The first of our “Live from the Studio” webinars was all about the recording booths, what’s happening, how to use them and the experiences from Dr Rui Pires Martins and James Stewart, both from the Centre for Academic and Professional Development. They both shared some valuable lessons and what to expect when using them, more on that later.

You can watch the webinar below.

So, what is happening with the recording booths. We are working hard to get these up and running in dedicated spaces. In the mean time we have the equipment and have simplified it so that it can be used by staff with minimal intervention from the E-Learning Unit team. At the moment it is available in our E-Learning Studio in the Bancroft building at Mile End. If you want to book it email elearning@qmul.ac.uk, although stay tuned for an online booking system that we are setting up now.

There is also an option to setup the equipment in a location that is convenient to you if you have enough to record that warrants setting it up. If you have at least a few days of recordings and can locate the setup in an accessible and secure room (lockable) then we can set it up for you and show you how to use it. If you are interested in doing this please use the same email elearning@qmul.ac.uk

The recording booth allows you to record high quality video and use green screen to superimpose the presenter(s) onto a background that can be a PowerPoint presentation, image or video. You can also display anything you like from a computer onto the background.

A recent addition to our recording booth is a teleprompter, allowing you to see either your presentation or a script right in front of the lens. This means you can see your prompts, presentation or scripts without having to look at a computer or notes. This is far more engaging for your audience and also helps you in delivering material without looking away. This has reduced the number of takes required and presenters feel more comfortable. Although it helps it is not a substitute for not rehearsing or preparing. Although it does mean you do not need to memorise what you want to say it is important to practice so that you are familiar with what you are going to say.

Both Rui and James had many tips on using the recording booths, here are some key points they mentioned:

• Webinars are a really useful way to engage, particularly as we spread out over four sites.
• Setting a video as featured content helps with traffic.
• Video provides another avenue to engage and is becoming more and more popular.
• If you are doing them regularly it can be useful to record a number in advance in one session as you are in the moment and in presenting mode.
• More engaging that capturing a live lecture.
• The system to record is now more automated and easier to use, simplifying the process.
• Superimposing the presenter over the content is better than just voice over or split screen where it can be congnitively disengaging.
• Take a few minutes before recording to get comfortable.
• Can seem alien not having an audience but just talking to a lens. You get used to it very quickly.
• Need to prepare and rehearse.
• Does not necessarily need to be scripted but bullet points are useful and to know what you are going to say.
• Can break it up, do not have to do in one take as can be edited together.
• Read over script several times and say out loud. You may still need to make changes on the fly when in front of the camera.
• Teleprompter helps but still need to rehearse and prepare.
• Make sure text is large enough and have adequate margins for the teleprompter. 38 point seems a minimum size.
• Editing can take time at first but it straightforward and you get faster as you get more comfortable.
• Always better if you can get it done in one take. Usually find if someone is used to delivering a particular lecture this is the case.
• Teleprompter can be used with any device that has HDMI out such as laptop or tablets. You can check with us first.
• Scripts can be typed in Word and then copied over to prompting software.
• Can just use PowerPoint presentations.
• Good for lectures, public engagement, vlogging and many other ideas such as paper of the month or video abstract.

If you would like to know more about the recording booths click here

If you want to know more then contact the E-Learning Unit.