Here are some tips for shooting your Showcase video.
First and foremost, Performance is most important above all other things. Audiences are now accustomed to the reality of "Zoom" recordings, so don't be concerned over the limitations in your presentation - focus on your performance and the audience will overlook everything else. You are also encouraged to work within your limitations as directed by your instructors.
Many of you have access to different options for capturing video, use the tools you are most comfortable with. Shooting with a webcam or a smartphone you may be tempted to use the front facing camera or have a preview on screen of what you are doing. While this helps make sure that you stay within frame, keep in mind where you are looking during the performance. If you are supposed to be talking to the audience, look directly at the camera, not the screen. Rear facing cameras on phones are often much higher quality as well, but sometimes the improvement is negligible. If you have a stand for your phone, you can also use screen sharing software to see what your phone is capturing on your computer, or a mirror behind the phone can work too.
When deciding where to position your camera, think about everything the camera sees and what you want your audience to see vs what you don't want them to see. Shooting in your bedroom? Is your bed made and do you have dirty clothes or garbage on the floor? Is that aligned with your character? Where you are positioned in the frame is important. If you are talking to someone outside of the frame, give your self some space in the frame to "look into", and typically heads are placed higher in the frame. Heads that are dead centre with empty space on top looks like a waste of space.
You may not have many lighting options, but if you can find a location where you can move either yourself or the camera to get the best results. Lighting should be in front of you, not behind you. And usually, the light should be behind the camera. Even a simple lamp repositioned in your room can help immensely, but keep in mind that electric lights and natural daylight have different colours, so usually picking one or the other is best, not both.
For this project, any on board audio capture you have should suffice and will make things easier later. Audio will be cleaned up by Emi Paternostro before submitting, but the better the audio is to begin with the better. Finding a quiet space that's not near a source of noise (like a heater or fridge) is best. If you do shut off a device, put your phone or keys in or on it to remind yourself to turn it back on. Bare flat walls and floors will impact your audio the most. If you can place a rug on the floor if it's a hard surface and hang/tape blankets to the wall, this will drastically improve things. If you already have a bookcase or shelving that breaks up the flat wall, this will suffice, no need to hang a blanket over it. It is possible to use your smart phone to capture audio separately and up close if you are going to be far from the camera (place it in a front pocket or near you), but you will have to line it up in video software later. Clapping on camera to give a sync reference can help, and some software can line up separately captured audio automatically.
While it might seem practical to start recording and perform immediately, and also stop capturing immediately after you are done - it is best to give some "handles" or buffer for your performance. Begin your capture, count to 3 slowly in your head, then perform. When your performance is done, wait 3 seconds before stopping the capture. I also find it best to keep rolling if you make a mistake. You can restart your performance entirely, or you can re-start from just before your error and edit that out after. This kind of "jump cut" style has become common practice with vlogs, so if that's the style you're going for it could work well.
Each student is expected to do their own editing for these videos. If you are comfortable with Adobe Premiere, every student has access to it for free through https://apps.sheridancollege.ca, otherwise Mac/iOS users can use iMovie and Windows users can use Windows Movie Maker, both which are capable and easy to use, and most importantly free. DaVinci Resolve is also a powerful and free editing tool. Follow your instructor's guidance, but for the most part, you are simply defining the start and end points for your performance. Titles, transitions and other fancy effects are not needed (and will probably distract from your performance).
Every student will receive a unique link to a One Drive "dropbox" to upload their performances. They will be cleaned up and submitted on your behalf to the New Generations showcase.
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