Production
This can be either the most fun or tedious stage of your journey. If you don't have a camera other than a web cam, ask a friend if you can borrow theirs. If they don't have one, ask if they have friends who own one. If all hope is lost, read the last paragraph of the production phase. Once you have your camera, see if you have or can get a tripod. This will make everything much easier. All you have to do now is follow your plans that you have already made. Of course I can add a few tips to this.
1. Make sure your location is properly lit. You don't want it to be too dark. As long as there is enough light, your camera should be able to adjust and make your shot look good. Look below for tips using manual controls on a camera.
2. Pick the right angles. Of course there is no right or wrong angle but try to pick unique angles. Angles that are hard to get are generally the best and most striking.
3. Frame your body correctly. It is very hard to learn if your hands are going out of frame constantly. Make sure people can see what you are doing. If you can only see the backs of your hands and nothing else, the viewer will become very annoyed and could possibly write a mean review thus driving away potential buyers.
4. Make sure your hands are in focus. Out of focus shots are unappealing and makes the learning experience harder.
5. Make sure you have enough shots. More is better than less. The more video you get, the more you can use later. Also make sure you are using the highest resolution possible. 1280x720 is great and 1920x1080 is even better but just try to get the absolute highest
6. Make sure you are not back-lit. This means a strong light source is behind you and your body is darker than the background. You camera will either expose for the light and make you completely black or keep your body exposed and the background blown out and white. To avoid this, make sure the light is lighting your hands and not your back.
7. When shooting your explanation use different angles and speak loud and clear.
Web cams. If you only have a web cam and have no access to a camera, use it. Just put as much light as you can and try to get the best background possible. As long as you have a good product, you will do fine.
Using manual controls. If you are using a DSLR or camera that has manual controls where you can change the aperture, shutter speed and iso separately. Set the frame rate at 24 fps for the performance and 60fps for the explanation. If you cannot change the frame rate, don’t panic. It isn’t a huge deal. As for aperture, try not to open it as wide as possible so that more of you will be in focus and the image will be slightly sharper. If you are in low light, go ahead and open the aperture. For shutter speed, try to double the frame rate. If you don’t know the frames per second, it is likely 30fps. Therefore, set the shutter speed to 1/60. Lastly, iso. Set this to what is necessary but don’t go above 1600.
Those are some tips. I hope you use them and continue reading part 3: Post-Production
This can be either the most fun or tedious stage of your journey. If you don't have a camera other than a web cam, ask a friend if you can borrow theirs. If they don't have one, ask if they have friends who own one. If all hope is lost, read the last paragraph of the production phase. Once you have your camera, see if you have or can get a tripod. This will make everything much easier. All you have to do now is follow your plans that you have already made. Of course I can add a few tips to this.
1. Make sure your location is properly lit. You don't want it to be too dark. As long as there is enough light, your camera should be able to adjust and make your shot look good. Look below for tips using manual controls on a camera.
2. Pick the right angles. Of course there is no right or wrong angle but try to pick unique angles. Angles that are hard to get are generally the best and most striking.
3. Frame your body correctly. It is very hard to learn if your hands are going out of frame constantly. Make sure people can see what you are doing. If you can only see the backs of your hands and nothing else, the viewer will become very annoyed and could possibly write a mean review thus driving away potential buyers.
4. Make sure your hands are in focus. Out of focus shots are unappealing and makes the learning experience harder.
5. Make sure you have enough shots. More is better than less. The more video you get, the more you can use later. Also make sure you are using the highest resolution possible. 1280x720 is great and 1920x1080 is even better but just try to get the absolute highest
6. Make sure you are not back-lit. This means a strong light source is behind you and your body is darker than the background. You camera will either expose for the light and make you completely black or keep your body exposed and the background blown out and white. To avoid this, make sure the light is lighting your hands and not your back.
7. When shooting your explanation use different angles and speak loud and clear.
Web cams. If you only have a web cam and have no access to a camera, use it. Just put as much light as you can and try to get the best background possible. As long as you have a good product, you will do fine.
Using manual controls. If you are using a DSLR or camera that has manual controls where you can change the aperture, shutter speed and iso separately. Set the frame rate at 24 fps for the performance and 60fps for the explanation. If you cannot change the frame rate, don’t panic. It isn’t a huge deal. As for aperture, try not to open it as wide as possible so that more of you will be in focus and the image will be slightly sharper. If you are in low light, go ahead and open the aperture. For shutter speed, try to double the frame rate. If you don’t know the frames per second, it is likely 30fps. Therefore, set the shutter speed to 1/60. Lastly, iso. Set this to what is necessary but don’t go above 1600.
Those are some tips. I hope you use them and continue reading part 3: Post-Production