We will leave it up to each presenter to decide how best to record their own presentation, since everyone will have different technical abilities. However, we have a series of suggestions that should make recording your presentation easy.
Recording options:
- Narrated PowerPoint presentation converted to an mp4 video: This is the easiest method. PowerPoint offers the option of adding your narration to your slide show. You run through your slides while giving your presentation and this is saved in the file. You can record narrations and set timings on each slide that can be made into a self-running slide show. You then have an option to export it as an mp4 file. The latest versions of PowerPoint have the option of adding the webcam image overlaying the corner of the slideshow. This tutorial is helpful.
Then when you are finished all you need to do is save your presentation in an mp4 file format. See this tutorial here.
- How to include clips and visuals into your recording: You can use the free VLC media player to run DVDs, videos, etc on your computer and record them. See this tutorial here.
Windows users have a pre-installed app called ‘Camera’ that can record your webcam feed. It’s very straightforward. The recording will be saved in the Camera Roll folder in the user’s Pictures folder by default. The ‘Camera’ app saves the file as an mp4 file. Mac users can use QuickTime to do this.
- Record yourself on Zoom or other open-source recording platforms such as ShareX: This is another easy way to make a video of yourself and save the recording as an mp4 file. All you have to do is start your own meeting and hit the record button. With this method you can “share your screen” to incorporate PowerPoint slides or video clips into your recording. This method may not produce the best quality if you are using video clips as part of your presentation, but it will get the job done. If using this option be sure to add your name so that it appears at the bottom of your screen.
- If you are a filmmaker already, you will know what to do. For those of you with the technical training to make a film, it should be obvious to you how to go about setting up and editing your own film shoot. If you have the technical means and know-how, this method has the potential to produce the best results.
Other resources:
Nomad IT developed a style guide for pre-recorded presentations that you might find useful. Ignore the first part about file formats for Shindig, and scroll down to “Pre-recording presentations”. There are lots of interesting tips about styles and approaches here.
The Society for Cultural Anthropology and the Society for Visual Anthropology created some amazing video guides for their #Distribute 2020 online conference here. These are particularly helpful in thinking about the basic production values of image composition, lighting, and sound.
File duration: pre-recorded papers should be 15-20 minutes in length.
File options: Videos should be in mp4 file formats (up to 1080p, but 720p is also fine), encoded using the H264 codec and the audio should be: AAC/MP3/OPUS. Ideally the file size should be below 500MB, so pick a setting that gives a reasonable balance between quality and file size.
Accessibility options: For those who wish to do so and have the technical sills, we recommend including close captions or subtitles in English. For those wishing to present in a language other than English: adding English subtitles are a must.
Naming your file: Please name your file using the following structure: Panel#_Name_Surname_title. This is essential so that we know where to fit your contribution into the conference.
Sending your file to the RAI Film team: we will share with you a Dropbox folder where you will be able to upload your file. We will send an email closer to the deadline with a link and more information.
If you have any questions please email us on film@therai.org.uk
