Description: Video recordings can be streamed from YouTube and linked in Moodle for viewing.
Best Practices
- Limit video recordings to 6-8 minutes
- Segment lengthy topics sub-points to record separately
- Write a script 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.
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
Apps and Equipment
- Cameras
- Canon video camera available for checkout from the BU Library
- Camera apps on smartphones
- For webcam recordings
- Windows Camera App
- Quicktime (Mac)
- See Tips for Recording Audio for suggested microphones
- Editing
- Windows Video Editor (PC)
- iMovie (Mac and iOS)
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:
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
- 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