Guide on creating your own media
Practicing and Rehearsing
- Write Down Your Thoughts - Practice your presentation in front of a mirror.
- Observe your facial expressions, relax and be yourself.
- Pretend that you are talking directly to a person.
- Avoid making hand gestures and head movements.
- Be Prepared and Rehearsed - Recording a video should take (approx.15 minutes).
- Write out and rehearse your words.
- Time the length of your video, there is a time limit of two minutes or less.
- Make a poster board teleprompter, if you can not memorize the dialogue.
- Recite your presentation, until you are ready and feel comfortable.
Audio and Sound
- Unwanted Noise - Check for background noises such as coughing, closing doors, talking, or car horns.
- Reducing Echo - When choosing a room select a location that that has carpeting, drapes or bookshelves and get as close to the microphone as you can.
- Internal Microphones - When using your cameras internal microphone to record video.
- Verify the distance from the camera is no more than 3-5 feet.
- Verify the camera is stationary or you risk creating noise in your recording.
- Speak loud and clear, your voice is competing with the white noise in the room.
- External Microphone - Consider using an external microphone. Many cameras have an ext. mic input. Inexpensive microphones can be purchased at your local electronics store.
- Recording Audio - When using your cameras internal microphone to record an audio for your Talking Resume.
- Verify the distance from the camera is less than one foot.
- Verify the camera is stationary and record your audio presentation in video format.
- Audio Disclaimer - A video recording with poor audio quality will adversely effect the final audio sound rendered.(i.e. If your audio is noisy, there is not a lot that can be done to fix it.)
Selecting the Room
- Background - Solid colors work best. Make sure you don't blend in with your background.
- Windows - Avoid direct sunlight by not sitting in front of windows. If this is not possible, eliminate the light by hanging something solid over the window.
Camera Placement
- Stay centered - on the camera screen.
- Look and talk to the camera as though you were talking directly to a person.
- Avoid making hand gestures and head movements.
- Center yourself in the camera frame from the waist up.
- Use a Tripod - Keep the camera on a level area to avoid bouncing and image streaking.
- Do not hold the camera - If a tripod is not available, place your camera on a stack of books or boxes.
Lighting and Background
- Lighting - Make sure you have enough lighting, and adjust lights to remove shadows.
- After you finished recording, review your video.
- Verify your video meets the two-minute of less time requirement.
- Verify sound, lighting and background are correct. We want to see and hear you clearly.
Video Disclaimer - A video recording with poor video quality will adversely effect the final video rendered.
(i.e. If your RAW video is not recorded correctly at the beginning, there is not a lot that can be done to fix it.)
How to Portray Yourself on Camera
- Video Introductions - are a "meet & greet"
- Your dialogue should be conducted in a straight forward manner, (i.e. sit or standstill and deliver your pitch).
- Keep editing seamless. Don't leave a lot of dead space between speaking from one line to the next.
- Record as many times as you need until you get it right.