Successful Video Conferencing, Lighting and Presentation Guidelines

Transcription

1 Successful Vide Cnferencing, Lighting and Presentatin Guidelines In this lessn yu will learn hw t make vide lk prfessinal fr yur vide cnferences. Yur Vide Canvas Types f Camera Shts Lining up the sht Clutter Backgrund Lighting Finally, a gd example!!! NOTE: This lessn is t help yu lk better in yur vide cnferences. This is nt t suggest that yu shuld d all these items every time in all yu cnferences. Again remember, they are nly suggestins. They can help make the difference between a gd vide cnference and a great vide cnference. Yur Vide Canvas Painting the Pixels In a vide cnference, yu are a vide artist. Yu have a 3x4 vide canvas that cntains abut 350,000 pixels t tell a stry. Yu are cmpsing a picture t shw the ther site. It is very imprtant t cnsider what will be in the picture as well as what will be left ut. Smetimes, if yu are nt careful, yu cnvey a different message than what yu intended. An image cmpsed f a cnference rm filled with bks, papers, water glasses, laptps, wires and cables shws a very cluttered picture. The mess is a distractin frm the message yu are trying t cnvey. Likewise, sitting r standing in frnt f a big glass windw may seem like a nice idea at the time - shwing ff the spectacular lcatin f the vide cnference rm. Hwever, yu will appear as just a silhuette. Whatever message yu were trying t cnvey is ver shadwed because yu cannt be seen. Ask yurself these simple questins: What is the pint I am trying t get acrss? What idea am I trying t cnvey? What d I want the far site t learn/think/knw frm this cnference? T many times, yur audience may leave the cnferences thinking: That rm sure if full f a lt f stuff! That big table that tk up 85% f the picture - I wnder if it was ak! Gsh, he sure des have a really nice tree utside his ffice! She must be prud f that ceiling and thse lights which filled 75% f the picture! Ok, s maybe peple will nt leave yur cnference cnsciusly thinking thse things. Hwever, yu have an excellent pprtunity t fcus their attentin n yur message, idea, r cntent by carefully chsing what t shw (and nt t shw) during a cnference. And it isn't hard t accmplish...

2 Types f Camera Shts There are a few basic camera shts that yu can use in a vide cnference. Wide Sht r Establishing Sht This is usually a wide picture f the rm. It prvides the participants at the far site an idea f what yur rm r envirnment lks like. It establishes the setting f yur vide cnference. A wide sht can be an establishing sht. Hwever, it can als be a wide camera angle r a "lse" sht f a grup f peple in a rm. News shws usually start with an establishing sht f the news set with the anchrs sitting behind a big desk. Likewise, TV shws usually shw an exterir picture f a building t establish where the scene is taking place. Fr example, mst f us can picture in ur heads what the Brady Bunch huse lks like. We remember it frm the establishing sht f the huse. Same is true fr the establishing sht f ther shws. Can yu recall establishing shts fr these ther TV shws: Arnld's Restaurant n Happy Days; the bar n Cheers, the set f Wh Wants t be a Millinaire? Medium Sht A medium sht can range frm a few peple t ne persn. It usually includes the head, shulders, chest f the persn talking and smetimes the desk. It is used t fcus attentin n the persn wh is speaking.

3 Clse Up Sht Clse up shts range frm the head and shulders t just the head. Extreme Clse Up Sht This sht usually shws the eyes and the muth t fcus the attentin n the emtin f the persn. This technique is used a lt n TV news prgrams when the persn being interviewed is abut t cry r cnfess a crime (60 Minutes). The extreme clse-up shuld nt be used in vide cnferencing since this invades an individual's persnal space. It is rude t zm the camera in this clse n a persn at either the near r far site during a vide cnference. Think f a vide cnference as a face t face meeting: In a face t face meeting yu wuld never stick yur face clse t anther persn's face. Likewise, zming in the camera n smene's nse, ear, r any ther bdy part is cnsidered rude and unacceptable.

4 Lining up a Camera Sht Nw that yu knw it is imprtant t fill yur canvas with imprtant images (namely yu) it is time t talk abut framing - r hw t line up the sht. Headrm Headrm is the amunt f space between the tp f yur head and the tp f the frame f the vide windw. Here there are the tw extremes f t much and t little. T Much Headrm All t ften peple leave t much head rm at the tp f the screen. Sme peple leave s much headrm, there is enugh space t capture any lw flying aircraft! Other users tend t shw the ceiling and the lights in the field f view. T much head rm is bad fr several reasns: It usually wastes abut 1/2 f the screen with images that dn't d anything fr the message r the cnference. Having the lights in the picture, causes the camera t clse dwn the iris r t let less light int the camera. This results in yu lking much dimmer. T Little Headrm Smetimes peple will crp ff the tp f their wn head! Perhaps this is s yu cannt see what they are thinking. Or perhaps it is a way t hide thinning r graying hair. This is nt very useful because: The frehead can cnvey a lt f infrmatin and emtin (surprise, anger, sympathy). If yu are crpping ff the tp f head then yu are shwing mre f the bdy, legs r table - these items d nt usually "say" much r "help t tell ur stry."

5 Just enugh Headrm Gd use f headrm accmplished tw items: Fills the vide space well t tell yur stry. But nt s much that the viewer feels yu are abut t bnk yur head n the tp f the frame! Lking Space First, give yurself enugh space arund yur head s that the viewer desn't feel claustrphbic fr yu. Then give yurself space t lk int. Otherwise, it lks like yu are abut t bnk yur head int the side f the frame. Watch almst any TV shw r news interview where the persn is nt lking int the camera. Yu will ntice that when the speaker is lking slightly ff t ne side, there is space fr him t lk int. Smetimes, shws will be arty and break this rule. Hwever, mst f the time there is lking space. Actually, yu may rarely use this technique especially if yu are usually talking directly int the camera.

6 Clutter Yu want t fill the frame with images and bjects that relate t the message yu are trying t tell. Often in a cnference rm, there is extraneus stuff - cmputer, speakers, keybard, muse, bks, cables, papers, cups, sda cans. Vide tends t flatten the depth f field and just make all these items lk like a bunch f clutter. Nne f these items has anything t cntribute t the visual stry yu are tying t tell. Therefre, when pssible, try t hide all the cables, papers, and cups ff camera. If yu are talking abut a prduct r want t shw smething, try t have a clean surface with nthing else n it. That way, the fcus will be n the item yu are trying t shwcase. The resulting vide will lk much cleaner and mre prfessinal. Backgrunds Yur backgrund can als add t the clutter r distract frm the fcus. Bushy Hair Smetimes peple like t put plants in the cnference rm fr sme greenery and clr. That is fine. But be careful where yu place the plants. T ften, peple will place themselves in frm f a tall plant. This results in a rather funny lking picture - a persn with a plant grwing ut f the tp f his/her head.

7 White Walls, Bright Windws and a Silhuette f Yu! Bright Backgrunds and "Aut Iris" The "aut iris" functin n a camera perfrms very much like the iris in yur eyes. When yu walk utside int bright light, yur eye clses the iris t let in less light. When yu walk int a darkened theater, yur eye pens the iris t let in mre light. The camera lks at the entire picture in the frame and tries t discver what is the brightest part. Then the camera will clse the iris f the camera t let in less light based n what is the brightest part f the picture. Therefre, if yu are sitting frnt f a very bright backgrund with lights creating ht spts n the wall, the camera will assign the backgrund as the brightest part f the picture and clse the iris f the camera t let in less light. This will result in yu appearing as a shadw r a silhuette. Likewise, if yu are sitting in frnt f a windw n a bright sunny day, the camera will cmpensate fr the bright utdr light. These might be gd techniques t use if yu are in the witness prtectin prgram and d nt want peple t be able t see yu. But in a nrmal vide cnference, it is a better idea t let the far site see yu and yur facial expressins. Clrs Mixing indr light and utdr light culd cause yu t lk greenish r reddish. Indr light and utdr light have different clr prperties. Outdr light has mre blue. Indr lights (flurescent lights) have mre green. Incandescent lights (lamps) have mre range and red. Yur Schlstatin camera has built in white balancing capabilities. White balance actually lks at the clrs in the pictures, figures ut what is suppsed t be white, and then cmpensates t make white lk white. (Sme persnal camcrders have a setting fr indr lighting, utdr lighting r aut. This setting is cmpensating fr the different lighting cnditins). Hwever, if yu mix indr and utdr lighting, the camera culd balance fr utdr lighting (frm the pen windw) while yu are sitting in indr lighting. The result - the camera reduces the blue filtering - leaving either a greenish tint (flurescent light) making yu lk nauseus r a reddish tint (incandescent light) making yu lk a tmat!

8 Flurescent Lighting with White Balance set fr Outdr Lighting Incandescent (Lamp) Lighting with White Balance set fr Outdr Lighting Fr the mst part, the cameras really d a gd jb t cmpensate fr thughtless lighting. But try t d yur part t help the camera decide which type f lighting yu really want. Lighting Of curse lighting is imprtant t yur cnference but smetimes there isn't much yu can d t change the lighting. Hwever, ne f the biggest mistakes peple make is including the lights in the picture. Remember, the camera will aut iris t the brightest part f the picture. If yu include the ceiling and lights in the field f view, the camera will iris dwn t accmmdate the bright lights. Anther ne f the biggest issues f lighting is the flurescent verhead lighting in mst ffice envirnments. The "ice cube tray" lighting was designed t prvide a gd surce f verhead lighting t illuminate dcuments and materials n yur desk. Hwever, the verhead lighting can cause undesirable shadws t appear n yur face - creating especially dark circles under yur eyes.

9 "Ice Cube Tray" Lighting There are sme manufacturers that make lighting fr vide cnference envirnments. These lights can be either munted n a tripd r "clipped" t the crss bars f drp ceilings t prvide lighting frm a mre head n light surce. This helps t reduce the shadws created by the verhead lighting. Clipped t the drp ceiling Munted n a tripd

10 Gd Examples Gd Better Little clutter in the picture. Cmfrtable Medium Sht. She is centered in the middle f the screen. N bright windws r lights in the backgrund. Dark curtains helps the subject pp ut against the backgrund. The ver head lighting helps t fill in the features n her face. Less dark shadws under her eyes and in her neck.