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Tutorial 3: Recording video

Page history last edited by Richard Beach 15 years, 4 months ago

Tutorial 3: Recording Your Video

 

 

In this tutorial, I’m going to focus on techniques for recording your video.  I’ll be discussing the use of a laptop webcam such as the webcams in more recent Mac laptops or the webcams located in the 355 Peik Hall computer lab for use in recording yourself.  However, because you may want to add other video to your vlog production or create video using other cameras such as the Kodak Easyshare camera, I’ll also be discussing the use of these other kinds of cameras.  

 

 

 

Developing a Script and Storyboard

 

Given the need to keep you video short and concise, it’s important to define your purpose and focus by limiting it to one key idea, point, or event, as opposed to trying to do too many things.

 

 

Coming up with a central idea is critical.  In considering different ideas, you need to select those ideas that best translate in something visual as opposed to something that’s dependent on a lot of dialogue.  If you look at popular YouTube videos, many of them are almost entirely visual—they rely heavily on the visual to convey their point.   

 

 

Once you have an idea, you then need to first create a script or set of notes similar to the scripts I developed for these vlogs, scripts that are contained on the course blog.  These scripts can be a set of summary notes or an actual talking script that you may read word-for-word.  Or, you may be creating a little mini-drama with a script for your and others to perform.  

 

What’s most important in creating your script is to determine where you will stop and start recording.  That’s usually when you move to another topic, person, or place.

 

 

Another important reason for creating a script is to determine what other material, if any, you may want to import into a vlog that will serve to illustrate what you or another person are referring to.  For example, if you are talking about a movie, you may want to have a clip of that movie.  Or, if you’re describing the architectural features of a building, you may want to include shots of that building.

 

 

Other considerations

 

You also need to determine where you’re going to film.  Where you film will mean a lot in terms of preparation.  If you’re shooting indoors, then you need to have proper lighting.  If you’re shooting outdoors, you’ll need to consider issues of noise, weather, and, in some cases, too much light.  And, if you’re shooting on private property, you should obtain the owner’s permission.  If you include particular individuals in public settings, you should obtain their permission.

 

 

Then, if you’re going to include others as actors, you’ll need to define the idea to them and  rehearse with them what they will be doing.

 

 

Determine what other footage to shoot then leads you to consider whether you will record some voice over material into the camera to add to the shots of the movie or building, or whether you want to add the voice over later during editing.

 

If you’re going to be using a lot of different shots in different places, as opposed to just shooting yourself or someone else talking, you may want to create a storyboard with stick people to determine the kinds of shots or angles you want to employ: close-ups versus mid-shots (waist up) versus long or establishing shots of a setting.

 

You also need to consider whether you’re going to include reaction shots—or cutaway shots showing people’s reactions to actions, for example, responses to a game or race, or point-of-view shots that show people’s facial reactions to events.

 

It is also important that you not be tied too closely to your script or storyboard so that you don’t lose spontaneity.

 

 

Equipment

 

You also need to make sure you have the right equipment.  

 

 

Microphones: If you are interviewing someone outdoors where there’s some wind or noise, you may want to use an external mike.  

 

 

Lights: since it’s unlikely that you’ll be using special lights, you need to make sure that you have enough light by checking the camera settings.  If you’re shooting indoors, turn on the lights in the room and move your people around so that you achieve the right look.  Avoid overhead lights that create a shadow on your own or the other person’s face.  You also want to be careful about harsh or overly bright lighting that causes you or another person to squint.

If you’re shooting outdoors, make sure that the sun in behind you and that your people are not squinting due to too much sunlight.

 

 

If you’re going to be shooting for an extended time period at one place, you may want to use a tripod to keep the camera steady.

 

 

 

Part 2

 

Recording with a webcam

 

If you’re using a laptop with a webcam and also want to read from a script, as I do, you can put the script onto a desktop computer and hold the laptop on your lap.  In doing so, you are shooting yourself looking directly into the webcam as opposed to looking down at your laptop.

 

 

To record yourself using a webcam, you first need to open up iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.  For iMovie tutorials:

http://digitalwriting.pbwiki.com/DigitalVideo

For a tutorial on using Windows Movie Maker using the PC’s webcams in the 355 Lab:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbskkrcsJUY

 

 

 

 

Part 3

 

 

Recording using YouTube’s QuickCapture

 

 

If you don’t plan on doing any editing and want to record directly into YouTube using your webcam or camera and a computer, you can use YouTube’s QuickCapture.  Again, remember that you’re limited to 10 minutes and no more than 100 MB.  You’ll need to have a YouTube account.  Also note that once you’ve loaded your video onto YouTube, you no longer can claim copyright—it’s now Google’s property.

 

 

To use YouTube’s QuickCapture:

1. hook up the webcam or camera to the computer.

2. log into your YouTube account and go to UpLoad Video and then go to Quick Capture.  

3. Enter the information about your video in the left column. This is required before you begin recording.

4. If you get a message that says "www.youtube.com is requesting access to your camera and microphone," click the "Allow" button.

5. If you don't see a picture in the record section, you may need to choose a different video source from the video dropdown in the "Record Video" window.

6. Once you see a picture coming from your camera, click the "Record" button to start recording your video.

7. When you're finished recording, click the "Done" button if you're satisfied with your video, or click the "Re-Record" button if you'd like to try recording it again.

 

When you click the "Done" button, your video is automatically uploaded to YouTube and starts processing. You can edit information about the video by going to the "My Videos" page (http://www.youtube.com/my_videos).

 

 

 

Part 4


Recording your video using the Kodak Easyshare camera

 

You can always refer to the Kodak Easyshare System Tutorial that tell you how to use the controller button for setting your picture quality, deleting and saving pictures, protecting pictures from being deleted, and other features.  

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tutorials/index.jhtml?pq-path=4688

 

 

Make sure that the lithium battery has been charged using the plug-in charger.  

 

 

To start out, you first need to set the shutter button to the video option—the video camera icon on the shutter wheel.  You also need to select the quality for your recording: 640 x 480 resolution or 320 x 240 resolution.  The 640 x 480 produces higher quality material, although it requires more memory.  Your final blog post will end up with a 320 x 240 resolution so you can certainly choose this as an option, particularly if you are making a long video.  Or, if you want higher quality resolution, you may want to go with the 640 x 480 option if you want higher quality resolution.

 

 

Because it has a 2GB memory card, you should not have to worry about running out of space.  You can determine how long you can record by the following calculations based on the resolution option you select: 320 x 240 lower resolution versus the 640 x 480 higher resolution as well as the frames per second 15 frames per second versus 30 frames per second.

 

 

If you select the 320 x 240 lower resolution option, and are shooting at 30 frames per, you can shoot for about 57 minutes; if you shoot at 15 frames per second, you can shoot for 253 minutes.  If you select the 640 x 480 higher resolution, and go with 30 frames per second, you can shoot for about 14 minutes.  If you go with 15 frames per second, you can shoot for 126 minutes: about two hours.  So, you can see that the choices you make in terms of resolution and speed, particularly speed, make a big difference in terms of how long you can shoot.

 

 

Recording

 

You then push down on the shutter button to record. When you’re done recording, you then push down on the button again.

 

After you’re done recording, you will see five seconds of your video.  If you don’t push the delete button, then your recording is saved.


Recording yourself or others

 

I’m going to review some of the key points in the Secrets of Videoblogging book on recording located on pages 66-76.

 

In recording yourself in a stable position, use a small tripod.  If you are moving, then hold the camera in front of you as steady as possible.  With a camcorder, you can see yourself on the LCD screen, something that’s not possible with the Kodak—make sure that you’re looking at the lens not the screen.  As noted in Secrets, you’ll need to test out where to position the Kodak to determine where to hold it.  

 

 

Framing

In framing your shots, you need to recognize that you’re shooting for a small, compressed computer screen, as opposed to creating a wide-screen Hollywood movie.  You should therefore employ more mid-to-close-up shots so that you fill up your screen as opposed to shots of vistas.

 

 

In his vlog #53, Israel Hyman: Izzy: Shooting for the Small Screen

http://img671.libsyn.com/img671/5689f1e51426125a06472d75f0dcb892/46ab7cbb/2751/1336/izzyvideo53_-_Shooting_for_the_Small_Screen.mp4

posits that for shooting for Web, to consider the difference between filming for movies versus television.  In viewing movies, you will see a lot more establishing and wide-angle shots, while viewing television, you will see a lot more talking-heads close-ups.  He argues that in filming yourself or others, to try to fill up the frame with a close-up or mid-shot of you or your interviewee.  He also argues that landscape or wide-angle shots really are not worth doing because they will not shot up well on the computer.

 

 

In his vlog #44, http://img668.libsyn.com/img668/746534b13a6341c749de4dd746b4a23c/46ab7fbb/5482/1336/izzyvideo44.mp4 Israel notes that in interviewing people, you want the camera to be level with their face as opposed to looking down on them.  He also suggests that you do not to have the person not look directly into the camera as they are being in recorded.

 

In framing your shots, you may also want to balance the different parts of the picture using the “rule of thirds” based on horizontal and vertical lines.  So, rather than have a horizon half way up the frame, you may put it more to one third up the frame.

 

 

Starting to record

 

In recording, you need to recognize that you always want to shoot more rather than less of what you need because you can always edit out what you don’t need.

 

 

To review your video:

1. press the Review button.

2. move the Controller button down to play or pause.

3. Press OK to pause or unpause.

 

 

To delete video:

1. press the Review button

2. use the Controller to find the video you want to delete.  To see thumbprints of different photos or clips, after you press the Review button, move the bar to Wide Angle.  

3. press the Delete button.  

4. use the Menu to select Picture and press OK.  

5. select Exit to go back to Review.

 

 

To save your video

1. go to Review

2. select the clips you want to save with the Controller

3. press the Menu button, highlighting Protect

4. press the Menu button

 

 

Since you may often start out a video trying to set up a scene or shot and now you don’t want to keep that material, you can use the Menu button to select Edit Video and then select Trim and follow the directions.  Remember, you can also cut out this material when you edit that material on your computer.

 

 

Sound

 

You also need to make sure that your microphones are picking up yourself or the person clearly, particularly if they are standing some distance from the camera.  You may also then want to consider the use of additional microphones, for example, the use of a headset microphone for recording yourself. If you are using your own camcorder, make sure that you have a good mike; in some cases, you can add an external mike which you can check out from the Curriculum Library.

 

 

You then need to determine which clips to select to import to your computer.  To do so, you can use the multi-up option.  To see your clips at the same time as thumbnails, select Review and then the Zoom Wide Angle (W) button to see thumbnails.  You can then use the multi-select option to select the clips you want.

 

 

Once you finish recording, you can then import the video into the computer desktop using the USB cable.  If you loading it into a Mac, the video should open up with iPhoto.  You can also open up the video by downloading the Easyshare software:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tutorials/index.jhtml?pq-path=4688

 

 

You’ll then import your video into iMovie for editing and compression. In the next Tutorial 4, I’ll discuss editing of your video using iMovie, compressing it into a Quicktime file, and then saving and further compressing that file on Media Mill.

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