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Vlogging tips to video your writing experience

Your Write a Book in a Day team is sure to be filled with lots of talented writers. But if your teammates or friends are handier behind a camera than with words, they can still help make the day a success! Get budding directors, camera operators and interviewers involved to help video and make memories of the Write a Book in a Day experience. If you need some help getting started, Chris Martini, video producer for Ottico Lab, shares his top tips for creating a vlog.

1. Positioning

When speaking to the camera, hunching over a laptop screen or a handheld device isn’t a great look for the audience on the other end. Instead, raise your camera up to your eye level. Or, if you’re using a mobile device, mount it or rest it on something to get a better angle.

2. Steady your shot

If you’re shooting with a mobile or portable device, place it on a hard level surface to get a steady and professional shot. If you have a tripod, fantastic. But if not, find yourself a collection of books to sit the device on to get the same result.

3. Lighting

Test your shot and carefully position the person being recorded around with light in the room. Have a play around with light by opening and closing curtains, or turning lights on and off. Trial the lighting until you get an even lit look.

‘Diffusion’ is the technical term for creating soft lighting in a video. It’s what makes professional videos look so nice and it’s super easy to achieve! All you need are some white sheets. Hang them up and pass light through them to create beautiful, even lighting.

4. Audio

Make sure you properly capture the team’s words on the day by testing your sound. Plug in headphones to check you can hear everything. If you’re using an external microphone, position it close to the person speaking and play around with the direction of the microphone until it sounds perfect.

Be sure to keep an ear out for interfering noises nearby. Loud music in the next room or a busy street? You may want to spin the recording device around to reduce this noise.

5. Test

Test the look of your shot before you begin. Look for unflattering lighting and make adjustments. As with the above point, make sure to check your audio. Test all of these things with a ten second test shoot to perfect everything before you begin filming.

Have you been vlogging your Write a Book in a Day experience? We’d love to see! Share your videos on our Facebook Event page here or tag @thekidscancerproject on Instagram. Or you can get in touch via [email protected].

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