Producing Video: Best Practices and Suggestions

Basic Equipment Checklist

Video camera
Microphone (preferably a lapel or lavaliere mic)
Tripod
Headphones
Extra tapes and batteries for all equipment used
Extension cord and/or power strips
Lighting equipment

Always check your equipment - cameras, recorders and microphones - a few days before the interview to make sure it is working properly. If you're using borrowed, rented or new equipment, be sure to familiarize yourself with it thoroughly well in advance of the interview. Be sure all equipment batteries are fully charged and bring plenty of extra batteries to the interview.

Camera Work

Careful placement and use of your camera is essential to a good video recording and often determines whether your interview will be effective. If at all possible, find someone to operate the camera for you while you conduct the interview. Not having to worry about tapes, sound levels and the other variables of successful recording will allow you to focus full-time on your interviewee and what she is saying - your most important task as an interviewer.

Be sure to use a tripod when setting up your camera. Camera shake can become a serious distraction and in severe cases, has been known to cause motion sickness in viewers. Be certain the image in the video screen is level by lengthening or shortening individual tripod legs. Make sure all legs are firmly locked in place.

Look for the most flattering angle for your subject, using the widest-angle lens possible. To do this, place the camera fairly close to the subject and zoom out, rather than placing the camera far away and zooming in. The shot should look more natural, and if the microphone built into the camera is the only one in use, being closer to the subject will ensure considerably better audio quality. Keep on-tape camera movements - like zooms and pans - to a minimum. A well-composed static shot of your subject, framing their upper body in the view screen, will produce the best results.

Use the settings on your camera to their best advantage. Be sure to record your interview at the fastest speed possible, sometimes called two-hour mode or SP speed. Set the white balance on the camera to ensure accurate color reproduction. Check the camera focus to be sure your interviewee's features are crisp and clear.

Some basic guidelines to keep in mind:

Clothing (shirts, ties, etc.) with small patterns or herringbone will cause color shifts resulting in rainbows running back and forth across the subject.
Avoid shadows on subjects and faces when shooting outdoors. A common problem is placing a subject under a tree or in a shady area, while the background is open to the sunlight. Some cameras feature an 'auto-knee' function which you can activate to help balance this type of shot. However, the background usually must be overexposed to make out facial features.
Always white-balance cameras before shooting indoor or outdoors.
Avoid over-lighting subject, or getting reflections in the shot, creating 'hot-spots' on the recording.
When possible, bring extra lighting to shoots. It is common to find it is needed, even at times when no additional lighting is expected. Many cameras will make up for low light by increasing gain, however the quality of the video will suffer; i.e.: graininess and poor color.
If using more than one camera, routing them to a switcher and recording the output at the event can save time in editing.
Using various inexpensive cloths and reflectors can enhance images and create better productions when shooting outdoors.
Be sure text is in the 'title safe' area so it can be seen onscreen.
To obtain video releases in the field, record the person giving you the right to use them in your video.
Avoid constant use of the zoom.
Final video should be rendered for various potential uses, such as television broadcast and internet viewing. Formats for television (including ASUtv) can include the following: DVD (VOB), MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, .avi, .mov to name a few. If rendering from Final Cut, a .m2v video file with a .wav audio is needed (not .aif audio). Internet video can be renedered depending on the resource's needs, but include .qt and .wmv. See the "Editing" section below for additional information.

Audio

Good, clear audio is essential to an effective interview, since the majority of information communicate will come through this channel. If at all possible, use a separate microphone - not the microphone built into the video camera or tape recorder - and place it as close as possible to the speaker's mouth. It's best to use a lapel or lavaliere (lav) mic. Lapel mics tend not to record as much background noise as freestanding ones because the body of the wearer helps to absorb unwanted noise. If you don't have access to a lapel mic, use a microphone on a stand placed 6-12 inches from your interviewee, but try to keep it out of your camera shot. If possible, try to use a uni-directional or cardioid microphone, which picks up sound in front but not behind. Be aware that when you ask a question during the interview your voice will, in all likelihood, be quieter than your interviewee's, given the placement of the microphone. Be sure to speak clearly and loudly to ensure that your question is audible.

Check the sound quality of your recording before you begin the interview. If you have headphones, put them on and listen closely to the sounds your recording device is receiving. Listen for any unwanted noises - whirring fans, air conditioning, equipment noises or sounds from the microphone rubbing on clothing or jewelry, for example - and take steps to eradicate them, either repositioning the microphone or removing the sound. If you hear hiss, your recording level may be set too low. If your subject's voice sounds distorted, the level is set too high. If you hear a humming sound, your microphone may be too close to the recorder or another electrical device.

Use headphones to maintain adequate sound levels and avoid over-modulating sound. Low audio levels may possibly be corrected, while hot, distorted audio is not useable.
Try to obtain the best audio possible. 'House sound' at some venues may be the best resource, if you can get audio from their system. When possible, using your own mic may be the best option. Try both sources and determine which is the higher quality by listening through headphones.
When editing, maintain consistent video and audio levels. Avoid using over-exposed video and distorted audio, if possible. Avoid using startlingly loud and inaudibly low audio levels.

On Camera Interviews

Choosing an Interview Location

When deciding where to tape your interview, there are three important factors to keep in mind"

The environment of the room, specifically its lighting and sound qualities
Access to electrical outlets and
The comfort of the interviewee

The ideal recording room has soft furnishings and carpet, which allow your interviewee to sit comfortably and also serve to absorb, rather than reflect, sound (which can cause an echo effect). The room should also have a source of bright, even light, no distracting noises and plenty of electrical outlets for plugging in your equipment.

Regardless of where the interview takes place, you will need to be sure that the environment is conducive to video and audio recording. The most important elements are the lighting and sound in the room. Be sure there are no distracting sounds in the room - buzzing from fluorescent lights, loud traffic noise from beyond the windows or clanking from a radiator, for instance. Be sure there is enough light for the camera to function properly and avoid situations where the subject will be lit strongly from behind, such as being seated in front of a daytime window. Avoid mixing daylight and incandescent sources of light as this can confuse the camera's built-in color-correcting function. An easy way to fix this is either to close the curtains, using only incandescent light, or turn off the lights and open the curtains wide, bathing the subject in natural light.

Make a note of where electrical outlets are located in the room. Even if the wall closest to your ideal camera placement, given sound and lighting considerations, contains an outlet, it's a good idea to bring along a power strip and extension cord, just in case. Plugging in to A/C power allows you to focus on the interview, rather than on whether your battery is running low.

Conducting an Interview

Your first priority upon entering your recording room, once you've determined where to set up within it, is your interviewee's comfort and convenience. If possible, set up your recording equipment before your subject enters the room. Arrange with others outside the room to have no interruptions, and turn off all phones and cell phones. When your interviewee arrives, seat them in a comfortable chair and offer a glass of water. Attach or position the microphone, perform sound checks (see "Audio" section) and adjust your camera lens so that the interviewee's upper body is framed in the camera's view screen. Once you've double-checked your settings, tapes and battery levels, you're ready to begin the interview.

Start by asking your interviewee some "warm-up" questions - about family, their hometown, friends in school, and so on - to put them at ease and begin developing rapport. Once the subject is used to the camera, begin asking the questions generated by your research. Be careful not to become trapped by your list. If your subject has something interesting to say that's not written there, encourage them to talk about it. Ask follow-up questions to get more detail and clarity; don't be afraid to probe (politely!) for more information. Listen attentively and do not interrupt. If you have questions, jot these down and come back to them. Use a pencil and note cards to keep writing noise to a minimum.

At the conclusions of your session, ask for any clarification or spelling of unfamiliar terms and names. Thank your subject for his generosity and let the interviewee know that you might be in touch with follow-up questions. Encourage them to be in touch if they have any questions or concerns, too. Interview Checklist Housekeeping

Note the name of the subject, the date and the location of your interview by making both an audio and video slate of the start of the interview. Speak the information directly into the microphone and also write it down and show the camera.

If you're running the camera yourself, keep track of battery levels and tape used; try to make changing these as quick and unobtrusive as possible. When you've used a tape, be sure to slide the tab on the tape to the "lock "position, ensuring you do not accidentally record over the interview later. Periodically look through your camera's viewfinder and listen to the sound to be certain your settings have not changed. Write down unfamiliar names and terms and ask for clarification and correct spellings at the end of your interview.

Editing

When editing keep these guidelines in mind:

Only one ASU-approved logo can be used in a single production. The use of two different logos is prohibited.
Maroon and gold colors for fonts, frames, backgrounds, etc... should only be used. Avoid over-saturation of these colors when using them together to avoid 'bleeding' into text or backgrounds.
When editing, maintain consistent video and audio levels. Avoid using over-exposed video and distorted audio, if possible. Avoid using startlingly loud and inaudibly low audio levels.
Be sure text is in the 'title safe' area so it can be seen onscreen.
To obtain video releases in the field, record the person giving you the right to use them in your video.
Final video should be rendered as .mov or .AVI file, DVD, MPEG-2 or as previously indicated and dependant on your resource's needs. Services such as YouTube, Google Video, and Vimeo provide information regarding their standards. See the Online Channel Team on the Media Board Wiki for more information. For ASUtv broadcast export seperate audio (.WAV) and video (.m2v) files from Final Cut.

Accessibility

Disability compliance should be taken into consideration whenever producing video and audio content. Although not always cost effective the inclusion of closed captions should be included for viewers who may be hearing impaired. Similarly, audio only content should have a corresponding transcript available when possible. There are several subtitle applications available to aid in creating subtitles and captions such as URUWorks Subtitle Workshop and Magpie provided by the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (note: currently Magpie has technical issues prohibiting its functionality on some Intel based Macs)

ASU Closed Captioning

Some online video hosting services provide captioning display such as YouTube and Google Video. Please refer to their technical specification (Google, YouTube ) for more information on creating captions for those players.

Caption Formats for Online Presentations

Google Video
Using Subtitle Workshop export as a Sub Rip (SRT) format. After upload and conversion you will be able to edit the text within the Google Video interface to correct any errors.

The captions will auto display in the player unless you deselect the "CC" button.

Format Example after Google import:

00:00:04:18,00:00:07:05
Hi this is a subtitle example
00:00:07:06,00:00:10:02
This is the next line

YouTube
YouTube also utilizes the SubRip (*.SRT) format but does not allow editing after upload. You can change the name of the track or add and remove subtitles but not the actual text.

Multiple language tracks can be added to the video for greater accessibility. Also, unless designated, the YouTube video will not auto display the captions. You need to mouse over the video and select the "Turn Captions" on button.

For more information on captions upload to YouTube visit: http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=100077

DVD

Mac DVD Studio Pro
Program able to accept caption files for subtitles. Using Subtitle Workshop Export transcript as a "MAC DVD Studo Pro.txt" file. You will need to use a text editor and change the spaces "## ##" to commas "## , ##"

See the example below:

00:00:04:18 , 00:00:07:05 , Hi this is a subtitle example

You can then import the file as directed in the software manual to the desired track on your DVD.

Broadcast
ASUtv will retain and broadcast all captioning that is included in any video. All captioning will be displayed with the program in it's original form.

Open Captions / Subtitles
Another option for accessibility is the use of open captions or subtitles. Functionally closed and open captions are equivalent but the text in open captions is burned into the image where as Closed captioning allows the viewer to turn off the text. For systems that do not make closed captioning available, open captions or subtitles should be considered.

The use of term "subtitles" assumes the viewer can hear but cannot understand the language or accent, or the speech is not entirely clear, so they only transcribe dialogue and some on-screen text. "Captions" aim to describe all significant audio content — spoken dialogue and non-speech information such as the identity of speakers and their manner of speaking — along with music or sound effects using words or symbols."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_caption#Terminology
Governance
ASU Executive Media Board and its subgroup the Digital Signage Team are also taking Accessibility into consideration as a requirement for video displays across the ASU campuses.

Flash conversion to broadcast video (including ASUtv)

Basic Standards (based on Mac conversion, but PC conversion will use the same information)

NTSC video, 720x480
30fps (frames per second)
Uncompressed 8-bit (good quality) or 10-bit (best quality)
4:2:2 sampling rate
Compressor setting at best
Remove all stop action script (best quality, stop action script will cause problems in exporting)
MPEG2 file (unmuxed: .M2V or .MP2 along with 48000 .wav file; muxed: .mp2 or .m2p)
Quicktime will do this only if you have an MPEG2 encoder plugin.