Video Support

Always shoot in landscape mode, rather than portrait mode.

Avoid shaky video. One way to do this is to prop the phone on something so it stays still while recording. If you are unable to do this, make sure you hold the camera with two hands (rather than one). If you need to record yourself, you can either take a selfie video using two hands, or have a colleague do this for you. Keep in mind, the rear facing camera on a phone is typically higher quality. Getting help from a colleague or propping the phone on something will give you a higher quality product.

Look for natural light. Your subject's face should being facing the natural light (such as a window). If your subject has their back to the light, it will create a shadow on their face and it will be hard.

Close your door and windows, turn off music, put your phone on silent and find a space with very little background noise. You want to record in as quiet of space as possible. 

Keep it simple and don’t overcomplicate it. Think about the goal of the video. If the set isn't a central goal of the video, then don't worry about creating some elaborate background. You want the audience to be focus on the speaker and what they are saying, rather than where they are standing or sitting.  

Since you plan to record on your cell phone, we recommend editing on your cell phone. There are several free video editing apps on the market. Search YouTube for how-to videos. 

Once the video is done, you can export the project to your phone’s album and then import into Google Drive (some apps may give you the option to export straight to Google Drive so you can skip exporting to your phone). Once in Google Drive, then you can share a with staff and students students.