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General Tips on Recording



Advice on Setup

  • Record one or two short tests before trying out your presentation so you can adjust lighting, sound, angle, etc.
  • When you have your camera set up, look at your test video and try to avoid overhead and back lighting. Using as much natural light as possible is best.
  • Find a quiet spot with as little background noise as possible
  • Try to stand about 3 feet from your camera and at least 6 feet from your background. Also, speaking of backgrounds, plain, not distracting one are best!
  • Use either headphones or earbuds with a built-in microphone to record audio or make sure not to stand more than 3 feet from your recording device (of course, if you have an actual external microphone or headset, use that!)
  • Place your phone or laptop on a stable surface to avoid shaky footage
  • Place your phone or laptop so you face the camera straight on - not at an angle (especially bad is when the camera is "looking up at you!" Not even movie stars look good this way).
  • Most smartphones will have higher quality cameras than built-in laptop cameras - but if there's no place to put it or friendly hand to help out, a stable video is always preferred to holding the phone yourself!


Advice on Presenting

  • Try to think of a "hook" or opening line to catch people's attention
  • Take your time speaking and if you stumble, keep going! You can always edit the video afterwards and the more natural the whole thing is - the more people will enjoy watching it
  • Consider writing a script and practicing your presentation so you know exactly what you want to say when you record
  • Don't rush to start your presentation as soon as the device starts recording - take a deep breath and start talking when you are ready and anything before that can be edited out after (by a helpful Super Science Saturday volunteer)!
  • Have fun with it! That's what Super Science Saturday is all about and it makes for an even better presentation when the audience can tell you're also enjoying yourself





Recording on Your Phone



For iPhone Users

  • Take advantage of the grid option to make sure your footage isn't tilted
    • Go to Settings > Camera > Grid
  • Make sure the video is being saved as an MP4 rather than the default HVEC format which is not as adaptable
    • Go to Settings > Camera > Formats > Change to "Most Compatible"


For Android Users

  • Options differ for Android phones, so check in Settings or the Camera app to make sure you are using a high enough quality video format





Recording on Your Computer

  • Check what the capabilities of your laptop camera or external webcam are, to see if you can get a high enough quality recording with it. See below for recommended Technical Specifications.
  • Make sure to look at the camera or webcam (and not at the screen) while recording


For Mac Users

  • Quicktime, Photobooth, and iMovie (all installed by default on Macs) can be used to record videos as well as edit them
    • Quicktime automatically saves files as .MOV, be sure to convert to .MP4 if possible
    • iMovie has the most editing capabilities, but you can import videos recorded elsewhere into the application to edit them


For Windows Users

  • The Windows 10 Camera application can also record and minimally edit videos, with different capabilities depending on your computer's specs and Windows version. There are many free options for software to do this. You can find a reputable list of apps here: https://download.cnet.com/video-record-capture/windows/.





Technical Specifications

  • Videos should preferably be in MP4 format , ratio should be 16:9 (not 4:3)
  • Videos should preferably be at least 1080p at 24 or 30fps, higher resolutions like 4K at 24 or 30fps can provide much better quality but do take up more storage space on your device


Editing Your Video

  • If your lighting or sound didn't turn out quite right, you can try making slight adjustments during editing rather than re-filming





FAQs

  • What are some guidelines for the best length of my video?
    • 3-8 minutes is best!
  • How do I get the videos to Super Science Saturday when I'm done?
  • When do you need my recording by?
    • February 22 @ 5pm EST
  • Don't be discouraged if it takes some time (and a few tries!) to get things looking how you want them to :)