Everything has moved online in the wake of social distancing. Find out the best video conferencing software options for all your creator needs here!

Just because we might be in various lockdowns, doesn’t mean the creativity has to stop. If you’ve managed to stay motivated during the pandemic then you probably have been needing to keep in touch with fellow creatives. Whether you’re a budding screenwriter or are working on a podcast, being able to have regular meetings with your co-creators is a vital aspect of the process. We’ve compiled a list of the best video conferencing software to keep you connected and chugging a long.

Zoom

Perhaps the first thing to pops into the minds of most when we think of video conferencing, Zoom has really blown up since the global pandemic kicked off. Offering a free service, you can host 40-minute long Zoom meeting for up to 100 people at once. You can still host one-to-one meetings for an unlimited time period on the free version, which is pretty handy, particularly if your creative project is a small-scale, intimate affair. The paid version, however, enables you to host meetings for up to a whopping 1000 people (everyone, please God, mute yourselves). You can also work collaboratively by sharing screens, as well providing your own notes for others to view. Transcripts can be saved, meaning that any great points made off the cuff won’t be lost forever.

GoToMeeting

Provided by software company LogMeIn, GoToMeeting is a fantastic video conferencing option, particularly for mobile use. With both paid and free options, this software is generous with what it offers. You can start and host a meeting from your smartphone, and even have the option to improve the video and call quality. Even the most basic option enables you to host meetings with 150 people as standard. This is more than enough for most business meetings, especially for independent creators.

Google Meet

The updated, rebranded and improved successor of Google Hangouts is Google Meet. Formerly the G Suite, this conferencing software is part of the Google Workspace platform. As it as been developed specifically with business in mind, it can cater for large numbers of people and is fast to use. A great feature of Meet is that there is no need to actually download any software or apps. This is perfect for any external parties who need to hop into the meeting. If you use Google predominantly already, then this will integrate perfectly into your eco-system, allowing you to set up meeting directly through your Google Calendar. This software is a great business-grade choice without any tricky downloads or fancy price tags.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a chat based workspace within Office 365. As the name may suggest, this software allows you to schedule and host meetings with a team within one app. Of course, you can hold one-to-one meetings as well! Full integration with Microsoft 365 means that meetings can be scheduled and invites issued within an organisation, whilst external clients can join via their browser. Teams boasts a great range of features, including background blur technology, live captioning and screen sharing. Overall, this is an ideal choice for those already operating using Microsoft 365.

Skype

Skype has been around for a while now, around 18 years in fact. For a time, it was synonymous with video calls, to the point where it’s pretty much become a verb. It is not to be overlooked even today, as it provides a great service on mobile devices, tablets and computers. Another software from Microsoft, Skype’s free services allow integrated audio and video calls for up to 50 users. This is generally plenty for most teams, but there is a paid version that lets you unlock even more features. These mainly relate to the ability to call landlines, send SMS messages and leave voicemails. Although, with the majority of communication taking place online these days, this isn’t as much of an attractive draw as it may have been a decade ago.

So, if you’re a creator working on a project remotely with a team, why not use the above software to discuss sourcing royalty free music and SFX? Synchedin offers a huge library of fantastic royalty free music, along with an all new platform of royalty free and CC0 sound effects!