DIY Video recording: Bring Multimedia to your courses!
The easiest ways to start recording videos for your licensees.
Getting a Picture
Free and low-cost solutions
Most people either have a phone, laptop, webcam or have a friend who has one. You might already have most of what you need!
Most PC and Mac computers feature basic video recording software such as Quicktime, Photo Booth, etc. Test out your computer and phone camera options with a quick video recording to see which one delivers the highest-quality picture. Make sure the angle and lighting are to your liking. The brighter the room, the more clear the picture will be, so try your best to set up an ideal lighting background.
We’re big fans of the software Loom if you’re wanting to share your screen with your audience while still maintaining your face in the frame. This makes presenting things like Powerpoint slides and infographics easier than ever! Make sure to take a look at the Loom Homepage for a quick walkthrough on how it works. If you’re looking for the simplest, most cost-effective solution for capturing video and screen sharing simultaneously, we definitely recommend Loom.
Sound that’s up-to-par
Quality
Believe it or not, sound can be more important than your picture. If people are unable to hear your information clearly they won’t get as much out of the course. Make sure you’re in a quiet room and that you’re speaking clearly.
Since you’ve positioned your video recording device in the most ideal location for a clear picture, odds are the microphone on the device is not close enough to where you’ll be speaking. This is why it’s a great idea to use another device to record sound rather than the same one recording video. If this seems like too much of a process you can skip forward to the “Filming” section. Just make sure you’re speaking as close to your camera mic as possible when it comes time to record. If you’re looking to give your video professional audio to go along with it, you’ll want to read on. It’s easier than you think!
Use your phone
The easiest solution is to position your phone close to where you’ll be speaking and utilizing the sound recorder app on it. Since the microphone on the device will be in a more ideal spot, your sound will be noticeably more clear. If you’re already using your phone to record video, borrow someone else's or try to use another device with a microphone. Select the Sound Recorder app when it comes time to record audio.
Next-level
If you feel like going the more professional rout, there are plenty of external microphones designed to be plugged into your computer easily. A search on Amazon shows a list of the most popular USB microphones based on sales and customer rating. A dedicated mic will give your presentation the high-quality audio that you hear in many multimedia productions.
Most microphones will come with instructions on how to record. At a basic level, most will instruct you to visit the sound settings in your computer’s System Preferences or Control Panel to select your “input” as their product.
Time to start filming
Getting ready
So, your camera is facing the way you want it and your mic is in the best spot to capture your voice. Make sure you have time set aside to record without any interruptions and that your devices are set to “silent.” Turn off any fans or other loud hardware nearby. Try to have your talking points outlined or memorized so that you capture the best presentation for your learners, but more than anything, just be yourself. Take a deep breath and speak how you normally would, there’s no need to act! People want to learn from the real you.
Clap!
When you hit “record” on both your video and audio devices, clap your hands together one time before you begin speaking. This will be the reference point you can use to sync the video and audio together. We’ll talk about it more later.
After that, it’s time for you to put on your best presentation. Don’t worry if you mess up, just make sure to pause, correct yourself, and keep going. This will give you plenty of room to cut those mistakes out while editing!
Editing
Software
Your computer or phone are both powerful ways to edit video. There are a variety of apps and programs to choose from, so you’ll have to make your decision based on your device. Easy and free solutions include Windows Movie Maker and iMovie. There are plenty of tutorials online about editing basics. Trust us, you don’t need to know everything to get editing. We’re just going to snip out those mistakes to give the video a better flow.
Sync
So everything is filmed and recorded, and you’ve imported your video into the editing program of your choice. How do we make sure the audio you recorded while filming lines up with the video? It’s easy! Once you have your audio and video files ready, put them both in a video editor and make sure to use the clap you did at the beginning as an easy place to sync them together. Now you have professional-level audio to go with your video!
When making any edits or cutting out mistakes, make sure to select both the audio and video so that they stay in sync. Don’t worry too much about editing the perfect video course. Adding any kind of multimedia like video to your courses make them more valuable to learners!
You’re a producer now! Move aside Hollywood!
And you’ve done it! Now you have something that really represents your course. Make sure to export it in WAV or MP4 format so that it will upload easily online. No matter which route you’ve chosen or how professional or not your video may seem to you, you’ve added value to the learning experience of many people. You’ve produced something that will last your career, and can even be edited into previews or other multimedia for prospects.
Once you’re ready to incorporate it to your course, make sure to click here for a quick refresher from our support page on uploading multimedia to our course creator.
Want a helping hand along the way? We have plenty of experience in all types of video production and can assist every step of the way. Contact us with your ideas and we’ll get started with you!
