2.2.1 Video recording

Once the video’s content has been prepared in the form of a script and a presentation, the next step is recording the video. Use a neutral background for the recording (see 2.1.3 Content and layout and 2.2.3 Sign language interpretation). There are several options for shooting a video:

• Recording using your own equipment in the office or home office is the cheapest option. Good external cameras and microphones improve quality compared to recording with those on your laptop. The University of Göttingen’s Digital Learning and Teaching service offers tips on recording. Doing it yourself means that you retain control of all the (technical) production and post-production tasks as well.
  
• Commissioning an external professional service with the recording outsources what may be an unfamiliar task. On the other hand, it is expensive and calls for coordination of the organisation with the service provider. Nonetheless, it does generally mean that the recording quality is higher. Professional studios likewise have other equipment available, e.g. green screen or teleprompter, which make it possible to read the script while looking directly into the camera. In addition, the service package generally includes technical aspects of post-production, such as editing or sound and colour correction.

The length of the video must also be decided: presenting the content in 10-20 minute units is optimal. It simplifies recording and post-production and is more accessible to students than longer videos. You must also decide whether the recording should consist of individual parts edited together or a continuous, single take. This might depend on the type of teaching video that is being produced. Edited parts demand more work later, but are particularly suited to long videos, such as recorded lectures or if a range of shots is planned. Changing image composition also demands greater preparation and rearrangement midway. By contrast, a one-take video requires more patience until an (almost) perfect recording is made, but requires practically no editing. A single take is suited to shorter teaching units or if examples can be presented as titbits, for instance.

The DaLeLe4All team has decided on professional recording by an external professional service and commissioned the video team at the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek (SUB) Göttingen. Besides recording the video and the audio description (AD), the service package also included handling various aspects of (technical) post-production, such as sound and colour correction, editing, insertion of slides, insertion of AD, producing and insertion of subtitling. Our preparation of the content for the first video and recording took far more time than the later ones. Based on our initial experience when we recorded a complex lecture meeting in a single take, we gradually developed subsequent videos as shorter teaching units. On average we needed 4-5 takes for the recordings. Since not all websites and portals have accessible integrated video players that allow several audio and video tracks to be played, we obtained three versions of each video from the video team: a) with speech, b) with speech and AD and c) with speech and subtitling. For the interpretation of version d) into German Sign Language (DGS), we commissioned yomma, which also took on the post-production of this version.

• Agree in advance the number of videos, their length and any post-production services.
  
• Provide the spoken script (Word format) for the teleprompter and the presentation slides to the video team a few days before the recording date.
  
• The date of the recording starts with a screen and speech test to set up the recording equipment, frame the shot and make sure that the teleprompter is running at the correct speed. This is followed by the recording.
  
• Afterwards, the video team carries out the agreed post-production services and delivers the videos. At this stage it is still possible to make essential changes, e.g. correct the subtitles or the featured slides.

Practical tips

• It is advisable to practise your body language and hand gestures in advance and possibly check them with colleagues. You can make notes about gestures in the script, so that you indicate the correct side where the presentation will be shown.
  
• You can correct minor slips of the tongue straight away when recording, however if this happens a lot, you should stop recording and start again. Although there are ways of correcting mistakes in post-production, each of them demands additional work and they can’t all be corrected neatly.
  
• Don’t just read out the script, present it. Small variations and hand gestures make the flow of reading and speech more natural. Occasionally however, clunky formulations occur and returning to the script is difficult. Massive variations make subtitling more difficult too.
  
• Speak much more slowly than you would normally. Pauses in speech, e.g. for a slide change, also allow subtitles to be shown for longer (see 3.2.4 Subtitling).