Tips for Recording Video

Description: Video recordings can be streamed from YouTube and linked in Moodle for viewing.

Best Practices for Pre-Recorded Videos

• Limit video recordings to 6-8 minutes
• Segment lengthy topics sub-points to record separately
• Write a script or outline for prepared content
• Determine key points; deliver them concisely
• Extend longevity for lecture content intended for reuse by avoiding: references to current events, dates, page numbers, the weather, etc.

Best Practices for Live Stream and In-Class Lecture Capture

• Be intentional about addressing both audiences - the face-to-face students and the students joining by live stream
• Look at the camera regularly to engage your remote students
• Plan how you will Include remote students in class activities and discussion
• Frame yourself in the camera so that your remote students can see (at a minimum) your face and shoulders
• When there is a class discussion turn the camera so that it streams the face-to-face students
• Do all you can to get good audio quality of yourself and the in-class students
• Share slides, documents and/or your screen through Zoom
• Project the Zoom screen in the classroom so that the face-to-face students can see the remote students
• Strive to treat your remote students and face-to-face students as equal members of the learning community

Examples of Use:

• Course lecture content
• Guest speakers
• Interviews
• Discussions
• Demonstrations
• Weekly communication
• Summaries of forums, assignments, blog posts, wikis, etc.
• Video contributions to assignments or forums by students
• Live stream and in-class lecture capture

Apps and Equipment

• Cameras
  • Canon video camera available for checkout from the BU Library
  • Camera apps on smartphones
  • Webcam
• For webcam recordings
  • Windows Camera App
  • Quicktime (Mac)
  • Zoom
  • Webcam and VLC for in-class recording
  • See Tips for Recording Audio for suggested microphones
• Editing
  • Windows Video Editor (PC)
    • Video on how to use the tool
  • iMovie (Mac and iOS)

Locations:

• For pre-recorded slide presentations, audio and video faculty may reserve the Voice Over Booth (ANC265) using this calendar link. It is equipped with a PC, webcam and lighting.
• For live stream and in-class lecture capture faculty can use the Webcam and VLC on the classroom instructor workstation.

Setting

• Ensure that the place you are shooting will remain quiet
• Avoid settings that easily echo
• Static backgrounds make cuts between clips less distracting
• Keep the background simple so viewers are not distracted from the subject

Lighting

• When recording videos of people, softer light sources are generally best
• Large light sources create softer light
• Windows are prone to vary in intensity due to cloud and sun movement, so avoid using them as a light source unless you are confident that the light will remain steady throughout your recording session
• Don't use different color temperatures to light the same subject (e.g., using a tungsten bulb with daylight)
• Never position light sources lower than the subject's face

Video

• Position camera at or slightly lower than the subject's eye level
• Placing the camera closer to the subject will make the video seem less formal. However, if the camera is too close, the subject's face may appear distorted
• Allow for a couple seconds of silence between clips you may be editing together

Sound

• Place microphone as close to the subject as possible, but at least a few inches away from their mouth
• Even light wind can negatively affect sound quality
• Microphone windscreens can help block out wind interference
• An audio recorder or smartphone may be used instead of a wireless microphone if the camera has no external microphone jack. However, this method requires syncing the audio with the video in an editing program
• Make sure audio quality and levels are good by recording a quick test and listening back to it
• Drink water before recording to avoid mouth noises
• Silence all devices
• See Tips for Recording Audio for more ideas, especially for webcam recordings

Tips for Recording From Home:

• Find a quiet room to record in
• Record during a quiet time of the day or night
• Avoid other voices, traffic noises, barking dogs, kitchen noises, etc.
• Mute phones and other devices with alarms or audible signals
• Select a room that has a significant amount of "softness" which will reduce echos. This includes items like:
  • carpeting
  • drapes
  • furniture upholstered with fabric
  • bedding
  • clothing
  • pillows

How To Do It Yourself - Pre-Recorded Videos:

Step One:

• Decide what it is you are going to record
• Develop a script, outline or interview questions
• Practice your presentation
• Share interview questions with your interviewee and ask them to prepare their response
• Schedule the location and time of the recording session
• Record your content

Step Two:

• Edit your footage as needed

Step Three

For Pre-Recorded Video

• Upload your finished video file (.mp4, .mov) to Youtube. (YouTube upload tutorial)
• Once in YouTube, copy the URL or embed code and add it in Moodle using the URL resource, embedding it in a Moodle page, or by linking it in a text box

How To Do It Yourself - Live Stream and In-Class Lecture Capture

• Live stream and record using Zoom
• Stream the recording from Zoom in Moodle