WHAT ABOUT FILMING?

First let’s see what equipment is absolutely essential to shoot a video with an excellent result:

• Smartphone or digital camera with full-hd or 4k capabilities: the bigger the better!
• Smartphone or camera tripod: avoid shacky footage!
• Medium-sized light point: go natural… choose a large window is sufficient!
• Neat environment to use as a background: a monochrome background can sound great at first, but in the end often turns out dull and pretty sad… a nice desk or a well-ordered studio setting can be much more eye-catching!

LIGHT, CAMERA… ACTION

It’s time to shoot the video: the tips listed below can be very useful to save time and effort, while nailing the best result.

1. 1.    CHECK THE CAMERA (OR SMARTPHONE) SETTINGS: they must match the technical characteristics of the file required (we will talk about it later).
2. 2.    CHOOSE A ROOM THAT IS NOT TOO LARGE to avoid the echo effect.
3. 3.    FIND A WELL-LIT POSITION for your set and… for you.
4. 4.   GET THE RIGHT ANGLE FOR THE CAMERA: avoid the light source right in front of you (the camera will cast a visible shadow) or just behind you (your face will turn dark and the background colors will look burnt out).
5. 5.    MAKE ORDER IN YOUR BACKGROUND removing gatherings of objects that can distract the eye.
6. 6.    CHECK THE CONTRAST! Let’s say your tan is out of shape and you have a white or pale background… it’s a bad choice 😊; also stay away from that pinstriped shirt or jacquard sofa: fewer textures, more solid colors!
7. 7.    SHOOT STRICTLY HORIZONTALLY (videos made vertically with the phone, are fine only for the phone and are completely unusable in the editing process).
8. 8.    FIELD IS IMPORTANT: frame large enough not to cut off the head and the hands, but without exaggeration, otherwise, the subject will be too small.
9. 9.    TEST, TEST, TEST: make a video and audio sample, if it’s okay then everything will be okay!
10. 10.  DOWNLOAD THE FINAL CLIP TO A COMPUTER and carefully check the actual outcome.

 
 
DELIVERING THE RAW FOOTAGE TO THE TEACHER

Once you have followed the checklist everything should be okay; now it’s up to your teacher collecting all the clips and send it to the editor, but there are a few things you should do to help your teacher:

• Name the file properly like this: name_surname_nation_eploop (ex. Maria_Rossi_Italy_eploop)
• Use wetransfer to send the file: don’t clog your teachers’ e-mail box

TECH-SPECS

1. Minimum resolution 1920×1080 FullHD
2. Aspect ratio 16:9 (4:3 or vertical videos will NOT be processed)
3. File format .mov / .mp4 / .h264