Great Live and Recorded Video Presentations rely on more than just your content. Aspects such as video, audio, lighting and room setup all play an important part. In this video, we show you some hands-on best practices for how you can create great video presentations for any scenario. Check out our Best Practices video below.
Video Transcript – How To Record Video Presentations Like a Pro :
Hello folks, Lev Cribb here from webinarexperts.co.uk. This is a video to give you an overview of best practices for your video, audio, lighting and room setup, be that for live streams or for video recordings.
First of all, a little bit about the camera setup. We recommend that you use an HD webcam. Our recommendation is the Logitech C920, which is a great webcam with great picture quality that will serve you well. It’s somewhere in the range of between £50 and £100, depending on where and when you buy it.
Also, make sure that you, while you are addressing the camera, have the camera face on and not pointing upwards. We’ll show you that in a moment what that would look like. Also, make sure that you are centered within the picture, and that the surrounding frame is the remainder of the screen.
If you decide not to use an external webcam like the Logitech C920, but instead use the built-in webcam from your laptop, you may need to elevate your laptop so that it’s still facing you head on, and also so that the webcam is not angled upwards, for example, as part of the screen. As you can see, it’s not particularly flattering. You can see my double chin. You can see my nostrils. You can even see the secret behind our backdrop. And you can most likely see also the microphone that I’m using.
When you’re presenting, sometimes you may be relying on slides. However, if you look at your screen for the slides and reading and presenting like this, then that won’t be a great audience experience, because they will be looking at you reading your screen, as opposed to addressing the camera and the audience with that.
In terms of your backdrop, you will want to have something that is either relevant to your company or particularly to your presentation. If neither of those are available, a neutral background is fine as well. Just avoid any major shadows from your lighting as well. And we’ll talk more about lighting in a moment.
A few words about the audio quality as well. Audio quality is just as important as video quality. We recommend that you use a Blue Yeti microphone. It’s a dedicated podcasting mic that can be plugged in via USB, directly into your computer or laptop. This will give you the best audio quality and your audience the best audio experience as well.
When you set up the Blue Yeti, just make sure that you have the right settings as well. There are different patterns, audio patterns on how your audio is picked up. We recommend the Cardioid setting, and you’ll want to play around with the Gain a little bit, record a few sessions, and make sure that your audio isn’t clipping, which means it’s not distorting at the top end, perhaps when you speak up a bit more. So test a range of delivery methods. Often your delivery when you are testing is a little bit different to when you’re actually presenting, so do try and mimic a presentation and see what the audio setting is like. Typically, depending on your voice, your setting will probably be somewhere between the 10 o’clock and 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock setting, but do play around with it and make sure the audio quality is good enough.
If you’re presenting on a live video feed, you will also need to have an audio connection so you can hear the other participants or the audience. In this case, we recommend that you have an in ear headphone like this, which can be kept out of sight, and you would run the cable inside of your shirt or your top to keep it out of sight as well. Just ensure that the microphone is not compromised and that it’s still available to pick up your audio as well. If you are presenting on just a video that is available on demand, then obviously you won’t need an audio headset like this one, but you will need it for livestream.
We recommend that you avoid Apple AirPods or any of the Bluetooth headsets as they have a tendency to disconnect and not provide the best audio quality. Also, avoid background noise from pets, children, neighbours, building work, offices next door, whatever it might be, so that those don’t get picked up on your video and your audio.
You will want to avoid any messy backgrounds like this if it doesn’t help you for your presentation. So do find the right setting for your background.
Also, a few words about lighting. As you can see, this part of the video is less well lit and set in a darker part of the room. So always ensure that you are facing a natural light source if possible, for example windows, and don’t have them behind you. If you need additional lighting, you can use a desk lamp or additional light sources to face you ideally from behind the camera.
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