Before getting to the recording stage of creating your course, you might have though “It’s
simple, just turn the camera on and read my script.”
But now that you’ve actually gotten into it, you’re realizing it’s a lot more involved.
You’ve got to set up your camera, microphone, lights, a TelePrompTer, make sure your files
are organized, software, and what if you mess up?
Or the camera is out of focus?
Or your hair is bad?… before it’s all said and done, it can feel a lot more complicated
and intimidating.
In this video I want to help you take what can be a complex process and simplify it so
you can feel confident with your setup and record your course with ease.
Let’s get into it
Hello creators, I’m Ben Toalson from Podia where we empower creators to make a living
doing what they love.
Once you’ve outlined and scripted your course, it’s time to talk to your camera and make
it real.
If you haven’t outlined or scripted your course yet, check out these videos first so
you can set yourself up for success in this step of the process.
We’re going take the recording process and break it down into 3 distinct parts: Pre-work,
Setup, and Filming.
Let’s talk about pre-work first.
Pre-work
Some of the most important work actually starts before we turn the camera on.
For our pre-work, we’re going to look at 3 things:
Branding When you hear the word “branding,” you
might think of a logo, or colors, but a brand is much more than that.
Believe it or not, your course has a brand, even if you haven’t given it one.
The course subject, your delivery method, the sales page for the course, any social
media marketing you’ve done, even your style of writing or speaking, all become a part
of how your students perceive you, and that is your brand.
Large companies spend a LOT of money trying to purposefully shape this.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money but there are some things you can do to be intentional
about shaping your brand.
Try to think about your student’s experience.
Look at the setting where you plan to record.
Maybe even look at what you plan to wear.
Is there anything that doesn’t fit the brand you’re trying to put forth, or that might
distract your student and keep them from being able to focus?
Most of the time your natural setting and your personal style will fit perfectly with
your course material, but it’s good to give this some consideration before you turn the
camera on.
File organization Think about how you’ll organize your course.
If you’ve completed the Course outline template, you already have a great framework for how
you’ll structure your folders and files.
The more organized you can be in the early stages, the easier you’ll make it for yourself
in the future when it’s time to edit and publish your course.
I recommend a file hierarchy that follows this structure: Course title>Module Name>Lesson
Name>.
And then name your file with the same information like this [course-title_module-name_lesson-name.file]
You may not have created any files just yet, but now you’ve got an organized file system
to put everything into as you record.
A note here about files, make sure you’ve got the storage you need on your computer
and other storage media for your cameras, so you’ve got everything you need to roll
once you’ve set up.
Prep for delivery In our video about scripting, we covered this
step, but in case you haven’t already done so, make sure your script is properly formatted
and easy to read.
If you plan to use a TelePrompTer, you’ll want to remove extra formatting and break
your script down into 1-3 sentence sections, so it’s easy for you to track your place
in the script as you record.
Setup
Now it’s time to set up your studio!
But Ben, I don’t have a studio.
From now on, I want you to think about the space where you’re recording as a studio.
The point of this is to help you be thoughtful about where you’re setting up your camera,
what’s in the background, how the space sounds, etc.
For example, [new shot in kitchen] if I set up in here, the audio is really echoey and
there might be kids running around in the background.
[kids running around in the background] This is going to be your sacred course recording
space for the duration of the recording phase, so treat it with care.
We’re going to start by setting up our camera.
If you’re familiar with some of the more advanced controls, this is a great opportunity
to check your settings and tweak things as needed, if not, that’s okay, you can just
use the automatic settings on your camera.
In a future video we’ll get into more specific camera and lighting techniques, but we’ll
keep simple for now.
There are three things you do want to check:
- Where are you in the frame?
You want to make sure you are framed properly.
If you’re zoomed too far out, you’ll look tiny on the screen and it will be difficult
for your student to stay engaged.
If you’re too close, it can be uncomfortable and, what’s that in your teeth?
You want to frame yourself from about mid-chest up and keep a bit of space above your head.
This is an optimal distance and allows hand gestures to be seen.
You also want to keep your head in the upper half of the screen, but not too close to the
top.
- Are you in focus?
You might be wondering how you can check focus and get yourself in focus at the same time.
For that, I have what I call a focus buddy.
It’s just an old mic stand that I don’t use any more.
I put it in the spot where I plan to sit or stand, make sure the focal point is aligned
with where my eyes will be, more on that in a moment, then I go to the camera and make
sure it’s in focus.
You always want to make sure that your eyes are the most focused part of your face because
when people are watching, that’s usually the part of your face they’ll watch the
most.
- How is the light?
We’re not going to set up the lights just yet, but we do want to look to see how the
natural room light is.
If there’s a lot of natural light, you can get away with adding less light.
If it’s a little darker, you’ll want to add more light.
Now that your camera is set up, it’s time to set up your lights.
For this part we are going to set up 2 to 3 lights using the three point lighting method.
Let me give you a brief overview of how 3 point lighting works.
- The first light is called your key light and it’s the brightest of the three lights.
Sometimes this is natural light coming through a window, or an artificial light that you
set up.
It’s generally set up pointing towards the subject at about a 45 degree angle.
- The second light is called the fill light and it not quite as bright as the key light.
It can also either be a natural or artificial light.
Its job is to reduce the amount of shadows on the half of your face the key light isn’t
pointing toward, while still allowing some contour and depth to you face.
It’s generally set up on the opposite side of the key light, facing the subject at a
45 degree angle.
- A third and optional light is called the rim light.
This light is usually set up above and behind the subject and puts a rim of light around
the subject to separate them from the background.
The next thing you’ll set up for your studio is the microphone.
Getting a clear recording of your voice is one of the most important aspects of recording
your video.
People can be forgiving of low video quality as long as the audio is nice and clear, but
even if your video is beautiful, bad audio can be a huge distraction.
If you’re using a desk or stand mounted mic, or a shotgun mic, you don’t necessarily
have to set it up outside of the frame.
It just depends on the aesthetic you’re going for.
If you want it out of frame, just make sure it’s as close as possible and that the diaphragm
of the microphone, the part that captures the sound, is pointed toward you.
Of course you can always use a lapel microphone as a quality, distraction free solution.
The last thing you need to set up for recording is your TelePrompTer or some tool for reading
your script as you record.
A TelePrompTer can be as complicated and expensive as a full blown TelePrompTer system, or it
can be as simple as an app on your phone or iPad pointing to a beam-splitter glass, which
is just an angled piece of glass that the camera can see through that also reflects
what is shown on your smart phone or tablet.
I’m going to talk about this method first.
You probably already have a smart phone or tablet device.
If so, you can download a TelePrompTer app that will allow you to import your script.
My favorite is prompt smart.
This app can import your script from google drive, Dropbox, and other cloud sharing services,
and also has a feature that can listen to your voice and automatically scroll your script
as you speak.
You can usually get a beam splitter glass that is compatible with a smart phone or tablet
online for only a couple hundred dollars.
Once you’ve set your TelePrompTer up, you just want to do a quick run through test to
make sure you feel comfortable and adjust the settings as needed.
You also want to check your camera again to make sure no part of the TelePrompTer is showing
up on screen.
If you don’t have a beam splitter glass, you can also set your script up on a smart
phone or tablet just above your camera’s lens.
This can be a little tricky and may make it more obvious that you’re reading from a
script, but it can still do the trick.
Filming
Once the lights, camera, microphone, and script are ready to go it’s time to press record.
Seriously, triple check and make sure you’re actually recording.
The extra practice is nice, but nothing is worse than getting several minutes into your
script before you realize you weren’t recording anything.
Ok, I don’t want to stress you out, so here are some tips for breezing through the delivery
phase of the recording.
Relax Take a couple of slow, deep breaths before
and between takes.
It’s amazing how much better and relaxed it can make you feel.
That will come through in how you speak and will also help your students feel at ease.
Also, keep some water handy and take breaks as needed to rehydrate.
Take it one section at a time.
You can always edit later, so don’t stress about getting the entire lesson recorded flawlessly.
You can do different takes of sections until you feel confident, and then move on.
Keep your student’s results in mind.
It’s easy to start focusing on how you sound, whether or not the take you just did was good
enough, or how dry your mouth is.
You’ll actually be your most relaxed when you can take your mind off of these things,
and keep in mind why you’re doing this in the first place.
Try to focus on how your course will make life better for your student.
Create separate recordings for each lesson.
Between lessons, stop and restart the recording.
This will give you a chance to review your material and take a quick break if you need
it.
This can also make it easier to organize your files once you’ve finished recording.
Don’t feel like you have to do it all at once.
It’s ideal if you have a place where you can leave everything set up, but if not, just
keep a few things in mind:
- Mark the position of your equipment so you can set everything up as it was originally.
- Capture and save your settings.
Write down any specific settings you may have set on your camera and lights.
Mark the height of your camera and light stands, and take note of the angles of your lights.
- Remember what you are wearing and take a picture of your background so you can keep
your look consistent between filming sessions.
I hope these steps make recording a breeze for you and that you’re that much closer
to sharing your course with the world.
In this video I gave you an overview of setting up your studio for recording.
Is there anything you would have liked to hear more in-depth on?
What parts of the recording process would you like me to nerd out on?
Let me know below in the comments.
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Thank you for watching and I’ll see you next time.