowing what I'm talking about. I'll learn the features of the specific app I'm doing the tutorial on, so I understand everything and the video has a good flow and is easy to understand.

If it’s a video tutorial, I usually don’t use a script—unless it’s a very long video. In that case, I write down a couple of bullet points to keep me on track.

We also record "talking head" videos where I talk directly into the camera, for example, to promote an upcoming webinar. For these short videos, I prepare a couple of bullet points or talk freely (if it’s super short).

Lately, I’ve been playing around with the PromptSmart Pro teleprompter app. I used it for a couple of videos because it allows me to go off script and use my natural pace since it's voice-activated.

When recording a video tutorial, I start with the background. I use a moving background, so that's what I prepare first. Then I turn on my Elgato Key Light straight from my laptop (using WiFi). I put a memory card into my camera, and make sure everything is aligned and that the battery is full. I hit the record button on my camera and turn on the native mac screen recording feature, and I’m ready to go.

The amount of time spent recording each video differs. Most of the time, things go smoothly. But sometimes you're stuck on a technical issue (like FCPX exporting the wrong color). Or you're recording a short, simple video and it ends up taking a lot longer than expected. The preparation process (creating slides, practicing for a long live presentation) can take up quite a bit of time as well.

My favorite part is seeing the end result and how all of our efforts create a really good outcome. 🤩

Where do you go for video inspiration?

I love watching videos in general but when I think of inspiration, nothing really comes to mind. What does happen is that I see something that I don't like in a video tutorial and then try not to repeat that specific thing in my own video tutorials.

You also have hosted 1-hour webinars for live audiences. How do you prepare for these webinars?

I try to use slides as much as possible to keep on track and not waste time talking about things that are not essential. Being well prepared makes it less stressful when glitches or awkward moments happen. I also try to record my practice sessions and then use that for the webinar recording (if I’m hosting the webinar). If some really bad technical issue happens, I can always apologize and quickly send the link to the recording I already have. This type of recording is always better quality-wise than the recording from the current webinar software I’m using.

Lastly, what advice do you have for people that aspire to do your job?

• For tutorials, knowing your app or product inside and out really makes a difference.

• Basic marketing knowledge is really important and allows you to better explain why your audience benefits from using specific features.

• It's good to know details about your audience and identify where they currently are in their user journey.

• If you're not able to speak for long periods, you might want to take a few Speech Level Singing lessons to learn the exercises. You can later do them at home.

• And lastly, meditation exercises! They help with your posture and can also relax your body during stressful times.