Filming Your Performance for an Online Show

In the age of Covid, performing has evolved. A medium we had the whole time, but has been untapped, virtual performances are here to stay. For those who aren’t familiar, you will need to adapt to stay in the game. Technology at times can be terrifying and overwhelming and even for those Tech Savvy Nerds, there are always tips and tricks to help improve your performance videos. 

Cameras

Not everyone has the latest iDevice or top tier Canon camera but a good quality camera does not have to break the bank. What you need is something that can record at a minimum of 720p HD at 30 fps. Recommended is 1080p HD at 30 fps. 

So what does that mean? Let’s get nerdy... The “p” stands for Pixels. A pixel is like a small piece of a puzzle, once placed together you’ll create an image. The more pixels, the clearer the image. “HD” stands for High Definition. HD is just a standard term. Not all HD will be good enough for your needs. “FPS” stands for Frames Per Second. This means how many pictures flash on your screen per second. Think of a flip book. The more pages, the less jumpy the animation looks. As humans, our eyes see between 30-60 fps. Generally 30 fps is more than sufficient as sometimes more fps can look a bit jarring.

In short, make sure your phone/camera/webcam is able to film in at least 720p HD at 30 FPS. Most new (2018 and up) Androids/iPhones/Webcams will work for your needs. 

When purchasing, be wary of Amazon. There are a lot of cameras on there for mega cheap with thousands of reviews but from an unknown brand name. They are almost never worth it. Always look at reviews off of Amazon as it is very easy to fake those reviews. 

For my personal filming, I use an iPhone or a Webcam. I’ve linked my favorite easy to use webcam here:

Lighting

Think of stage lighting. When you go to see a show or are in one, do they usually light the audience? No! Direct lighting on your audience (your camera) will cause white flashes, graininess, and usually skew colors. Keep all lighting on you. This includes filming in front of windows. Dance to the window, not away from it. Moody lighting is generally a no-no. Keep things bright otherwise the poor little pixels that you spent so much time with will struggle causing graininess. Keep your lighting peach or blue toned if possible. Colorful lights can also cause strange camera issues. 

You’ll want to test your options before filming to see what will look best for your set up. It may take more prep, but it will be worth the overall outcome. 

Ring lights are a great, and cost effective option for filming. Here’s the one that I have:

Backdrops

Pick a backdrop that will best suit your costume. Wearing a dark color? Black backdrops will make it appear that you have magically missing body parts. Wearing something white? The same problem can happen with a white costume on a white backdrop but is much less likely. Reds never tend to do well on video, but for most purposes this should not be an issue. Not using a backdrop and want to film in your house? Keep it simple! Overly busy backgrounds (bookshelves, furniture, art, props, etc) will distract the eye. Keep decor to a minimum if possible. Giving yourself breathing room will allow the audience to focus on you and your fabulousness rather than worrying about stubbing your toe.

Cinematography

Invest in a tripod. They are one of the cheapest things you can get and will make your life so much easier. Make sure you have the correct attachment (phone stand, screw on, etc) so that you can easily put your equipment in the most suitable spot for filming. Don’t skimp on this. Precariously trying to put up your phone on the edge of a bookshelf will lead to frustration and a broken screen. Not to mention you can’t control any angles. 

As for angles, it is generally best to film from farther away (10 ft ish) and film at your eye level with the camera angled slightly down. This should properly show the proportions of your body without the dreaded “up your nose” angle. No one looks good being shot that way. Give yourself a literal box to film in. Create parameters so that you don’t accidentally dance off frame. Check to make sure your head or arms don’t get cut off. If you need, use tape as markers to avoid going over the line. Test run and check your video! 

Avoid the zoom button and fancy filters. These can be a lot of fun, but in the end will only hurt your video quality. Effects can be added during editing (I don’t recommend it but...do you) but you’ll want a clean slate to start with. 

And lastly, use the best camera on your device as possible. Especially for you phone users, the front camera can be nice because you can see yourself while dancing. Don’t fall for it. The camera quality on the front facing camera is always lesser to the back camera. Check your frames before filming and set your parameters. 

Music

Right now, streaming your video online can be a problem due to copyright issues. Even though you are not making a profit off of dancing to a song you do not own the rights to use it. This means that social media platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) sometimes mute the audio, disable the video, or remove it entirely. No matter how many times you write out “I do not own rights to this music” your video will be subject to copyright restrictions. This doesn’t mean you need to omit your music, but it's something to keep in mind. You cannot make any money (put ads on) content that you don’t own. 

As for how to get your music into your video you have two options:

1st is to play the music at an appropriate level and let your cameras built in mic catch the audio. You’ll need to be very careful with this option as it’s easy to overdue the volume, causing static and distortion. In the video world, we’d say that the mic is hot. Think of it this way, if you are in a room with 10 people and all loudly start talking at the same time, would you be able to hear what they all said clearly? Your mic works the same way. If you are using the built in mic, keep the volume lower than what you are used to. Also keep in mind it will pick up your breathing and costume noise. As always, test before filming. 

Editing

Now that you’ve filmed your fabulous routine, you’ll need to edit the video. For some, this can be a scary process as most have never done it before. I’ve been editing video for 15+ years both for fun and professionally and I still learn something new everyday! Below I’ve broken down information based on what you have.

Most phones have a built in editing software. iPhones in particular have a sufficient editor right in thePhotos app. Androids have the “trim” option in the Gallery. For the most part, all you’ll need to do is trim the beginning and ending. Simply select your video and use your finger to trim the sections off that you don’t need. Make sure you’ve made a copy of the video as well, just in case. If you want something more advanced, I highly recommend LumaFusion for the iPhone. It’s similar to Adobe Premiere Pro in function and works beautiful on any iDevice. There are many tutorials on how to use it online that are free. However, if you’ve never used an editing software before, it can be intimidating. For a newer user I recommend iMovie for iPhone. Avoid the gimmicky features and use its basic tools. Apple provides many great tutorials on how to use the app effectively. For Android, I recommend Viva Video. For $3.99 you’ll get an easy to use app that will do more than enough for your editing needs.  Most of the features are intuitive. 

If you're on a computer, I highly recommend Adobe Premier Rush. It’s a quicker and striped down version of my favorite editing software, Premier Pro. It’s $9.99 a month and so worth the cost. It’s fairly intuitive and is a great option for both Mac and PC users. 

Uploading

You’ve done all the hard work and now you need to submit it! Most event producers will ask you to send the video file in the most accessible way. Usually this means GoogleDrive or Dropbox. Both are free and are extremely easy to use. They host your video file and provide a link to whoever you send it to. They then can download the file. Do try your best to upload on wifi or a wired connection, as it will provide the fastest upload.

In short review:

-Record on good quality

-Make the lighting as best as you can

-Don’t over decorate

-Learn some basics of editing and keep it simple

-Upload at the highest quality

Good luck!

Kat is a belly dancer, dance studio owner, show producer, and videographer in Tacoma, WA. You can find out more about her at tacomabellydance.com