A few quick tips we learned at the library while using the filming studios at Cabot:
- Bring a thumb drive with plenty of space on it with you when you go to film.
- Always wait a few seconds to start talking after you start the filming otherwise the first few seconds will get cut off.
- Rather than trying to do everything in one take plan to film a couple of sentences at a time, compose yourself then do a few more. You can edit out the pauses and spaces after you've finished filming.
- Put a mark on your spot on the floor so you'll know where to come back to after pauses so that you don't jump around too much on screen.
- If you have sections where the video doesn't come together perfectly, you can use a fade in fade out in the editing process to smooth those rougher transitions.
- If you plan on using the teleprompter make sure you create plenty of space between sentences using a repeating symbol like ... or ---. People speak more slowly than they read, so you will need the extra space to pause and breathe. Think in advance about where you would like these pauses to go.
- Take the time to get the lighting and sound exactly how you want them. It's easier to fix it before it's a problem than to have to try and improve bad lighting or sound in the editing process.