Hi, this is Karen McKee, the Scientist Videographer.
I've had some subscribers asking about ways to record themselves when they need to use
a script, but they're having trouble keeping their eyes on the camera.
When you record a video of yourself talking to the camera, it's important that your eyes
stay focused on the camera and don't shift to look at something off camera, such as your
script.
If you have a lot of material or many points to cover, it's not likely that you're going
to be able to memorize everything.
You'll need a script or at least a list of items you want to cover.
Now, there are a couple of ways to record yourself talking to the camera.
The best way is to use a teleprompter, but not everyone has one.
I'll cover how to use a teleprompter in another video.
In this video, I'm going to show you an alternative way and that is to use your computer and a
built-in or attached webcam to record yourself speaking to the camera.
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So, here I am sitting in front of my laptop.
I have my script open on the screen and I'm ready to record with the built-in camera.
With a Mac, I can operate my laptop camera with Quicktime, iMovie, or Screenflow.
You'll have to use whatever recording software is compatible with your computer.
I'm going to make a quick recording with Screenflow, which is a screencapture application, to show
you how this works.
So, I'll open Screenflow.
It can record my computer screen and also simultaneously record me with the built-in
camera.
First, I need to configure the recording.
I make sure the Facetime camera is checked.
I'm using an external microphone, which shows up in the list of options.
Once I've got everything configured, all I need to do is click the record button.
Now, I'm recording and when I finish, I'll stop the recording.
I choose to create a new document, and Screenflow automatically drops the recording into a new
project, which is ready to edit.
You see two clips in the timeline.
One is the recording from the Facetime camera and the other is the recording of my computer
screen.
I don't need the latter in this case, so I'll just delete it.
Then, I'll adjust the Facetime recording to fit the document window.
Let's now go back to the problem of how to deliver your lines.
One option that I've tried is to put the script as close to the top of the screen and near
the camera as possible.
You can glance down at each sentence, then look back at the camera to deliver your lines.
But this means that about half the time, you are not looking at the camera.
The alternative is to look at the script and quickly memorize a line or two.
Then deliver those lines to the camera.
Later, you can edit out the portions when you are looking at the script.
Here, you can see a clip I shot in which I was delivering a series of lines, stopping
periodically to look at my script.
What I need to do is split the clip and remove the part where I'm looking away from the camera.
So, I'll scrub through the clip to the point where I look into the camera.
There and I split the clip.
Next, I'll drag the end of the next segment to remove the part when my eyes are on the
script and not on the camera.
And I close up the gap.
I go to the next spot where I look away from the camera and do the same thing.
So there I'll trim that clip to that point and close the gap
Now I have the segments trimmed to the time I'm only looking at the camera.
The only problem now will be the jump cuts between the trimmed segments.
If you move a lot during the recording, this won't look very good.
What I need are transitions that will smooth out the jump cuts.
So, I'll add a dissolve transition to the second segment.
And now there's a nice transition.
And I'll do the same for the next segment.
This approach works also with a self-recorded interview.
You have a list of interview questions, which you look at briefly, then answer off the cuff
while looking straight at the camera.
You would then edit as before, but instead of a transition, add a frame showing the question.
So, to summarize, you can use your computer's camera to record yourself speaking, but you'll
have to spend some time in editing to remove the parts when you look away from the camera
for example at your script.
If you want to use a word-for-word script and keep your eyes constantly on the camera,
you'll need to use a teleprompter, which I'll cover in another video.
Thanks for watching and don't forget to hit the like button if you found this video useful.
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