How To Look Into A Camera While Reading A Script
Eye Contact! How to look at the photographic camera, not my notes on the screen...
Source: https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-replay/eye-contact-how-to-look-at-the-camera-not-my-notes-on-the-screen
Posted by: mcelfreshvies1948.blogspot.com
nine Replies
Howdy Meryem!
I think it actually depends upon the type of video that yous're producing. Given that we're in the Replay forum I'll approach it from that context.
I'g recording a 30 2d introduction caput shot video
If y'all're creating a relatively long live shot where you're engaging the camera/audience, and then y'all accept a few options. (1) You can memorize and rehearse your script until it becomes natural. (2) You can go the teleprompter route. (iii) You can memorize and rehearse your script but also keep information technology (or some bullet points) on the screen to guide you lot if y'all become stuck. I've done all iii approaches and information technology really comes downward to how time sensitive the job is. If I know I accept a lot of videos to shoot and they have to happen fast, I use a teleprompter. It takes a little more time upfront, but in the long run it saves time because I can blast the video in ane or two takes.
But teleprompters can be plush, and then selection #3 can be a good compromise. You rehearse your script, but and so proceed some brief bullets onscreen to guide you lot. Yous could even go along the bullets in ii places (say, on screen to the lower left of your webcam and then on an iPad placed to the upper right). This allows you to glance in 2 different directions and makes it less obvious that you're using notes. However, the central to pulling this off is only needing to glance on occasion (meaning you've rehearsed your script a bit).
I'g describing something on my screen with some live components
This type of video is a lot easier! If you lot're doing just a brief introduction live and so moving to describe things on your screen (say, a software walk through), then you can just memorize the kickoff ten-15 seconds of what you want to say and move to the screen content while y'all're reading your script. And Replay makes it easy to edit later on the recording so you can cut away to the screen content at any time!
Blend The Ii
And this actually brings up another potential avenue. Permit's say that you have to practise a alive introduction but aren't feeling comfortable with doing an entire alive shot. You lot could take some visual (class objectives, what we'll cover, some imagery, etc.) that you can cut to. So you showtime off with a super energetic opening ten-fifteen seconds where yous introduce yourself and the topic (yous're looking at the camera the entire time), then you offset reading from your script. At the stop, y'all look back to the photographic camera for the last 10 seconds. When you go to edit in Replay, you lot can cut to the imagery while you're reading the script. This way the viewer doesn't know that you're not looking at the camera the entire fourth dimension. Just when they see you on camera, you lot are!
I promise this helps a little bit. If y'all'd similar a couple samples, merely let me know and I can mock something upwards for you lot!
Mike
Mike, I'm and then glad y'all replied! I always notice your impressive center contact when you are presumably just looking at your webcam.
I'k working with an SME who needs to make videos for an online college environment. I'g having fits getting consistent, or even intermittent eye contact with the camera. He knows his script, and has it practically memorized. But in the absenteeism of actual students to connect with, he will look at those notes.
Is there a fox to get a not-thespian to pretend to be talking to people?
Meryem,
Can you provide some context? How long is the instructor on camera? Is he presenting some ready of data? Or is he simply shooting introduction videos before launching the student into a larger learning module?
Mike
PS. The easiest answer is to just take his notes away! ;)
Howdy Meryem! Is there anyone else present when he's recording? The pull a fast one on could be to take someone standing behind the photographic camera he can brand heart contact with. Just an thought!
Some context: In a synchronous classroom environment, my SME would present this lecture material in an hr. For the online altitude-learning environment I congenital a slide deck, transcripted his lecture, and made tight script that accomplishes the lecture in virtually 10 minutes. The DL class is heavy on words and reading, and this is an endeavor to add visual and inter-personal interest.
Mike, I'd love to ditch the script, but that script is my tool to keep the fourth dimension down. Plus, without the script, it is "um... um... um..." Those ums are piece of cake to edit out in audio, but impossible for me to cutting in video. Hence, the script.
For my latest attempt (which nosotros are using, but I hate it) I placed the script on another screen behind my webcam, and scrolled the script simply a couple lines at a time just above the camera. So my SME was reading information technology, looking up instead of down. But information technology is obvious in the video that he is looking above the camera.
Thanks, TD, for your suggestion. I've tried positioning myself at eyeball level simply behind the camera lens. Just the SME will glance at me only briefly, and then await back to his script. He volition glance at me A LOT, but always just a flicker. He is trying, but this is not his expertise at all.
More context: This problem has prevented me from recording in Replay. I am recording in other software and assembling the slides plus SME-in-the-corner via Replay. My finished production has more often than not disembodied vocalisation, and very little of the SME'southward confront, because of the eye contact problem.
I see this lilliputian teleprompter product on YouTube, but the company appears to be out of business. https://youtu.be/R-KoUymikYA Great gizmo. Anyone utilise something like this? Simply mirrors and plastic, apparently.
Meryem,
If the goal is to have an end product be a video, and you're using Replay, I wonder if it doesn't make more sense to accept the SME'southward abilities for where they're at right now and work with it.
For example, take the SME do a relaxed, unscripted, 10-xx 2d live intro where he'south looking at the photographic camera. And then, insert your slides (as .pngs) into Replay and get full screen on the slides for the bulk of the presentation. If the slides are heavy on imagery, so information technology won't exist as jarring as merely looking at the text on slides.
Y'all could and so choose 2 or 3 points where the SME addresses the camera (say, for super important topic points) for effectually 10 - 20 seconds each. You'd cut to him (mix) for those piffling blurbs, but and so return back to the slides.
This way, the SME is but responsible for really "knowing" and presenting the content to the camera for 2 or 3 instances throughout the video.
And instead of doing 1 long take, break the unabridged affair upwards into pieces and splice together at the end:
1. Alive Intro
2. Slides
3. Live
4. Slides
5. Live
vi. Slides
7. Live Endmost
1 piece of communication....
10 minutes on photographic camera can be daunting. When I offset started creating online content for my students I focused on utilizing tools like Articulate Presenter and doing audio podcasts. None of these required me to exist on camera, but they helped build my conviction and "phonation".
Eventually I did start doing live portions, just it was however pretty rough. I recently watched some of the first on-camera recordings I created for my online courses and they're painful to watch. My presentation style was lethargic and stilted. I improved, just it took fourth dimension and repetition.
You might find that by going with a composite approach for your SME that he's able to relax and have fun with the material. seven piddling chunks is often easier to approach than 1 large 1.
Mike
This is splendid perspective. Thanks.