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- Flight mode

Enable the flight mode before the recording session starts to avoid disturbing notifications. The easiest way is to enable flight mode. If you are using a Bluetooth microphone, keep the Bluetooth connection active.

- Camera orientation

You can use your phone camera in a vertical or a horizontal orientation, this depends on the platform for viewing the results. For Tiktok, Instagram or Youtube shorts, you can record vertical because these videos are usually viewed on a vertical screen. When producing videos for an assignment in your course, horizontally oriented video is better. These videos are usually viewed within Canvas on a desktop or a laptop.

- Resolution

The recent generation of smartphones can often record 4K video. However, the storage on your phone will quickly be full when recording longer videos. The files will also be harder to use in video editing software on a moderate computer. For video assignments a FullHD 30p resolution is mostly sufficient. Even 720p will give acceptable results.

- Camera battery level

Make sure the battery of your camera is fully charged before recording video scenes. Bring your charger along with you if you need to recharge during the session. A USB Powerbank can also be of good use.

- Shots length

When you are recording your shots, consider making your shots a little longer than you need so you have more space and flexibility when you are editing. So you can cut out the perfect part ouf of the whole shot.

- Composition

Use the rule of thirds (below left image) by placing important subjects off-center to make your shot more balanced and interesting. Frame your shot with some headroom space above the subject’s head but avoid leaving too much empty space to keep focus. Also, follow the 180-degree rule (right image below): imagine a line between two characters or objects and keep the camera on one side of that line to maintain consistent screen direction and avoid confusing the viewer.

- Audio

For recommendations on recording audio, see this page: Media Toolkit: recording audio

- Tripod or improvised device

For stable video we recommend the use of a tripod. If a tripod is not available, you can improvise according to this video:

For more tips and instruction, this Dutch video is very helpful:

For more in-depth information about composition techniques, see this video: