Recording yourself with a laptop

Record button iconYour WFU issued laptop has the tools to let you brand a basic, talking-head mode video.

  • On a Windows PC, you can open up the Photographic camera app and record from the built-in webcam and microphone. Information technology volition relieve the video as a .mp4 video file in the Camera Roll folder in Pictures.
  • The MacBook tin can apply Photograph Booth to record from the built-in webcam and microphone. It will relieve the video in the app and you tin can export it as a .mov video file

Once y'all accept those videos fabricated, you can distribute them via the cloud or maybe electronic mail (recollect Google Drive or MS OneDrive for sharing in the cloud). You can also add together them to a bigger projection using video editing tools such as Camtasia, Adobe Blitz, or Adobe Premiere (all of which WFU faculty and staff have admission to via software.wfu.edu).

Below are two demo videos I fabricated. The first is on a Windows 10 laptop using the Camera app. The second one is on my MacBook, using the PhotoBooth app.

Youtube link (new tab)

Windows

  1. Open Photographic camera app (search the Start menu
  2. Select the video button on the right side if necessary
  3. Click the video button to outset recording
  4. When the video thumbnail shows upwardly, click it to open up information technology.
  5. Under the 3 dots More bill of fare, choose open folder to locate the .mp4 video file on your hard bulldoze.
  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 up PhotoBooth app
  2. Select the video button on the lower left
  3. Press the big blood-red push to start recording
  4. When the video thumbnail appears, you tin consign it as a .mov file
  5. Upload that file into your Google drive
  6. Share the file with the advisable settings.

Note that I used a headset with a mic. By and large you lot get ameliorate sound results with a defended microphone. I discover the laptop's born microphones frequently option upwards too much ambient noise.

General Recording Tips

  1. Find a quiet spot to record and try to utilize a dedicated microphone to capture the best audio that y'all can.
  2. Try to have good natural calorie-free. If that isn't available, brand sure the scene is lit the best you can. Take a few test videos to come across how lighting from dissimilar angles impacts the product.
  3. Try to have a minimal background behind you lot, if possible.
  4. Going back to point one. Use a dedicated mic if you accept one. In most circumstances, bad audio is actually worse than bad lighting. If your audience can't clearly hear you lot, you're probably killing your video.