Tips, tricks and task to keep in mind when pre-recording your presentation for SKC

Symposium 2021.

LIGHTING: Make sure you have adequate lighting on your face. Direct, natural light facing you (not

behind) is recommended. Avoid overpowering overhead lighting or lights in the background.

Caution: You may need to balance the decision of too much direct light (from a lamp, window, or

computer screen) if you are wearing glasses to avoid a large glare.

POSITIONING: The best position is to be eye-level with the camera. Don’t just angle your computer

upward. If possible, place a stack of books under your laptop and position within the frame to

capture your forehead, left shoulder, and right shoulder. If you have multiple monitors, make sure

you are primarily using and looking at the display with the camera. Be sure to look at the

camera while you are presenting, not at yourself.

AUDIO: Use a good set of headphones to capture the highest-quality sound, NOT the

microphone built into your desktop or laptop. Minimize background noise such as pets, tv, music,

etc. Turn your device notifications/ringtones to silent. Test your audio with a quick recording, and

adjust your microphone settings so your voice sounds clear.

APPEARANCE: Dress in simple, professional attire. Avoid large and distracting jewelry and

accessories. Minimize the amount of clutter in the background; try to find a spot with the least

amount of clutter (laundry baskets, stacks of paper, posters, etc.) in the frame.

COMFORT: Have a glass of water readily accessible. Find a comfortable chair to avoid

fidgeting during the presentation.

HUMANIZE IT: Here’s where your practice comes in. Don’t be overly academic.

Feel free to crack some jokes, smile, and make it feel genuine. Don't just read from the

slides. And RELAX!

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE: Do a complete dry-run so you feel comfortable recording. This will also help you stay within the designated time constraints.

MISCELLANEOUS: If using a laptop, make sure your computer is charged (best to just leave the

charging cable in). If using Zoom for recording discussions, ensure your display name is professional.

We recommend first and last name; prefixes and titles are optional.

@

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Presentation Recording Checklist

Contents Equipment ............................................................................................................................................................ 1

Camera position and eye line ................................................................................................................................. 2

Lighting ................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Audio .................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Background ........................................................................................................................................................... 4

Dress rehearsal ..................................................................................................................................................... 5

Record your presentation with presenter video using Zoom ................................................................................... 5

Hardware Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 9

Additional resources ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Equipment

□ Conduct an equipment check: Gather and confirm that you have functioning, quality equipment

□ Camera: Use a computer webcam.

□ Microphone: Use a decent, quality USB headset or tabletop microphone (Logitech is a reliable, good quality

brand).

Pro tip: Not all built-in computer microphones are created equal. Make sure you have a microphone that will capture

clear, audible sound.

OR

□ Smartphone

If you don’t have a computer webcam or microphone, as an alternative you can use a smartphone either on a tripod

or propped and stationary to record your video. See the Additional Resources section at the end of this guide.

Pro tip: Do not record with a laptop held on your lap or with someone holding a camera, as the captured footage will

bounce or drift.

2

□ Timer or stopwatch

Use a smartphone timer, kitchen timer, or stopwatch to keep an eye on your presentation timing and ensure it falls

within the designated time limit. Rerecord if your presentation runs over.

Camera position and eye line

□ Adjust camera height to eye level

Raise or lower the camera to record you straight on; make sure it isn’t angled up or down. A small stack of books

comes in handy for this purpose.

□ Look into the camera’s “eye”

The natural impulse is to watch yourself onscreen while you’re presenting. Looking up from time to time directly into

the camera’s lens will establish the sense of eye contact and active connection with your audience.

□ Sit arm’s length from camera

The focal length of webcams is optimized for a user sitting at their desk in front of a camera. Do not sit so far away

that you are dwarfed by the room and the details of your face get lost.

□ Frame your head and shoulders

Position yourself close enough to the camera such that your head and shoulders fit within the frame of the screen with

some room to spare around your figure—don’t sit back so far that you are proportionally small or so near that the top

of your head gets cut off.

3

Lighting

□ Light your face

Bad lighting - bright window behind:

Poor lighting: Well lit:

□ Adjust monitor brightness to minimize eyeglasses glare

4

Audio

□ Quiet on the set!

□ Use a good microphone

Background

□ Check the rear view

5

Dress rehearsal

□ Make and review a test recording

Watch your test recording through while you review the checklist

• Video – is the picture clear?

• Audio – is the sound clear and is the volume good without distortion? Is there any background or ambient room

noise that distracts from, interferes with, or muffles the sound of your voice?

• Light – is your face well illuminated and the main focal subject? Ideal light is either natural indirect daylight from

a window or cool artificial light. The light should come from in front of you or slightly off to one side. Make sure

there are no bright windows or light behind you.

• Watch your timing and adjust if you’re running over. • Troubleshoot and adjust your setup if your presentation video or audio is poor quality.

Record your presentation video using Zoom □ Visit zoom.us in a web browser.

□ Create a Zoom account – either free or licensed will work.

□ Download and install the Zoom desktop app for Mac or Windows at zoom.us/download.

□ Open and sign into the Zoom desktop app.

□ Select New Meeting.

□ Select either Join with Computer Audio or Phone Call to select your microphone input.

□Make Zoom window full screen.

□ Choose Share Screen and select a window to show your slide presentation.

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□Position and resize speaker video in lower right hand corner so that it does not obscure any of your slide content.

□Make presentation full screen and enter presentation display mode.

□ Choose Record on this Computer from the More… dropdown in the Zoom controls at the top of the screen.

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□ Record your presentation, keeping an eye on your time. Rerecord if your presentation runs longer than the allotted time.

□ Choose Stop Recording from the More… dropdown in the Zoom controls at the top of the screen.

□ Exit your presentation.

□ Choose Stop Sharing from the Zoom controls at the top of the screen.

Choose End, End Meeting for All in the lower right hand corner.

□ Zoom will convert the meeting recording into an MP4 video file, named zoom_0.mp4. If you make multiple recordings, the files will be named sequentially – zoom_0.mp4, zoom_1.mp4, zoom_2.mp4, and so on.

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Macintosh: Windows:

Rename your recording file to your name + “SKCS 2021” so that it is identifiable to symposium secretariat.

Zoom will automatically save the recording in a folder the program automatically creates and opens to view

upon completion. We recommend that you move or copy the recording to you desktop so you can find it

easily.

Congratulations, your recording is now ready for uploading to the 20th SKC Symposium 2021 Virtual platform!

Hardware Recommendations

• Logitech USB Headset H390 with Noise Cancelling Mic

• Logitech Labtec Desktop Microphone 600

• Logitech Brio Ultra HD Pro Webcam

• Logitech C930E Webcam

Additional resources

• Zoom: Recording a Zoom Meeting (video)

• Zoom: Joining & Configuring Audio & video (video)

• Zoom help center • Zoom: Getting Started • Zoom: Virtual Background

You can use official background of symposium if you wish.