Recording phase

Goals and deliverables

This phase deals with recording the videos for the course. Usually it takes a few days or parts of days to record the content videos, interviews and support shots. Supporting images and footage will have to be collected. Once that is done, the film crew will need some time for editing or creating the animations. In the end we should have a number of publishable videos, including the course trailer. This phase takes roughly 9 weeks to complete, but runs simultaneously with the Writing phase and Course Page phase.

Deliverable 6: Preparing for the shooting day

Autocue

You can choose whether to use autocue or not. Although we recommend it for content video production, but the final choice is up to the speaker. Some speaker prefer it to keep closer to the text, others hate it because they lose a certain naturalness. An ESI video expert will be present to coach you during the recording on intonation, body language and content.

Clothing

Please dress somewhere between casual and formal. Do not wear completely black or white nor excessive (or reflecting) jewelry nor clothes with stripe patterns (since the camera does not like that).

If you are doing several videos, it might be good to bring an extra outfit. In most cases the camera will film you only above the waist (so your shoes will not be visible), but walking / moving shots have been agreed on the lower half needs some consideration as well. If uncertain, ask the video support team.

Tips

When you are addressing the audience, look straight into the camera.
Create points to stop and breathe. Longer pauses are fine as they can be edited out and help you clear your mind and focus on the next part.
Use variation in volume, intonation and speed of talking to make your story livelier and easier to listen to.
Use simple language and shorter sentences to make comprehension easier, especially when explaining something complicated.
Don’t expect to get it right first time, although you will notice that you will get better with practice quite quickly.

Consent

Due to GDPR regulations regarding privacy, we need consent from the people we will show in the course. For this you can use the information sheet, video consent form, and for paid volunteers also a volunteer agreement (in Dutch).

Deliverable 7: Edited videos

Some time after the shoot, the first edited videos will appear. During the first edit we ask the content team to make sure everything is in there (i.e. things said and shown). The Educational Support team will look at technical quality, such as shots, transitions, light, sound, legibility, standards, etc. We can also arrange for voice-overs through Jewel Box Sound.

The second round more focus will be on content, information-on-screen (talking head versus information overload in graphs). Further rounds (if needed) will deal with all remaining details.

We will keep track in an overview like this one.

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