If you are using a mobile phone, please flip to landscape to record 😁
Recording yourself
On this page please read the handy hints before you start. Then you’ll be able to successfully record yourself using the ‘Record Video’ button above. When you are done recording, thats it. P.S. don’t forget to clean your video lens!
You’ll have 1hr to record your lesson. You will see the countdown timer on the bottom of the screen. If you need to re-record, just press stop and ‘redo’. You can also record the lesson in sections if that’s easier for you. Just be sure to state at the beginning of the video what lesson, and part of the lesson you’re recording. When you’ve finished and you’re happy with it you can close the browser or refresh. The system keeps a copy of any recording you do and overwrites any you ‘redo’.
Lighting
Light up your face It’s important that you light up your face. Good placements for light are just above the webcam. Sometimes it’s useful to have an ‘uplight’ on your desk as well to remove shadows from our cheeks and noses. Also, check the shadows. If you’re filming in the afternoon and there’s natural light in the room, you might be brighter on one side of your face then the other. Position your light until it’s balanced. Don’t use a fluro light. You’ll find the light flickers on the final recording. Darken any background light Talking of backgrounds, if you have to have a window or door behind you make sure it’s closed and there’s no light coming through. You want light at the front of you, not the back.
What if I make a mistake?
If you make a mistake. Stop. Go back to the start of a paragraph or the start of the lesson. It needs to start from where you had a natural break. This is because your head position and facial expressions are different. The tone of your voice also changes. We don’t want funny looking editing cuts that take you from an excited voice with your head on the side and eyes wide to a straight head, flat tone and flat eyes. It. just. looks. weird! It’s a lot easier to cut out ‘empty’ space and have a lot of pauses in between what you’re reading then try and cut it out when your voice is flowing really fast. So make sure you give yourself a lot of pauses. Count to 5 when you stop and start to give the editor room to make some creative cuts.
Be on the level
Your eyes and the webcam should be at the same level. There’s nothing worse than looking up someones nose, or at someones forehead when you’re watching a video! Avoid this by making sure your eyes are level with the webcam. Raise your laptop or computer, or lower your seat
Competing colours
Plain and light coloured walls as backgrounds look best. Avoid dramatic looks and background photos; books or plants. This significantly reduces the ability to ‘jazz’ up your video. If you know you aren’t going to have text on screen or fancy animations, then a well-placed plant is fine to have. If you’re not sure, then keep it plain and pale.
What about wearing glasses?
If you have glasses, check the reflection. We need to see your eyes. You’ll have to play around a little to make sure that the light that’s shining on your face isn’t reflecting on your glasses.
Audio is critical
Bad audio will ruin your message, and any valuable information you have to share. It’s important that you have good sound. Our system will indicate when it believes that your sound is suitable for recording and ideally, you would have a microphone connected to your computer. Don’t use headphones or headphone microphones. They also give you an unrealistic view of your background noise. You won’t hear it because you’ve got headphones on but your headphone microphone will pick it up and that will ruin your recording.
Background noise
Stop and listen to your background noises. Move your set-up to the quietest location you can. Wait until your neighbour stops mowing your lawn. If necessary make adjustments like turning off coffee machines; taking down wind-chimes; putting your dog in their bed or feeding them if they’re barking for attention and most importantly turn off any computer notifications; mobile phones and take any landlines off the hook! We’ve found the best time is outside peak hour traffic and when your neighbours are out doing outside work or gardening.
Talk to the camera
The best way to engage people is to talk directly to them and they’re watching a video so this means you need to talk to the camera! If you have lines you need to remember and need to read off the screen then try this. Read out the words you remember. Stop talking and freeze. It’s vital that you keep the same expression on your face and your head is in the same position. Don’t move! Look down with your eyes and read the next few words until you have them. Look at the camera - keeping your face frozen and in the same position - don’t move! Ok, now you can relax and read out the next part. If you need to go back to #1 and repeat until you’ve finished reading. We can edit the ‘pauses’ out now, and it will look like you’ve read it out perfectly. The other thing you can do if you find this hard is to have a large text document open and use a mouse to scroll as you read. Keep your eyes focused on the top line and read from there.
What to wear?
You need to stand out! Make sure there’s enough contrast. You don’t want a light coloured top on if you have a light background. Make sure there’s enough contrast. If you have light hair then a darker background will make you stand out. Also try and keep patterns to a minimum, some recording and viewing screens have difficulty.