Record a live action video

Step 1: Script and plan

Scripting your video before you film it can help you save a lot of time. Here are some considerations:

• List a few bullet points and improvise around them, rather than trying to memorise or read off a script.  
• Find images or other footage to show during the edit if you wish to read a script word for word. This is so the audience isn’t watching you read from the paper. 
• Record yourself speaking where possible. Audiences (and students) tend to engage best when they can see the person they’re speaking to. You could record the intro and outro with yourself speaking to camera, then cut to your slides or images while you read the middle.
• Create a shot list to help you keep track of your recording progress if you’re planning a more advanced shoot with multiple shots and locations. It’s also a good idea to edit in relevant images and footage to keep your video engaging. If you’re talking about a monkey, show a picture of a monkey, etc. 

Step 2: Choose a location

Next, you need to find a location to shoot. Here are a few things to look out for to get the 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?
• Be aware of the composition of your shot. Tidy your background and if you’re recording via a laptop, consider raising it to eye level for a more flattering shot.

Step 3: Film

Now it’s time for the fun part – filming! Here are a few things to consider before you hit record. 

Lighting

While we do want windows and other sources of natural light, we don’t want to shoot against the light. Doing so will make the subject look dark and silhouetted, as shown in the example below. Try positioning yourself towards your light source, as this will brighten you up for the camera.

Aspect ratio

If you’re recording with a mobile device, it’s important that you hold your device horizontally (landscape) and not vertically (portrait). Holding it vertically will give you those black bars on the side as shown below which isn’t ideal.

Audio

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 your device is close. The further away you are, the worse your audio will be. Be aware of fans and loud air conditioning as well. If you’d like to borrow a microphone or get some extra assistance, contact LX.lab.

Step 4: Post Production

Once you’ve completed shooting, it’s time to edit. If you just need a simple trim from the start or end of your video, you can do so in either Kaltura or Apple QuickTime. However, if you need to do proper edits, here is our advice for deciding which program to use. 

• Apple users: iMovie comes pre-installed on your iMac or MacBook.
• PC/Windows users: Video Editor comes pre-installed. Clipchamp is also a good option.
• If you’ve already uploaded your video to Kaltura, you can make additional edits in Kaltura Editor.  
• For multi-track editing, another option is the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of apps. For beginners, we recommend Adobe Rush. For more advanced users, we recommend Adobe Premiere Pro. Please note that access to Adobe Creative Cloud depends on your faculty. You can request a license via ServiceConnect. The LX Media Space includes an Edit Suite with Adobe Premiere Pro available, as well as face-to-face training. Book a session via ServiceConnect.

If you would like to bring more production value to your project, we recommend you download the UTS motion graphics to help brand your video. You can learn more about them in the resource Use UTS branding, graphics and templates.

Step 5: Upload

Once you have recorded your video, upload it to Kaltura. Kaltura is the university’s supported media platform.

Quick instructions for uploading a video to Kaltura:

1. Navigate to My Media on the left of your Canvas dashboard.
2. Select ‘Add New’ and then ‘Media Upload’.
3. Select ‘Choose a file to upload’ and find your video file.
4. Enter the appropriate video details before selecting ‘Save’.

Step 6: Caption and transcribe

Adding captions and transcripts to videos is an easy way to make your subject inclusive and accessible. Kaltura will automatically caption your video, and you can review and edit the captions for accuracy.

Quick instructions for using captions and transcripts in Kaltura:

1. Navigate to My Media on the left of your Canvas dashboard and select your video.
2. Open the Actions menu (you might need to scroll down to find it) and select ‘+ Caption & Enrich’.
3. Select the pencil icon to open the Closed Captions Editor. Edit your captions as needed.
4. Save any changes.

A transcript can easily be downloaded via Kaltura: Make a Kaltura video transcript available in Canvas 

Step 7: Add to Canvas

The last step is to embed your video in Canvas.

Quick instructions for embedding a video in Canvas:

1. Navigate to the page where you want to embed the video and select ‘Edit’.
2. Place the cursor in the part of the page where you want the video.
3. Select the Kaltura icon from the toolbar (you might find this in the Apps icon menu).
4. Select your video.