Production Hints

White Balance

The camera takes a white surface in the room and mixes RGB, creating white at the proper color temperature of the room. This color corrects the camera for the lighting conditions in the room. You should do this every time the location changes. In a controlled situation, equal amounts of RGB = white.

 

Tripod

Use a tripod whenever possible. Erratic camera movement is uncomfortable to watch and detracts from the presentation.

 

Camera and Framing

Avoid wide shots, unless it is necessary to support the content. Remember the size of your final screen. A wide shot of a room full of people will lose all detail and is likely to detract from the presentation.

Try and maintain a bust shot of the presenter, revealing no lower than the belt line up. This will help eliminate excessive movement on the screen and allow your final movie to play more smoothly. Center the presenter so that their gaze is always directed at the center of the shot, looking into the screen, not out of it.

 

With multiple presenters, pull back only so far, as is necessary to capture the interaction of the presenters. In either case, single presenter or group, avoid excessive space above their heads.

Think about the purpose and function of each shot. For instance, keep in mind that extreme pullback shots will result in loss of detail in excess of what the eye alone can see. A wide shot is fine, if the purpose of the shot is to show a large group. If you want to recognizably show people within the group, come in closer.
Think composition and framing as if you were using a still camera. Try to make the whole of each shot look pleasing. If there is a lot of blank space in your shot, zoom in, or try to dress the scene with props: pictures (not glass-fronted), plants or flowers, or whatever you have. Use your creativity, but not so much that the props take over the scene. One or two objects are usually enough. When shooting outdoors try to choose an interesting or pleasant background. Don't just put your subjects in front of a wall.
Avoid framing shots that include highly reflective surfaces (i.e. glass, mirrors, etc.) When shooting indoors, do not use an uncovered window as a backdrop. It will show up unnaturally light, while the room will be unnaturally dark.
Allow some headroom, but not too much. The most important parts of a face to the camera are the eyes, cheekbones, mouth, chin and jaw, not necessarily the top of the head.
It's not always necessary, or flattering, to shoot directly at a subject. Sometimes an angle of just a few degrees, particularly off a cheekbone, is better.
Use the zoom only when necessary. On all but the best cameras, zooms tend to be jerky and unreliable. The important thing is to start with good, steady footage.
Hold each shot for a few seconds longer than instinct might tell you. Don't go darting from shot to shot. It is important to remember that the viewer won't be watching through your mind. It takes the brain a second or so to register what the eye is seeing.
To set manual focus, zoom all the way in to, or very slightly behind, the subject before focusing. Do this before capturing footage.
Avoid auto-focus. It is likely to have more trouble deciding what's important in the shot than you will, resulting in "swings" in and out of focus.
Try and keep the subjects well lit but avoid a strong backlight. Cameras have an auto iris, which will take a reading from the bright background and darken the camera signal, turning your subject into a silhouette.

 

Audio

Generally, the primary content of a presentation is in the narration. Sacrifices can be made in other areas, but the sound should always be clear. Whenever possible, mic speakers individually. A mixer is an inexpensive addition to your setup and will allow you to greatly improve your stream or recording by allowing you to use several mics at once.
With one or two presenters, use individual lavalieres, or clip on mics. Lavalieres come in both hard wired or wireless styles. Most presenters prefer wireless. The setup is easier with a wireless system, and the room is safer without having strung wires across the floor. The drawback is that batteries don't last very long and often expire without warning. For that reason it is always best to start a session with new batteries if going wireless.
With a panel discussion, PZM microphones are generally the best choice. PZMs are flat table mics, which focus on one direction. Typically one PZM can cover two to three speakers seated at a table.

 

Graphics

A few general rules for creating graphics:

In this context, graphics are designed to support the spoken narration. Keep statements brief and to the point, use them to highlight points not to define them.
Select a clear readable font. Contrast aids readability. Bold lightly colored letters will present very well over video mediums when placed on a dark background. Generally, dark letters over white should be reserved only for print use and not with video.
Add interest to your graphics by incorporating "progressive disclosure", revealing your graphic a line at a time as you "introduce" points, or highlight areas on your graphic as your refer to them.
When importing images/scans into PowerPoint, make sure your images are no larger than 7.5" x 5" at 72 dpi. If PowerPoint is forced to resize the image down, the presentation will run slower and you will not be able to export it as a real media file until the image is removed, resized, and then re-imported.

 

Streaming Graphics

If the presenter uses a PowerPoint presentation:

Your best option is to use software, which will allow you to capture the PowerPoint presentation and video directly as a streaming media file. The presentation software and the PowerPoint presentation must be loaded onto the computer that is capturing. A wireless mouse is a useful tool for the presenter if the presentation is given in front of a live audience. As an alternative, presentation software will often allow you to reassemble the program following the event.
If presentation software is not an option, it is best to convert the output of the presenting computer (using a VGA to NTSC converter) then switch between your computer image and the camera image using a "video switcher". This is a more expensive solution and a more difficult setup, but will provide a readable image to the final media file.

If the presenter is using overheads:

It is preferable to use a "video capture device", (which is basically an overhead projector which outputs video) and a switcher. If this is not possible, avoid shooting the overheads altogether, particularly if they are hand written. Fine lines on a white background don't record well, and stream worse. This can be helped somewhat by using printed overheads, with large lightly colored fonts on a dark background.

 

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