- Good morning.
Today we're going to talk about the basics
of making engaging flipping videos.
- Hey guys. - Hey Bo.
- Uh, hi Bo.
♫ Flipping Physics ♫
- Let's start with my list of things to do
before you start filming.
First, turn off your phone.
It's happened to me and it's probably happened to you.
A phone going off (phone ringtone)
in the middle of filming really disturbs the video.
Really Billy? Nice timing.
- Uh, I'm sorry Mr. P, I thought I had turned my phone off.
- Really Billy?
I bet you and Mr. P planned that.
- After you turn off your phone, stop and listen
for extraneous noises.
You probably don't notice them normally, however,
the hum of a humidifier, the tick of a clock,
a rotating fan, even an open window, for example,
can cause auditory distractions during your video.
So, listen and then shut off extraneous noises.
Next, post a please do not disturb,
flipping video in progress sign.
Because, well for many of you,
having colleagues walk in (colleagues chatter)
in the middle of filming can be a real issue.
I'm sorry, did you not see the sign?
I'm filming a flipping video here.
Yeah, really, I did post a sign.
- How did we not see this sign on the door?
- It must have been all those weird fonts.
- Next, make sure your video camera is actually recording.
I have acted out my fair share of Oscar worthy performances
only to discover that they didn't actually get recorded.
- Yeah, then we had to watch it again.
- Now let's get to some specifics
about picture-in-picture and live videos.
Look in a mirror.
Sometimes something could be like hanging out of your nose,
for example, that can be
really distracting for the viewer.
- Ugh, that's disgusting, Mr. P.
- Yuck.
- It's less disgusting to talk about than to witness.
So please, before you step in front of the video camera,
look in a mirror.
Next, people often overlook
what is in the background of their video,
especially in picture-in-picture,
which I'm illustrating right now.
Don't have a window behind you
or a light
or you will just end up being a silhouette.
Also, make sure to center yourself
in the picture-in-picture video.
Yeah, so think about what's in the background of your video,
center yourself,
and especially for picture-in-picture remain stationary.
I know we get really excited when we're talking
and we start to gesticulate and move our bodies around.
But the problem is, in that little window
it can get really distracting with all that motion.
What do you think?
Is it distracting? Yes it is very distracting.
- Um.
- When you put text on the screen,
please make sure that text is big
and use a screen legible sans-serif font like helvetica.
I know it's tempting to use fancy fonts
like Brush Script, or Giddyup,
or Mistral, or even ROSEWOOD for example.
- Uh, Billy, what's a sans-serif font?
- Sans means without and a serif
is a fancy curl at the end of a letter.
So sans-serif means without those extra projections
from the letter.
Therefore, a sans-serif font like helvetica looks blockier
and is easier to read on a pixel based screen,
where a serif font like century schoolbook
is actually to read in print.
- Ok. Thanks.
- Remember, the goal is for the words to be legible.
Also along those lines, unless you are screaming,
DON'T USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!
Again, it's just more difficult to read.
One other trick that I have figured out,
is that when a necessary background renders the text
less legible, I use what is usually called a drop shadow.
This gives the letters a shadow
and makes the words appear to float above the background.
Without the drop shadow the words blend more easily
into the background and are more difficult to read.
But with the drop shadow, the words stand out
from the background and are easier to read.
Lastly, let's talk about the length of the videos.
One of the pioneers of flipping, Jon Bergman,
has a rule of thumb that they should be
approximately 1 - 1.5 minutes per grade level.
Which is a fine place to start.
But I have, for example,
a 63 minute video and a 59 second video
that are each near the top in my viewer statistics.
This is where you come in.
You have the experience and you know your subject material.
And you can learn what the appropriate length should be.
Certainly they should be shorter than longer.
However, don't take the time to go through the video
and cut out every time you pause to take a breath.
Remember, your students are trying to learn from the video,
and if you move too quickly,
they won't have time to process the information.
- Um, I, can you do that? I didn't get that.
- Try to make your videos as short as possible,
while speaking at a normal pace
and allowing time for you and your students to breathe.
- Okay, I get it.
- In summary, turn off your phone,
silence extraneous noises,
post a do not disturb sign,
make sure you are actually recording,
look in a mirror, check your video background,
center yourself, remain rather stationary,
make sure your text is legible,
and make the video as short as possible
while speaking at a normal pace.
Those are my basics of making engaging flipping videos.
I do have two other videos
about how to make engaging flipping videos.
My list of eight don'ts and my list of nine dos
when making engaging flipping videos.
You can enjoy those if you would like.
Thank you very much for learning with me today,
I enjoyed learning with you.
- How did we not see this sign on the door?
- I don't know, it must have been all those weird fonts.
(both laughing)
He can edit.