Why is stacking books for recording not a very good idea? + solution ( full course on making a good quality online class.) with tips
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ables that could go wrong. Either it is the phone that gets damaged or it is the set, that is whatever you are wanting to film such as the book or whatever. And in some cases, it can be brutal. ( I am a living proof. Details below)
Imagine that you used 20 books with great difficulty to record, and it topples with your 1000$ I phone.
(Of course. A person with an I-Phone could most probably afford a Tri-Pod also.)
Your heart would have gotten destroyed, and your wallet would have had a hole which would have eventually become bigger if what I mentioned above were to really occur.
When I first started filming, I tried to use books, stationary etc. to get a stable video. When I once tried using books, My phone fell because of the instability and luckily, I had a screen-guard and a flip case that saved it. Unfortunately that can also fail if the impact is too hard Eg: 2-5 feet. I used to have a desk with a ledge on the top that helped my phone remain stable. Later, I used a scale with the very same ledge to get more reach (distance wise) and landscape video.
I even now recommend that you spend a few bucks and get a tripod. But if you don't want to wait for delivery I have a solution that might work.
If you want to film shots from above (to film drawing tutorials or school classes) I suggest that you get a person to help you out. If that is not possible, Try to sit near a desk with a ledge on the top that protrudes out.
As you can see in the above image, My previous desk had a ledge that helped me film temporarily. I will link a video at the end of the blog that you can see to get an idea as to how the video will look.
There is another option that you could do. Take a stool or a pedestal and place your phone on it. My very first video followed a principle similar to that. I first filmed it in portrait mode, Then I used a computer editor and flipped it with movie maker. The video is linked at the end of the blog as well. (video 2)
I placed my phone on a speaker holder and used a stool as a desk. You could do something similar.
Another method would be using a selfie stick. I actually do not recommend this. But I have received mixed responses from a few friends of mine who tried using it.
These methods that I mentioned above can be used for table top recordings.
If you were to use the ledge method, It would look something like this. (Note: You must use some kind of editor to rotate the video. This is also a problem with books. Just that this is better.)
Okay. Time for other methods.
One good method is to use power point and the audio recording feature present in it. Power point is very good to use as a virtual book and white board to explain to your students. ( Fun fact! I actually helped one of my teacher use this method to its greatest potential to teach her students.)
First, Make a power point presentation with a lot of images ( I stress on that point). Then add a little bit of text such as a heading with a byline that outlines the content in that slide. In the same way make a presentation for the full lesson.
Once that's over, its time to record the audio.
If you are still reading I have a few solutions for achieving quality audio.
I have realised one very important thing after making videos in youtube for the past 5 years. In a video 1 very important thing would be the audio, video, content and lighting.
Okay back to the topic.
When you record the audio, make sure that there is no air blowing directly on the microphone. his will reduce the quality of the audio by 90% usually and makes it a nightmare for the viewer to listen.
So every-time you record follow the checklist I am giving below. I will also provide it in a PDF form for you to download and use it daily when you record or take an online class.
Lighting. Camera is stable. Microphone is plugged in. Microphone is at the optimal distance from your mouth.There is no air blowing directly on the microphone.If you do not want to turn the fan/ (a/c) off in your room, then use a thin cloth to cover the microphone. This also means that you must talk a little bit louder.
(The above steps are also applicable for online classes. More details below.)
Now its time to record audio into your presentation.
The image below is from the notes I sent to the teacher I mentioned above.
This will add audio separately to each slide which can be heard by the students.
If you want to make the class even more life-like, Then I suggest screen recording. To do that you can download recorders like Bandicam. The newer versions of office also have screen recording in-built in.
But I will be keeping that bit away to another post as it will make this post very long.
Okay.
Now tips to improve your online class sessions.
Tip 1: Have good lighting. It will improve the quality by 99%. It will also make the clarity of your video improve by 90%.
If you do not have extra lights, try using a rechargeable LED lamp or an extra phone with a torch light app or use a torch light itself. But let me tell you. A torch light is absolutely useless if used without a tube light or something that will act as a base. ( the checklist below will also have all points that I have mentioned above + some more extra points) An extra mobile is much more better. But everything depends on what you have readily available. If you are taking an online class, please make sure that the light reflects off your face. I always recommend a LED light instead of CFL or Incadescent.
Tip 2: If you want to use a white board, I suggest that you use an app that will help you teach your students better. Many suggest one note. But I have a few more app suggestions. If your school or institution uses zoom, It has a fabulous White-board. But I always suggest Google docs as that helps you share your class notes to your students very easily by generating a link. Make sure that you set the sharing to "Anyone with link" so that they can also view it.
Tip 3: If you are going to show a real white board, there are 2 things that you could do.
1) take an image of the board you want to share.And put the image in a presentation or a google doc file that you can edit virtually while teaching your students.
2) Make sure that you have good lighting and then place your phone as close as you can to the board and start recording. If you want to make a make-shift tripod, I suggest that you follow the ledge method with your phone set in the portrait mode. (this is important as the phone's orientation will make it hard for students to learn without straining their eyes.) But one of my teachers used some rubber-bands and a metal pole. He fixed the phone with the rubber bands to the pole and fixed the pole into a sand bag.
Tip 4: If your phone's microphone is horrible, Use an earphone with a microphone to record. You can also follow the tips I mentioned above. If you follow those tips, you can improve the quality of your class by a huge amount.
Tip 5:Use a Web-Cam if you have one. Why? As the factory fitted web-cameras are horrible and usually display your image in less than 144p quality. (aka. Potato Quality{ not that they are so bad or anything. Its usually used as a funny term to describe bad quality video})
Hopefully, these tips were useful and provided you with a rough idea with some methods that will help you improve your online class sessions during these difficult times.
I have attended online classes for more than 5 months and have made YouTube videos for more than 5 years. And this is my out-come of my research that might help you.
I would like to humbly Thank You all for reading till here.
If you would like to support me, Then please feel free to support me on Patreon and also feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel
Patreon: www.patreon.com/esccrasci
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Thanks In advance!
And yes. The checklist! (press the link to view and download)
Video:
Video2:
Written by Atul
(founder, Owner ESC crasci)
Thanks for your tips Atul. Great job
ReplyDeleteGreat initiative Atul.Thanks for your useful tips.
ReplyDeleteMaappu, you are truly maappu! :-)
ReplyDelete