With the upheaval of 2020, most of us creative types have had to redirect to moving online for our businesses. I have found that it just isn't the same, however, for now it is what it is. Some of the things I have done is taken a bit more time to work on my online presence. From re-vamping my business websites to creating creative videos. I love learning new things to help grow my business and keep my mind active.
One of my new endeavors was to host webinars and create nice recorded videos of those webinars. I was not sure initially what I was doing, but quickly became enamored in the process. I don't particularly like to be in videos or hear my recorded voice, but the show must still go on and online is the new wave of 2020.
I volunteer for SCORE which is a national non-profit organization offering free and confidential mentoring for small businesses. I coordinated quite a few webinars during this phase and wanted to create a nice looking video recording for each. Using Camtasia software, I was able to achieve this. It is user intuitive and even though there is a learning curve, it was 'learnable'. Check some of them out at Greater Rochester SCORE. There were a few tools that we knew would help us to improve our video offerings.
Better video - to accomplish this, we used the Logitec C920 . The Logitech C920 Hd Pro Webcam really offers a much more clear video along with a variety of features that can be used to make your video more polished.
Better Microphone - We chose the Blue Yeti and the sound quality is very noticeable. I have have been a guest on some radio shows remotely too!! Boy, what a difference!!
Green Screen - I know you have seen those folks in your Zoom meetings, disappearing into some fantasy world with their head (or a portion of their head) bobbing around into the scenic backdrop. The green screen allows you to have a background without the interference. You can also add a background later into the recording by switching the green with an image or video during editing. One thing to keep in mind is that you do have a choice in fabric sizes. Definitely go for the bigger size. I made the mistake of ordering a smaller backdrop (5x7). I was surprised how much the camera showed beyond the green screen. I resolved the space by hanging the 7 foot section horizontally. I did end up ordering a second green screen with two stands and an adjustable rod with an 8x10 backdrop. Much easier with the larger backdrop fabric.
Lighting - nothing worse than not being able to see the person speaking, teaching, or demoing a product. We used an inexpensive ring light to illuminate our face in this case, but could light up a product as well.
Speaking of lighting, if you want to illuminate your small product for pictures for your website or online store, you can get something like the Photography Table Top Light Box 52 LED Portable Photo Studio Shooting Tent
Editing Software - there are a few choices out there to choose from. The one I picked was Camtasia by TechSmith. It does an amazing job with so many features available to help you create new masterpieces. There are also some great tutorials through TechSmith and YouTube which I would highly recommend taking a look at. Sign up for a free 1-month trial and test it out. Free Camtasia Trial