Creating videos is almost always a crucial element, regardless of the type of online course you wish to develop. This guide outlines the essential tools and key considerations for recording your own videos.
Before you start creating videos, you are probably wondering what equipment you need. There is no perfect equipment; it mainly depends on your budget.
With your smartphone, you already have a powerful camera in your pocket. Affordable smartphone tripods are available on the market, allowing you to easily set up your device and start recording immediately.
While your smartphone's microphone can handle audio recording, the sound quality deteriorates as you move further away from the device. The room's acoustics and your smartphone's microphone quality also impact the sound. Investing in a high-quality microphone can significantly improve your video's audio. A cost-effective yet impactful choice is a lavalier microphone, a small clip-on mic that attaches to your shirt collar.
If you prefer using a dedicated camera, there are reliable options across various price ranges. For most purposes, a camera that records in High Definition (HD), or FullHD (1080p) with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, is sufficient. Many affordable cameras offer this feature. For higher quality, you might consider a camera capable of recording 4K footage, though this requires more storage and processing power, making post-production more demanding.
Using two cameras, or a camera plus a smartphone, allows you to record from multiple perspectives. This adds variety to your final video and simplifies the editing process by enabling seamless transitions between different angles.
Beyond video and audio recording devices, consider the lighting setup for your scene, as it significantly impacts video quality. Investing in good lighting is worthwhile. For starters, one or two simple softboxes provide pleasant, soft, and even light and are relatively inexpensive.
Another effective option is ring lights. They are easy to set up and illuminate your face evenly. However, if you wear glasses, ring lights may reflect clearly in the lenses due to their frontal placement.
For more detailed information about lighting, refer to the later sections of this article.
If you only need to record your video course once, renting equipment is a practical option. Services like "Gearo" and "Gearflix" offer a wide range of cameras, lenses, and other necessary accessories.
Renting allows you to assemble the perfect setup for your specific needs, giving you access to professional-grade equipment that you might not otherwise purchase. This way, you can ensure high-quality recordings tailored to your project.
When recording your video, it's ideal to use manual settings. Most cameras allow adjustments for aperture, frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance.
Set the aperture as open as possible for good image quality. The smaller the aperture number, the more open it is. A wider aperture allows more light into the camera, enabling the use of lower ISO values for a cleaner, less noisy image.
A wide aperture usually results in a smaller focus range. If you find it difficult to adjust the focus while filming yourself, you can often use autofocus. However, the quality and reliability of autofocus in video mode can vary greatly depending on the lens and camera. Manual focus is often more precise and reliable, though challenging to implement when filming yourself. Test the focus beforehand to ensure sharpness.
If using autofocus, many modern cameras offer face recognition, increasing autofocus reliability.
Typically, you work with frame rates of 24 or 25 frames per second (fps). Most cameras allow you to adjust this setting.
Shutter speed determines how long or at what intervals light hits the sensor. A general rule is to set the shutter speed to the inverse of double the frame rate. For a frame rate of 25 fps, use a shutter speed of 1/50.
White balance sets the color temperature of your recording environment. While most cameras automatically adjust white balance, this can lead to color shifts during recording. Ideally, set the white balance manually according to your lighting conditions. You can use a white sheet of paper as a reference.
The ISO value controls the sensor's light sensitivity. It should be set as low as possible to reduce image noise and maintain high video quality. Higher ISO values increase sensitivity but can introduce more noise.
Good lighting is crucial for high-quality video. Even the best and most expensive camera won't produce great results if the lighting is poor.
Bright, even lighting is the most important factor for good image quality. The "cheapest" light source is natural sunlight, but it can be challenging due to varying brightness (e.g., passing clouds). Cameras react much more sensitively to these changes than the human eye, making it difficult for beginners to assess the lighting situation accurately.
Therefore, using an artificial light source is often easier. Affordable lighting options are discussed earlier in this article under "Equipment." Artificial lighting provides consistent and controllable illumination, which is beneficial for maintaining a professional look in your videos.
Ensure your scene is evenly lit to avoid significant contrasts that can "burn out" your image's tone values. Check your image on the display before the actual recording or make a short test recording.
Many cameras have a "zebra" function, which warns you of overexposed areas by showing zebra stripes on the screen when activated. This feature helps maintain balanced lighting and prevents overexposure.
Just as important as good image quality is clean audio recording. Your viewers should be able to listen comfortably for an extended period. Investing in a good microphone can significantly enhance your video's quality.
A good and relatively inexpensive option is a lavalier microphone. These small clip-on mics attach to your shirt collar and stay close to your mouth, providing clear and natural audio even when you move. Some lavalier mics can connect directly to your smartphone, saving you the cost of an additional recording device.
Another option is condenser or shotgun microphones, commonly used in studios. They provide a close and warm sound by being placed directly in front of the mouth, isolating background noise well. However, they can also pick up "smacking" or breathing noises more easily. Due to their size and proximity to the mouth, they are only partially suitable for video recordings as they can obscure the face. Additionally, these fixed-position mics are not ideal if you want to move freely while recording.
Your microphone should be as close as possible to the sound source, typically your mouth, to ensure a clean audio recording with minimal background noise. If using your camera's internal microphone, keep the camera close to you.
Ensure your recording environment is quiet and sound-absorbing. Simple additions like blankets, pillows, and carpets can significantly improve sound quality by absorbing echoes and reducing noise. Acoustic foam on walls and ceilings can further minimize unwanted reflections.
Before starting the actual recording, check your recording level to avoid overmodulation, which is difficult or impossible to correct later. Aim for a recording level between -10 dB and 0 dB. If unsure, it's better to set the level slightly lower than too high, as increasing the level in post-production is easier than fixing an overmodulated recording.
If recording audio separately from the video, clap your hands visibly and audibly twice before starting. This helps synchronize audio and video in post-production, as the peaks will be visible in both the video and audio tracks. This trick is also useful for marking sections you may want to cut later, making them easy to find during editing.
A software program for post-production and video editing is not mandatory. The fewer cuts a video contains, the more authentic it usually appears. Not every slip of the tongue or "um" needs to be edited out. As long as you don't overdo it, your video will appear more human and personal. After all, in a personal coaching session, you can't cut anything out either. If you feel confident enough, you can save yourself the often tedious work of video editing and save a lot of time.
Nevertheless, a video editing program can be very useful. The functions of such a program can be diverse and initially confusing. Especially at the beginning, it is advisable to choose a video editing program that focuses on easy operation and a user-friendly interface.
If you use an Apple Mac computer, you can download Apple's "iMovie" for free from the App Store. It includes advanced functions but is still relatively easy to understand due to its clean interface.
A good and inexpensive alternative for Windows computers is the "Movavi Video Editor." This also focuses on a clear and simple interface while still offering all the functions needed for a beginner.
After editing, you need to "export" your finished video. This means your edits are "burned" into a new video file. The best file format for export is MP4.
The finished exported MP4 file often results in a large file size. To save storage space and loading times, it is advisable to compress the video again. This can be done well with the free tool "HandBrake."
Depending on the resolution you record your videos in (FullHD or 4K) and the length of your video files, the required storage space can quickly become very large.
Ideally, you should keep all raw files. This way, you can still make changes afterward. Especially the "editing files" (i.e., the files from your video editing program) can become very large. If you have problems with storage space, you might want to discard the unnecessary "editing files." In this case, you can simply keep the finished exported video files. However, remember that you will be less flexible if you want to make changes later.
Store your finished exported video files on both your own hard drive and in online cloud services. For data security, a combination of both is recommended. Name the files so that you can find and recognize them later. For videos for your online course, it is best to save the files in separate folders named after your course. Name the video files according to your lessons in the course.
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