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Video Preparation

1. Framing Your Video

You should attempt to frame your video as close to this picture as possible.

Note that the presenter is positioned in the middle of the frame, their head and shoulders are well presented and there is a good amount of headroom between the top of the presenter’s head and the top of the frame.

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2. Camera Placement and Background

Try to position your camera (Webcam, laptop or phone) at eye-level so you are looking directly forward into the camera, not looking up or down.

If necessary use a box, or books to raise your recording device to eye level before you start recording.

Finally, try to make sure there are no erroneous or distracting elements in the background of the image. Try to avoid objects which may look as they are coming out of the presenter’s head, signs, confidential material etc.

3. Lighting

Make sure that the room you are using is well-lit. try to avoid overhead ‘strip’ lighting which casts an orange/yellow hue. An LED light or natural daylight would be best.

Make sure there are no strong light sources behind the subject. ie do not film with the subject sitting in front of a window. The light coming in will most likely be too strong and cast the subject in shadow. Or it will create an overly bright ‘hot spot’ as the below two photos demonstrate.

Best practice would be to position your subject (yourself) facing a light source such as a window or lamp so it is behind the recording device. This way it should nicely illuminate your face.

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Sound Preparation

1. Microphones

In order to get clean, clear sound for your videos it is best to use an external microphone that is then plugged into your camera, laptop, or phone.

Built-in microphones in webcams or laptops are not ideal as the sound quality is unreliable and can pick up noises from your surroundings.

Small plug in lapel (Or lavaliere) microphones are widely available with both jack and USB connections.

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2. Setup

Microphone's with USB connections can be plugged into any USB port on your device.

Microphone’s with jack connections can be plugged into the microphone socket of your phone or laptop.

Please check the specifications of your device to find out where the microphone socket is.

Making sure the correct Microphone is selected

On your computer, if you go to Start Menu> Settings it will open the settings window

Inside this window click on 'System'.

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Then click on 'Sound'.

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In the 'Input' section under the 'Choose your input device' make sure your microphone is selected.

If you are using a mic plugged into your headphone jack, a USB Microphone or your computer’s on-board microphone (Not recommended), Make sure your desired input is selected here before you begin your recording.

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3. Placement

The lapel microphone is then clipped on to your clothing in the chest area. (see Below)

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When placing the microphone try to make sure the mic head, (the fluffy bit) is not brushing against your clothes or moving too much.

It is recommended to record a short 10 second sound test and listen back to it. This way you can check if you are rustling the mic, if the mic is too far away from your mouth, or if you're picking up any background noises.

Getting clean and clear audio is the most important part of self-recording. Make sure you are capturing the cleanest audio you can, and contact your media team if you are having issues.