To run on TV and fixed computers the final video must behorizontal. Clips shot vertical look bad so the camerashould always be horizontal.

�NO SELFIES OR HANDHELD

� NO VERTICALS

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OMF are supporting the team at post production stage, at whichpoint we have identified a number of avoidable pitfalls. So beforeyou film, check through these do’s and Don’ts. Later pages givesome useful extra tips using broadcast images as examples, toupgrade your filming or, if you are ambitious, to tackle morechallenging shoots.

Viewable on TV, computer, tablet and smart phone, theestablished framework of introductions, links, biblical overviewsand a weekly message by corps leaders is supported bycontributions from corps members. Most of those clips andcontributions have been filmed on smart phone or tablet withcontent compiled by a team of volunteers led by Kev Askew.

Under the UK Government’s restrictions to control thespread of the Covid-19 virus, weekly meetings are notallowed, so Southport Salvation Army is releasingvirtual meetings on-line each Sunday.

1FILMING GUIDE

DO NOT point your phone or camera upwardsThe camera viewpoint needs to be level with your eyes orslightly above. If your subject is being filmed while sittingon a chair or sofa, avoid putting the camera on a coffeetable - it is far too low.

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NOT TOO CLOSE

NO OPEN WINDOWS OR DOORSBackground noises cause problems when editing, so closeall doors and windows. Buzzing fridges, ticking clocks,humming aquarium pumps, boiling kettles and othernoises need to be kept out.

Clips need to be rock steady which is impossible if yourcamera is hand held or on a selfie stick. Best is to use atripod but if you don’t have one, put your camera orphone on a firm surface.

If your subject is sitting down then knees and hands will becloser to the camera than head and body. Cameras onphones have wide angle lenses so if it is too close thenknees and hands etc will be very big and distorted.Solution - move back. We can crop in the edit.

NO WEB CAMSWeb cams are often quite low resolution so using amodern smart phone or tablet will be much better.

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LOOK AT BACKGROUNDS

AUDIO IS IMPORTANTIf you have a separate microphone put it as close as youcan to the subject being filmed. If you don’t have a micbut have a second phone or tablet, use that with anaudio record app like Voice Record Pro (free) to getbetter sound. If your subject is seated then putting a micor phone on a coffee table directly in front will be a greatimprovement. We can sync it all up in the edit.

Because we concentrate on the person we are filming,backgrounds are often overlooked. The old adage abouttrees growing out of peoples heads in photos is equallyvalid indoors. Try to use a plain wall as your backgroundand watch out for rogue wall lights, photographs andpictures, fish tanks, ornaments and other distractions thatmay look great in the room but will spoil your film.

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PAGE3.1EDITION

2FILMING GUIDE

Filming One PersonVIEWPOINT & POSTURE

Camera angle and subject posture are veryimportant. Good choice of viewpoint createsfriendliness and draws the viewer in while poorposture creates a barrier and gets progressivelymore boring as the clip runs.

Resist the temptation to just film theperson straight on. At best this givesan image akin to a passport photoor wanted poster and gets moreboring the longer the clip runs.

Compare these two TV screenswhere the top shot looks ordinary,formal and quite uninterestingwhile the bottom shot is far moreinteresting, friendly and moreprofessional.

This is very easy to do. Simply moveyour camera ever so slightly offcentre and have your subject turnhis or her head to face the camerawhile keeping their body in theoriginal position. The key wordshere are ever so slightly. They maybe small movements but theymake a huge difference. Makesure that your camera is at yoursubject’s eye level - never below.

And if you have a second cameraor phone, either use it to recordaudio or position it slightly to theside of the main camera (on thesame side the subject is looking) sothat we can use it as camera two.

DON’T FILM STRAIGHT ONDON’T SLOUCH

NO TRIPOD? - NO PROBLEMWe don’t all have tripods stashed away at home but that’s not an excuse forputting your camera phone on a low coffee table. Raid your store cupboard forsomething suitable such as baked beans cans or kitchen roll and stack them up.If all else fails, bring out the ironing board - it’s height is adjustable.

Have you ever wondered why sofas in TV studio are often curved, with a squareprofile and a low back?

Usually the seats are fractionally higher than your sofa at home so that thesubject does not sit too low. So that you don’t sink in and cannot slouch theyare made of denser more solid foam and are shallower from front to back. Theback-rests are vertical for the same reason and are always quite low so that ifthe subject leans on the backrest, he or she remains quite erect. There’s wisdomin the madness! The curve is so that the camera pedestals can move aroundeasily and also so that people on the sofa are never side by side shot front-on).

Sitting back in your favourite chair or sofa may be extremely comfortable andrelaxing but when caught on film it looks more like a slouch. So when you arebeing filmed you need to sit more toward the front of the sofa and sit more erect- don’t lean back. If that’s difficult, put two cushions behind you to give supportbut out of camera view (a ploy used by Ann Widdecombe in the studio shot onthe next page).

3FILMING GUIDE

Filming Two PeopleIT’S ONE DOUBLED

All the points when filming a single person areequally relevant when filming two people- youjust have to consider how the two will interacttogether on-screen.

CAMERA ANGLE AND SUBJECT ARRANGEMENTYou are unlikely to have a curved sofa but you can arrange your subjects sothat they are at a slight angle (that word slight again). Sit them towards thefront of the sofa sitting more erect and angled in ever so slightly towards eachother so that you avoid the passport photo trap.

Don’t get too close. Give us some space around the subjects (the white box inthe photo) but not too far back. Don’t worry about close ups because we canuse the main footage and crop the shots (red box). As with a single person,don’t film from straight on - think of an imaginary centre line straight on to yoursubjects and move your camera slightly to one side of it. If you know which ofthe two will do most of the talking, your camera should be slightly to the otherside so that it is aimed more in the direction of the key speaker. It is subtle butadds interest and impact.

Audio is very important so position a mic or phone with an audio app close torecord better sound. If you then still have a spare camera, position it slightly tothe side of the main camera on the opposite side of centre to give us aalternative view of both people and from which we can also crop a close upof the non-key speaker

During Covid-19 restrictions we may need to film two people separately atdifferent locations then bring them together in the edit. OMF does that usingchromakey technology (green screen) keying but it’s a bit too complicated todo on your own with a smartphone. With planning however we can createthe illusion that the two people are at least in the same room.

All you need to do is decide who will be on the left and who will be on the right.Film the individuals as set out on page 2, filming a single person, but seated asdescribed above, with one turned slightly to the left and the other turnedslightly to the right. We cannot put them both together in the same shotbecause that would need the chromakey but we can use the single images ina way that creates the feel that they are in the same room.

FILMING TWO PEOPLE INDEPENDENTLY

Too wide Good framingHide a mic oncoffee tableWe can crop a

close-up

Excellent. Framing is not too close,slightly to the left to emphasise themain speaker (Ann Widdecombe)and a cushion stops her leaningback - note shallow seat depth

4FILMING GUIDE

Filming a Conference CallPOPULAR SOFTWARE

During lockdown, the ability to connect severalpeople and display their images using Skype,FaceTime and Zoom came to the fore, keepingfamilies and friends in-touch when socialdistancing kept us apart.

PROBLEMS WITH FILMINGLive recording through such a system was trialled for a TTT insertquite early on and while it worked, that first session highlighted afew issues. The size of separate windows affected image qualitywhen enlarged to full screen, transmission speed over the videolink affected scan speed and also put the audio out of sync.Collectively that all resulted in a post-production nightmare.

Broadcast units don’t have those problems because they usefoldback monitors, signal recording and other advanced (andexpensive) equipment that we do not have access to.

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

PUTTING IT ALL INTO PRACTICEFew people have HD camcorders, crutch leg tripods or lavaliertie clip microphones but most couples these days have a smartphone each, often with a set of earbuds and usually at least oneiPad or other tablet or a laptop computer. And along with a fewtoilet rolls, baked beans tins and an ironing board that’s all weneed. Using screen grabs from our first session and new images ofour suggested kit, here’s how to do it.

Your largest screen will be a laptop or tablet so start off bypositioning it in front of you where you can see it easily. Ifyou don’t have a piece of furniture of the right height,bring out your ironing board and use that. Connect to theothers using Skype, FaceTime or Zoom Use either yourbuilt-in webcam or an accessory one and onceconnected you have your comms system and foldbackmonitor already set up.

But video conferencing can enable us to have one, two, three ormore people involved in a conversation or chat that would bewonderful in virtual worship, so undaunted we’ve come up with asystem that can deliver live interaction of multiple people withhigh quality video and audio - and incredibly, just using itemsfound around the home.

The key here is thinking outside the box or looking past theconventional. We can still use Skype, FaceTime or Zoom but in thiscase for communication and foldback.

FOLDBACK AND SETUP

BAKED BEANS AND TOILET ROLLS

EARBUDS TO THE RESCUEAudio is vitally important. Sound recorded from the cameraabove your monitor just isn’t good enough because soundlevel will be too low and room ‘colour’ will overpower yourdialogue. Use your second smartphone to record your audio.The best option is to use a lavalier (tie clip) microphoneplugged into the phone and the phone hidden but if youhaven’t got one you can use your earbuds and hide thebuds/wire in your clothing with the mic near your collar. If allelse fails, just use the phone as near as possible to your mouth. We placedthe phone on a knee - but you would have to keep still to avoid rustle!

For virtual worship we need better video than theconference call can provide and this is where yourfirst smartphone comes in. Position it above thefoldback monitor as close as you can get it, makingsure that it is as close to the eye level of yoursubject as possible. If you don’t have a small tripodthen improvise and raid the kitchen cabinet for

suitable things to stack up and rest your phone on - baked beans cans, cereal boxes oranything else that will work. In this illustration we used a kitchen roll and toilet rolls (youprobably have those from panic buying in March!).