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G’day! I’m Matt, the Educational Media Producer from IML. These days it’s so easy for anyone to shoot a video on a phone or tablet. In this post, we’ll go over a few quick tips & tricks to help you make your video as good as possible!

Step 1: Scripting & planning

It’s best to plan your video before shooting it to help save you time.

However, it can be really boring for an audience to watch you read off a paper. Also, if you try and place a sheet near the camera, it may look like you’re reading. So instead, write down some key notes in point form and improvise your way through the rest. It may require some practise, but it will make your video more engaging!

If you’re planning to use a fancy editing program later on, you can also use this opportunity to create a shot list by taking note of anything else you can film that is brought up during the script. For example, if you talk about a water bottle, you should also go film that water bottle too!

Script Writing

Step 2: Choosing a location

Next, you need to find a location to shoot. Here’s a few things to look out for perfect spot:

  • Find a quiet place. Be aware of people nearby, traffic and minor things like air conditioning.
  • Natural light is very helpful. Find a big window if possible!
  • Schedule – be sure to check if the same conditions upon checking it out will apply to when you’re shooting. It may be quiet now, but will it be later?36uts3614_1


Step 3.1: Filming

Now it’s time for the fun part – filming!
The first thing you want to do is hold your device horizontally and not vertically. Holding it vertically will give you those black bars on the side as shown below which isn’t ideal.

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Secondly, while we do want windows and other sources of natural light, we don’t want to shoot against it as doing so will make the subject look dark and silhouetted as shown in the example below.

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Now finally we can start shooting! However, while most devices will keep your subject in focus, there’s one more thing we can do to ensure it. Find the face of your subject and hold your finger over it for a few seconds. This should activate the AF/AE on most devices and will hold focus on that particular spot. This should work on all apple devices and most android devices as well.

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Step 3.2: Audio

But wait! We’re not done yet! Making sure your audio is good is just as important, if not more important than the visuals! Be sure you’re in a quiet space, and make sure the device you’re using is close to your subject. The further away you are, the worse your audio will be! If you’d like to borrow a microphone or get some extra assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Step 4: Post Production

Once you’ve completed shooting, it’s now time to edit! And there’s a few free options as well. For Apple users, iMovie is a great and easy to recommend program. For those on a PC, Windows Movie Maker is no longer supported, but you can find some alternative options here. Finally, if you’re planning to upload via Kaltura – there are editing options built right into the platform!

Got more questions? Why not contact us for support here and one of our staff from the LX.Lab will be more than happy to give support.

This post is adapted from a presentation for the LX.lab Technology Showcase, part of the 2018 Casual Academics Conference. Check out more resources from the Technology Showcase here.

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