Creative Partner Handbook

Creative partner handbook

• GETTING STARTED

• PLANNING YOUR CLASS

• CONCEPT & PLANNING

• CREATING YOUR CLASS

• RESOURCES

TEACHING CONFIDENTLY • EQUIPMENT • FILMING • EDITING

First, we want to preface with our strong belief that you need to start where you are and do the best with what you have. We began our creative video journey using a GoPro camera strapped to a bunch of pvc pipes at our dining room table! Sure, there was plenty of room for improvement but at least we were going for it. We want to encourage you all to do the same! You can always upgrade your equipment as you go. Plus, FABULOUS equipment doesn’t guarantee a perfect art video either! The love, effort, thought and passion you communicate through your video is truly the heart of it all.

Secondly, we want to express that obviously there are MANY ways to record and produce your art videos - HOWEVER, we can only teach the way that we know how to do it. That being said we encourage you to experiment and honor your own discoveries!

If you’ve never produced video content before, this aspect of class-making might feel intimidating. But many, many successful teachers have been where you are right now and have gone on to create stunning content, at home, all on their own.

Alright, let’s get to it!

When you hear the word “production” you probably think of equipment: cameras, microphones, lights, etc. But before you get into those details, we want to make something clear: the most important part of producing a great class is teaching with confidence. Having solid equipment is important, but ultimately the thing that matters most is you: the teacher. Our most successful teachers are clear, confident, and relaxed in front of the camera. Don't be afraid to smile, speak casually, and show your personality! Students love seeing a teacher have fun — there's no need for your class to feel formal. As long as you follow our pedagogical and quality best practices there’s plenty of room for style. Appearing comfortable may not come easily and that’s okay. Here are some tried and true tips and tricks for bringing a comfortable vibe to your class. 

• Use your hands as you would when talking to a friend. Think of it as a conversation rather than a lecture. 

• Look directly into the camera as you would if you were speaking to a friend. Better yet, imagine you are speaking to someone specific that you know would enjoy learning what you have to teach. 

• Speak clearly and naturally. Keep your pace moderate and allow your tone to go up and down. Don’t be afraid to show enthusiasm and excitement! 

• Avoid distracting “ums” and “ahs.” These often sneak in inadvertently, so just do a quick retake if you notice them, or edit them out later. 

• Continually refer back to your outline to ensure you’re sticking to talking points rather than rambling or getting off-track. 

• Don’t forget to smile! Smiling is one of the easiest and fastest ways to set a friendly, relaxed, and comfortable tone for your class. 

Keep this in mind as you film and you can go far!

Concept and Planning Worksheet

Alright, time to get down to the nitty gritty part right? Now that we have our WHY and our WHAT... we need to address the HOW! We know you are probably buzzing with questions about equipment and how to use it all! Don't worry, we are going to cover everything we do and what works for us. 

Remember, to start where you are. Don’t go running out and buying the most expensive equipment.

First, let’s begin with what we use. Over the years, we've upgraded our equipment from a GoPro to our Canon DSLR cameras that we use today. By no means do you need to spend the money when starting out. Using a mobile phone or inexpensive video camera are excellent to begin with.

As you continue to grow, you can always upgrade.

Let’s start off with the most important aspect of your high quality production set-up that is commonly overlooked (or underlistened?): audio!

Audio

Without high quality audio, your video quality won’t matter. The good news: getting high quality audio is cheap and easy!

A lavalier microphone or lavalier (also known as a lav, lapel mic, clip mic, body mic) is a small and powerful microphone that is perfect for picking up clear audio. This is always the first piece of audio equipment we recommend! You can get a lav mic as cheap as ~$15, and they are both durable and easy to use. They clip right onto your clothes so you don’t have to feel tethered to a cord and can back away from the camera to get a beautifully framed image.

Lighting

No matter what camera you’re working with, natural light is key. The more natural light you have, the less you’ll need to supplement with artificial lights, and, usually, the better your footage will look. Shoot in locations with plenty of natural light whenever possible.

Here’s an affordable lighting kit we use and recommend…

Position yourself so that the window is to your side and not directly behind you. This will cast a shadow on one side of your face, which can create a nice "falloff," just make sure the shadow isn't high contrast. Being directly in front of a window will create a silhouette, with the background brighter than the foreground.

Here are a few examples of using the soft box lights, a halo light and evenly lighting the subject you’re filming.

Video

A low-cost camera can shoot a great class, provided the lighting is also great. Alternatively, a fancy camera might still shoot a shadowy, low AV-quality class if the lighting is terrible. Good light really matters. 

Here’s are the cameras we recommend…

Once you have your outline; know what style you’ll be using to teach your class (screencasting, sharing slides, talking head, physical demonstration, or a combination); you have your camera, audio, and lighting set up; and you’re feeling confident, it’s time to get your final ducks in a row before you press “record.” 

• Practice: Practicing once or twice will help you relax, get more familiar with your content, and will allow you to move through your information more fluidly once the camera starts rolling. If you want to make your practice round a little more like the real thing, grab a friend and have them watch. 

• Get Your Assets Ready: If you have photos, slides, physical materials, b-roll, or anything else you need for your class, gather it all up before film day.

• Remove Distractions: Make sure there are no distracting visuals or sounds in the background. There’s nothing worse than a great lesson with a distracting buzz in the background! If you’re using a screencast, clean up your computer’s desktop and turn off any notifications before you start recording. If you’re using talking head, clean up your actual desktop and make sure your set reflects and enhances the quality of your class. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you’re editing your videos here are few things to follow:

1. No transitions or fades at the beginning or end of your video. We’ll handle those

2. If you see long periods of time in your video that you’re not doing anything, edit that section out.

3. Make sure you have adequate lighting when filming your art.

Setup and Angles

FILMING FROM ABOVE

We most often film from above so let’s start there.

FILMING OVER THE SHOULDER

Filming over the shoulder is also very handy and allows me to sit down at a table easel while I work. Watch how we set up that shot.

We hope these short videos will give you a behind the scenes look at how we set up our equipment. Obviously everyone will have a different situation so be creative and find what works best for you. We are here to help of course! The key elements are good light, a steady camera, relative quiet and a clear enough space for you to do your work.

So you've recorded your gorgeous art project - awesome! Now what?! Time to hit the editing floor! Let’s get to it - and remember to take your time and give yourself lots of grace as you learn this new program.

Our preferred editing software is Camtasia. It’s a wonderful all-in-one editing program. You can download Camtasia's FREE trial version here. 

Now remember, even if you decide not to use Camtasia for your editing - by learning this program you will begin to understand the basic foundation and function of most editing software.

EASY-TO-USE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE 

Of course, there are a multitude of programs you can use to edit your video. We teach Camtasia because it is the one that works well for our needs. Here are a list of others to check out too ranging from free to more of an investment.  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Here are some software-specific resources to get you started.

• Quicktime

  • Quicktime Support: Edit Section

  • Video Tutorial: How to Trim Video in Quicktime

• iMovie

  • iMovie Edits: Trim, Split, and Move Clips

• Camtasia

  • Video Tutorial: Basic Video Editing

RECOMMENDED MICROPHONES

As always, having great audio is essential to your video. When recording audio directly to your computer for voiceover, we recommend the following microphones.