Camera, lighting and sound guide for recording a school concert in Teams or Zoom

The Plan

A high-quality concert video that successfully shares your hard work, singing and dancing is not created in the edit. It requires forethought, creativity, and a little patience. Below are the recommendations I sent to students as they prepare to edit the school concert video.

Sound

• Paul McCartney (@10:20) used to sing in the bathroom when he started the Beatles! This is because the small room with reflective surfaces has great natural reverb.
• Mobile phones have great built-in microphones. Stand the camera on something stable or hold it carefully to avoid rustling noises.
• Turn off background noises such as air conditioning, TV, fans, or siblings.
• Laptops don’t always have the best microphones, but singing loudly and clearly helps.

Lighting

• Avoid sitting with a window or light source behind you.
• If possible, sit at right angles to a window or with light reflected off a plain wall.
• If the sun is very bright, diffuse it with a plain sheet.
• Use natural light whenever possible, rather than artificial light.

Camera

• Set your camera to the highest recording setting available (e.g., 1920x1080, 4K, 1280x720).
• Use landscape orientation, not portrait, for better playback on widescreen devices and easier editing.
• Keep the camera at eye level to avoid unflattering angles.
• Make sure your background is plain and tidy, as viewers will see it.

Action

• Sit still, in the center of the frame, facing the camera. This helps editing and keeps the video consistent when combined with others.

Software

• My school uses and I highly recommend the Adobe Suite.
• Students record footage on their phones with the Adobe Premiere Rush app. Clips are saved to Adobe Cloud, allowing editing on phone or computer.
• Regardless of software or camera, ensure you can export your video to the shared storage.

Exporting

• Before recording, confirm you know how to transfer your videos from devices to the shared drive.
• Do NOT compress or email video files.

Help

• Observe social distancing by not meeting fellow students in groups.
• You may ask parents or siblings to act as camera operator, sound recorder, and lighting assistant.

Your Suggestions?

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