Pre-Production

What do I need before I start recording?

Preparation is key to producing effective educational videos. Get tips for preparing what you will present, as well as for being on camera.

Videos can be used effectively to help students achieve learning outcomes. Instructors can elect to record the videos themselves or engage outside help such as our Academic Video Production team. Either way, preparation is key. After planning your video, or meeting with us to plan your video, the next step is to prepare for the recording. Below are some tips for preparing what you will present, as well as for being on camera.

What do I need?

1. Your text;
2. Hardware
   • camera (and way of stabilizing it)
   • microphone
3. Light
4. A quiet space to record.
   • See our Hardware For Video article for a list of studio spaces on campus

Your Text: You have a choice: do you want to speak from a script or work from an outline? Our veteran broadcasting professionals recommend a script, but some people prefer an outline.

Script		Outline
Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons
No stumbling or fumbling, or uhs or ers, and a more polished and well planned presentation. Students will recognize that you invested effort in your video.	Straight reading from a script can make some people sound canned and robotic.	You remain free to improvise and be spontaneous and natural.	You may seem unprepared or unsteady with a less smooth, choppier, and less professional presentation.
Easy compliance with Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, requiring that transcripts of multimedia be made available for accessibility and equity purposes.	In a DIY setting, you are close enough to the camera that your eyes can be seen moving across your text on the screen, making it obvious that you are reading.	You are able to look at the camera and make a more personal connection with your viewers.	You will need to prepare a transcript after your recording is completed in order to comply with Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act, which requires that transcripts of multimedia be made available for accessibility and equity purposes.
Easier to manage staying within a set length, ideally three to five minutes.	Takes longer to create (although there is a return on that investment).	Can be pulled together rather quickly.	Can result in a rambling presentation that runs too long.

A script is your guide to creating a quality video. Preparing a script to keeps you focused and helps avoid adding extraneous information. If you prefer not to read from a script, you should create an outline to keep you focused on the goal of the video.

• Here are some tips for creating a script for your video.

Location

Your Space:

It is essential that you find a quiet and distraction-free location in which to record. Public spaces rarely make good recording locations. You should also consider potential distractions (e.g., kids, pets, lawnmowers, AC or fan drone, etc.). The Hillman Library Whisper Room can be a great choice, and you can borrow professional equipment to use while you’re there.

A lack of contrast between you and your background can ruin the quality of your video. The focus of a video is you, so you don’t want to let your background steal the show. There are two simple steps to follow to establish contrast in your videos:

• Find a relatively plain background. A solid, lighter color will work best.
• Wear clothing that sets you off from the background.

You will have the best luck using a plain background and avoiding rooms where you wouldn’t ordinarily have visitors.

Lights

For more information on optimizing your lighting, see What can I do during recording to make my video look better?

Camera

Here are some additional tips for planning and producing your video Tips for Planning and creating your Multimedia Resource.

Webcams can have a limited field of view, so recording with them can be tricky. You might be looking at a very large window on your computer’s screen, giving you the impression that students will be watching your video at that size as well, but your recording will be significantly smaller. It’s therefore essential that you be close to the camera. Here are three photos for context, all taken with the built-in webcam on a 2011 MacBook Pro.