Tips for making a lightboard video
When recording on a lightboard, we recommend considering these tips:
- Focus on capturing good audio. Listen to these two audio samples recorded with different microphones.
Be aware of any room noise that may be distracting. Note the room noise/hum in background of the first part of the recording, and note the clarity of the sound in the latter part of the recording. - Use a dark room for recording, with no lights and a dark backdrop. This will reduce any potential glare from the glass of the lightboard.
- Clean the lightboard before recording. Any streaks or unclean areas will show up on your recordings.
- Wear darker clothing so that your lightboard writing will be more visible.
- Know where your video frame edges are, and mark those off, as otherwise text might be cut off if the lighboard is too tightly framed.
- To make important content as visible as possible, stand to the side of the board when discussing what is on the board. This will allow students more opportunity to easily read what you have written and absorb your spoken input.
- Place the tripod/camera about eye level.
- For consistency in future recordings, make note of where the camera is setup as well as the lighboard's light settings.
Extra video tips
- Keep the videos short and succinct. Short videos are more engaging and accessible.
- Consider adding with additional media.You can superimpose graphics or other media (e.g. with iMovie); this helps break up your content visually, and further engages your viewer.
Interested in trying out the lightboard? Contact ITS@reed.edu. Ready to edit your recordings? Read how to edit your lightboard recordings.