Recording yourself with a laptop

Record button iconYour WFU issued laptop has the tools to allow you make a basic, talking-head style video.

  • On a Windows PC, y'all can open the Camera app and record from the built-in webcam and microphone. Information technology will relieve the video as a .mp4 video file in the Camera Curlicue folder in Pictures.
  • The MacBook can use Photo Booth to tape from the congenital-in webcam and microphone. It will salve the video in the app and you tin consign it equally a .mov video file

Once you lot have those videos made, yous can distribute them via the cloud or maybe electronic mail (think Google Drive or MS OneDrive for sharing in the deject). You tin can too add together them to a bigger project using video editing tools such as Camtasia, Adobe Rush, or Adobe Premiere (all of which WFU faculty and staff take access to via software.wfu.edu).

Below are ii demo videos I made. The starting time is on a Windows 10 laptop using the Photographic camera app. The second one is on my MacBook, using the PhotoBooth app.

Youtube link (new tab)

Windows

  1. Open Camera app (search the Start carte
  2. Select the video button on the right side if necessary
  3. Click the video push button to start recording
  4. When the video thumbnail shows up, click information technology to open up it.
  5. Under the 3 dots More menu, choose open folder to locate the .mp4 video file on your hard drive.
  6. Upload that file to your Google Drive.
  7. Share the file with the appropriate settings

Here is the mac version using PhotoBooth

Youtube link (new tab)

MacBook

  1. Open PhotoBooth app
  2. Select the video button on the lower left
  3. Press the big red push button to start recording
  4. When the video thumbnail appears, you can export it as a .mov file
  5. Upload that file into your Google drive
  6. Share the file with the appropriate settings.

Note that I used a headset with a mic. More often than not you get improve audio results with a dedicated microphone. I observe the laptop's congenital-in microphones oft pick up too much ambient noise.

General Recording Tips

  1. Find a quiet spot to record and try to employ a dedicated microphone to capture the all-time audio that you can.
  2. Effort to have good natural light. If that isn't available, make sure the scene is lit the best yous can. Take a few test videos to see how lighting from different angles impacts the production.
  3. Attempt to have a minimal background behind you, if possible.
  4. Going back to point i. Employ a dedicated mic if you take one. In most circumstances, bad sound is really worse than bad lighting. If your audition can't clearly hear you, you're probably killing your video.