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.