Hebrew College Guide to Self-Recorded Videos

Marketing Guide to Self-Recorded Videos

1. Cleaning the lens of your smartphone. Please clean the camera lens by wiping it off with a microfiber cloth (like you’d use to clean glasses) or simply using your shirt sleeve.
2. Film inside. Filming inside generally results in better audio, unless you live in an exceptionally quiet location.
3. Positioning your smartphone. Position the camera on your phone or computer at or slightly above eye level. When the camera is below eye level, the resulting footage can have the effect of looking up your nose or creating inadvertent double chins.
4. Finding the best background. Consider the background and try to choose something uncluttered.
5. What to wear. Try to wear something that contrasts with the background and is not too busy. It is best to avoid narrow stripes, checks, houndstooth, and herringbone as these can create a rippled effect. Avoid black, white, red, loud colors and bold prints, as well as dangly jewelry.We recommend strong solid colors that contrast with your skin tone.
6. Lighting. Make sure that there is a light source (lamp, window, etc.) in front of you rather than above or behind you so that your face is nicely lit. We want you to look your best.
7. Phone orientation. If using your phone, please turn it sideways and film in landscape mode (so the image is wide, not tall). When using a computer, this will happen automatically.
8. Front or back camera? If using your phone, please use the front camera for better resolution (not the selfie camera on the same side as the screen).
9. Using earbuds or a headset. If you have earbuds or a nice headset, you can use these for the recording to help get a more intimate sound although we recommend using an external microphone for recording audio that can plug into your device. Make sure to keep the mic away from your scarf, dangly earrings, or anything that might scratch against the mic or otherwise interfere with the audio.