We’re so excited for our community to tune in to your upcoming talk at #PSEWEB 2021. To help you prepare, we’ve pulled together some tips to get you ready for filming.

Scripting

Avoid using acronyms. While many viewers will be familiar with terminology from our industry, some terms may not make sense to others.

If possible, try not to read or use a script — it’s obvious to the viewer, and can come across as disingenuous. If you need prompts, keep them near your camera, but speak from what you know! It will sound more natural. Teleprompter apps are another option, to have on a tablet or phone close by. Some options include:

1. PromptSmart (free and paid, iOS)
2. Teleprompter (free and paid, iOS)
3. A Prompter for Android (free and paid, Android)

Attire

It’s best to avoid patterns and graphics, and try to wear solid colours. Wear something that you’re comfortable in, that also won’t interfere with your audio.

Tools to use

There are a few approaches you might take to record your presentation. The simplest way would be to set up your phone or a tablet to record. You’ll need to edit this together with any slide deck or visual aids you might want to include. Another option is to present over video chat to a friend or colleague using an app like Zoom or mmhmm. We also recommend looking into Loom, especially if you’ll be showing apps on your computer or doing live demos.

There are a number of free and paid tools you can use to edit your presentation. Here are some of our favourites:

1. iMovie (free, Mac, iOS)
2. Adobe Premiere (paid, Mac and Windows)
3. Lightworks (free, Mac, Windows, Linux)
4. Hitfilm Express (free, Mac, Windows)

Video framing 

When setting up your recording space, first things first — double check that your background is presentable and not too cluttered!

Identify how you’d like to be framed, and keep things consistent. Your head, shoulders and ideally chest should be in frame, keeping in mind the rule of thirds. Make sure you’re looking into the camera.

If you’re unsure about how something may look, film a test sequence and play it back for yourself to ensure there aren’t any audio or visual glitches.

Looking for more guidance on how to set up your framing? Here’s a great example from Madeline Taylor, filmed for last year’s #PSEWEB.

Lighting

Aim for as much natural light in the room as possible! Avoid fluorescent lighting, and open all your blinds and curtains. Make sure the light sources are pointed towards you, and avoid having light (such as windows) directly behind you, as this can cause silhouetting. Mornings and later afternoons are ideal times to shoot.

If you don’t have a lot of light at your disposal, a ring light or similar is a good investment. Or, go the DIY route and use a three-point lighting setup with lighting options in your space, aiming for a key light, fill light and back light.