Adding custom watermarks to a webcam feed is a highly requested feature so it was nice to finally roll it out in our recent VCam update. In layman’s terms, this functionality enables you to add a foreground image on top of the actual webcam background of your choice.
But maybe you’re asking, what am I going to be using it for, or what’s the need for it? You have come to the right place as this is exactly what the blog post is about!
Before we continue, make sure you’re on the latest version of XSplit VCam so you can access this feature (available to Premium users only). You can either download the updated version here or update straight from the app.
Display your title and company logo
This is perhaps the most common use of the feature. Displaying a label of your title with your company logo is especially useful if you’re in a large video conference with many external people. It makes things more formal and gives your webcam feed that professional vibe.
But this is not limited to the corporate workforce! As a content creator, this can easily translate to having your profile URLs and logo as part of your webcam feed which means you no longer need to set it up separately from the webcam source itself.
Enhance your background
The watermark is essentially a foreground element, mostly serving its purpose as a lower-third however you can actually also use it as a complimentary piece that can enhance your background.
One of the many users who requested this mentioned needing to superimpose a virtual desk or microphone as having one is a requirement for their calls. Voila! This can easily be done with VCam’s custom watermark.
The same principle applies if you want to make your background more aesthetically pleasing. Say you want to add some elements that will perfectly complement your background. That can also be achieved with this feature.
Demonstrate an object
Another useful way you can use this is if you want to demonstrate something by making it part of the background but you don’t physically have it. Sure, you can provide a link in your chat section but that’s not nearly as interactive as having it beside you.
Remember, custom watermarks also support mp4 video files so you are not just limited to images here! Say you want to walk them through a quick video, that is possible to and it’s just a part of that same webcam feed. No need to switch webcam sources or upload the video externally and share the link, you can play it right there in your webcam feed!
Make fun stuff
We’ve mostly talked about work stuff so far but we know a good chunk of VCam’s usage revolves around personal communication with friends and family members. So let’s bring in the fun stuff!
During our periodic company-wide meetings, some of my more creative colleagues were never shy of coming into the meeting room looking as wacky as they can!
XSplit VCam is used in many different industries so I’m pretty sure there are another half dozen use cases that people can take advantage of with this feature. I’d love to hear how you’re using this in the comments section below. Don’t hesitate to attach a screenshot as well so the community can have something to draw inspiration from!
코로나-19의 유행이 있기 이전에도 원격으로 업무를 보거나 재택근무를 하는 개념은 대부분 존재하는 업무 방침이었습니다. 유행 전염병이 심각해지면서 수 백만, 수 천만 직장인들이 집이나 개인 작업실에서 근무를 하는 경우가 많아졌습니다. 그 후 많은 회사와 기업들이 특정 부서와 분야에서는 업무 대비 결과물에 크게 영향을 받지 않거나 오히려 이득을 보는 경우를 경험한 후, 아마도 전염병 시기가 마무리 되더라도 해당 분야의 근로자들은 재택근무를 유지할 수도 있을 것 같다는 추세입니다. 한 가지 걱정할 점이 있다면, 원래 회사 내에서 얼굴을 보며 서로 인사하고 회의를 진행하던 회사 내 부서 및 팀은 이제 부분적으로, 또는 모두가 다 같이 원격으로 회의를 진행해야 할 수도 있다는 점 입니다. 새로운 업무 환경을 적응하기도 모자라 새로운 팀 간의 소통법을 찾아 정착해야 하는데, 이를 도와드리기 위해 몇 가지 팁을 알려드리겠습니다.
나 자신과 내 팀원들의 성공을 위해 최대한 현실적인 목표를 세우는 것을 추천합니다. 즉, 팀원들 모두가 같은 페이지에 있어야 하며 각자의 역할을 감시자나 상사의 출석 유무와 상관없이 개인의 목표를 달성할 수 있는 자신감이 있어야 합니다. 만약 팀원들 중 일부 인원들이 원격 업무 환경에 돌입하게 되어 특정 업무에 지장이 간다면, 이를 해결하기 위해 모두가 협력하여 알맞는 해결책을 제시하고 동의해야 합니다. 그리고 항상 화상 통화로 소통하지 않기에 회의 시간 외에는 대부분 문자로 구성된 소통법을 사용하게 되니 문구의 맥락과 분위기, 적절한 단어 사용 등에 주의해야 합니다.
만약 재택근무 환경 돌입 후 한 달 정도가 지났는데 일부 사원들이 각자 다른 정보를 다루고 있다면 중간에 소통이 원할하게 이루어지지 않았다는 증거가 될 수 있습니다. 또한 기존의 업무량 대비 결과물을 기대했다면 당연히 목표 100%를 충족하기에 무리였을 수 있습니다. 달라진 환경에 맞게 최대한 실현할 수 있는 업무 방법과 진행량을 서로 확인 해가며 경험을 쌓는 시간을 먼저 가지는 것이 중요할 수 있습니다. 특히, 세부적인 부분은 전 보다 더 극적으로 나서서 지원해주지 않는다면 원격으로 소통 하는 것이 실제 현장에서 서로 말하며 보여주는 것과는 큰 차이가 있기에 여러 번 반복하여 예시를 보여준다거나 사진, 동영상 등을 포함한 자료들로 최대한 모두가 동의할 수 있는 정보를 준비해야 합니다. 확신만을 가지고 온라인 회의를 한다면 가까운 미래에 혼란을 겪을 수도 있으니 주의해야 합니다.
중요한 점은, 모두가 다른 환경과 다른 장비를 사용하더라도 환경과 장비를 탓 하는 경우가 나오지 않도록 알맞는 정보를 모두가 소화할 때까지 조율하면서 차근차근 적응해 나아가야만 온라인 환경의 업무를 유지하며 팀원들과 소통할 수 있습니다. 어느정도 업무 진행의 통일성을 위해서 한 가지 프로그램이나 온라인 서비스를 결정하여 모두가 이들의 사용법을 익히는 것도 도움이 될 수 있습니다.
온라인 소통과 회의를 지원해주는 프로그램들은 슬랙 (Slack), 줌 (Zoom) 그리고 마이크로소프트 팀 (Microsoft Teams) 등이 존재합니다. 이들은 대부분 실시간 소통을 지원하며 화상 및 문구, 그리고 첨부파일 등을 공유할 수 있습니다. 트렐로 (Trello) 또는 아사나 (Asana) 와 같은 서비스들은 마치 온라인 자료실 또는 포럼 같은 개념으로, 중요시 되는 업무의 진행량 또는 업데이트 되야하는 현재 진행형 프로젝트 등을 모두가 확인할 수 있는 게시판 같은 서비스 입니다. 또한 아이던디스 (iDoneThis) 는 출석 확인 및 개인 업무 할당량 확인이 가능한 업무 관리 도구이며 내 업무량을 팀원들에게 공유할 수 있는 서비스 입니다.
위와 비슷한 서비스인 인게이지들리 (Engagedly) 역시 비슷한 개념의 서비스이며 서로의 업무 할당량을 확인 및 보고, 새로운 업무 및 프로젝트 제시 등을 할 수 있습니다. 팀원들이 각자의 피드백을 남길 수도 있으며 원격으로 업무를 보는 팀원들은 개개인의 업무 할당량을 편집 및 업데이트 할 수도 있습니다.
업무량에 알맞는 직원들의 급여를 동시에 관리해야 한다면 페이모 (Paymo) 와 같은 서비스를 활용하여 프로젝트에 사용된 시간 대비 급여를 관리할 수 있습니다. 시간표와 스케쥴을 중요시 여긴다면 토글 (Toggl) 같은 서비스를 추천하며 프로젝트 기획과 동시에 해당 작업에 알맞는 구인/구직을 할 수도 있습니다. 온라인으로 타이머 및 업무 시간 관리가 가능하며 업무에 필요로한 시간만을 분석하고 조율할 수 있습니다. 물론 이 모든 서비스들 중 하나만 선택하여 잘 활용하거늘 때로는 화상 연결 프로그램을 동반하여 서로의 진행량을 확인하고 따로 회의 시간을 미리 계획하여 수시로 소통할 수 있다면 더욱 원할하게 프로젝트를 진행할 수 있습니다.
원할한 원격 소통방법은 현재 다양한 방법과 기술이 존재하여 한가지 정답이 있는건 아닙니다. 하지만 대부분 회사나 기업에서 사용하는 원격 소통 프로그램들은 내부적인 자사 프로그램일 수도 있지만 공개적으로 누구나 사용할 수 있는 서비스들도 시대에 뒤쳐지지 않고 현대 기업인들 및 회사원, 학생들과 동호회 단체에서도 사용할 수 있도록 최적화 되어 있습니다.
부담없이 사용할 수 있는 화상 통화 및 회의 서비스로는 줌 (Zoom) 또는 구글 행아웃 (Google Hangouts) 을 사용할 수 있고 언제 어디서든 문자 형식으로 여러명이서 대화할 수 있는 서비스는 슬랙 (Slack) 을 활용할 수 있습니다. 물론 언제나 그래 왔듯이 비상시에는 전화 통화를 할 수 있습니다. 회사 및 프로젝트의 팀원들과 일정하게 소통하고 모두가 최신 정보에 익숙해지도록 하려면 매 주 시간을 약속하여 단체 또는 일 대 일 회의를 하는것도 유용한 방법입니다. 이런식으로 ‘오픈 오피스’ 즉 작업 공간 자체를 상징적으로 지정하되, 누구나 원하는 시간 및 일정에 본인에게 주어진 책임 업무를 도맡아 마무리 지을 수 있다면 특정 시간대의 제한을 받지 않고 프로젝트 결과물을 볼 수 있으리라 믿습니다.
물론 동료들 사이에서 일부 인원들만 활동적이고 다른 동료들은 비교적 내성적일 수 있으니 평상시 단체 활동에서도 권장하듯이 모든 인원들을 챙기고 또 가능한 모두가 적극적으로 프로젝트에 참여할 수 있도록 활발히 질의응답을 이어나간다면 아무리 온라인 환경이어도 건강하고 생산적인 팀을 꾸려나갈 수 있습니다. 온라인에서도 휴식 공간이 중요합니다. 디스코드 (Discord) 나 슬랙 (Slack) 같이 여러 채팅 서버를 운영하는 형식의 서비스를 사용한다면 한 두 개 정도의 ‘일상 채팅’ 방 정도를 생성하여 업무와는 관계없이 일상 및 취미 활동, 최신 트렌드 등을 공유하고 이야기 할 수 있는 채팅방이 있다면 스트레스 해소도 될 겸 동료들간의 친목을 더욱 긍정적으로 만들 수 있습니다.
물론 모든 기업, 회사, 단체는 결과물이 극적으로 이득을 보는 방향으로 프로젝트가 진행됩니다. 하지만 말이 쉽지 계획만 한다고 이루어지지는 않습니다. 하지만 이러한 목표를 두고 동료들과 프로젝트를 진행하는 것이 동료들간의 협력과 단체의 생산성을 최대한 키울 수 있는 계기가 됩니다. 원격으로 프로젝트가 진행된다면 평상시보다 더욱 돈독한 팀워크가 필요합니다. 한 가지 기억할 점은 절대로 누구를 감시하거나 시간표를 일일이 확인하는것 보다는, 내 동료들이 알맞는 장비와 도구로 책임을 맡은 작업을 진행할 수 있는지를 확인해주는 것 입니다. 그리하여 각자의 팀원들이 최대한 익숙하고 편리한 장소에서 팀이 원하는 진행률을 달성할 수 있도록 지원 해주는 것 입니다.
동료 인원들 이 모두 최적화된 환경에서 필요한 도구들로 작업을 진행한다면 ‘무조건 주어진 작업량을 달성할 수 있다는것’에 대한 확신을 하고 존중해줘야 합니다. 이를 실천하기에 필요한 도구나 장비가 있는지 지속적으로 확인 해야 한다거나 이에 관련된 강박과 걱정으로 이를 체크하는 인원이 필요하다면 끝없이 모든 구석을 집착하게 되면 파킨슨의 법칙을 면할 수 없을 것입니다.
목표를 달성하기 위해 지속적으로 진행량을 확인하기만 하면 앞으로 나아갈 수 없게 됩니다. 하지만 호흡을 가다듬고 꾸준하게 작업을 이어간다면 노하우가 생기며 비교적 전보다 나은 생산량을 키워낼 수 있습니다. 각자 맡은 책임의 중요성을 부여해준다면 개인의 결과물로 인해서 더욱 큰 그림을 그릴 수 있다는 점을 각인해준다면 이를 동기부여 삼아 모두가 동일한 페이스로 프로젝트를 진행할 수 있습니다. 개개인을 체크하고 확인하는 시간을 오히려 더 좋고 멋진 기회를 잡는데에 시간으로 투자한다면 긍정적인 동료간의 분위기는 물론 추가적인 이익을 잡는 기회로 삼을 수 있다는것을 명심하세요.
이제 내 회사나 단체가 원격으로 작업을 진행하는 것에 익숙해졌다면 새로운 방법으로 내 모습을 내 동료들에게 공유하는 방법을 배워야 합니다. 평상시에는 아침에 일어나 씻은 후 단정된 옷차림으로 회사나 학교를 나가곤 하지만 온라인으로 진행되는 회의에는 보통 내 얼굴이 비추게 되며 동시에 내 방 또는 작업 공간이 동료들에게 공개되기도 합니다. 내가 잘 지내고 있는지, 그리고 재택 업무 환경은 괜찮은지 등의 표현을 카메라에 모두 담고 싶다면, 기본적인 장비로 최대한의 분위기를 끌어올릴 수 있습니다. 예를들어 조명의 각도, 카메라에 비추는 뒷 배경의 색감과 물건들, 머리스타일 정도를 고려하면 됩니다.
그리곤 이들과 모여 온라인으로도 단체 활동을 할 수 있는 게임이나 독후감, 토론 및 리뷰 등을 진행하면서 팀워크를 더욱 돈독히 하며 팀 빌딩, 워크샾 같은 활동을 적용할 수 있습니다.
마지막으로, 생산적인 팀 리더가 되려면 팀원들 개개인의 시간을 최대한 존중 해줘야 합니다. 그들이 새로운 환경게 적응하도록, 새로운 도구와 장비에 적응하도록 시간을 자유롭게 활용하도록 지원해준다면 팀의 목표달성을 위한 좋은 동료들이 될 수 있습니다. 마치 새로운 프로그램 언어, 그림 그리기, 디자인, 작가 활동을 하는 것 처럼, 집에서 생산적인 업무를 진행한다는 것 자체도 나와 그들에겐 새로운 영역을 처음부터 다시 배우는 것 과 같습니다. 이에 익숙해지려면 우리 모두가 이를 배우기 위한 시간이 주어져야 한다고 믿습니다.
Remote working was a growing trend even before Covid-19 forced tens of millions to stay indoors – and in some professions, more than half of employees are now working from home. Even once the pandemic recedes, it’s likely that a larger number of people than before will continue to work remotely. For those concerned with remote team management, this transition poses a number of challenges. Read on for tips to conquer those challenges and keep your remote team motivated.
One way to set both yourself and your team up for success is by having realistic expectations from the get-go. That means making sure your team members know not only what they need to do, but why they need to do it and how success will be tracked and measured. This is especially important if team members have had to pivot to new tasks and responsibilities since going remote. It’s key to set expectations early and clearly. It’s also useful to make sure that your expectations are aligned with the company’s purpose, and with your team’s stated goals.
You don’t want to face any surprises when, a few weeks or months down the line, you realize your expectations about the work don’t line up with reality. When it comes to remote team management, be sure to set out the scope, deadlines, and deliverables for each task, and request feedback – don’t simply assume that everyone understands what they need to focus on.
Remember, fulfilling expectations requires both the right equipment and the right information. Researchers have found that in order to develop good remote team working, it helps if workers have similar styles of working, good relationships with each other, technology that allows them to collaborate effectively, and the skills to make use of said technology.
While platforms like Slack, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are great for communications, you’ll also need a collaboration platform like Trello or Asana to help you track project plans, tasks, progress and workflows. iDoneThis is another agile task management tool that compiles reports from daily check-ins – it also allows you to send out a morning recap and set personal goals and achievements for each team member.
Or, you might try employee performance management software like Engagedly, which integrates ongoing check-ins, goal-setting and learning benchmarks to make performance reviews as easy as possible. Its 360-degree feedback tool means managers, peers and any other colleagues can offer their feedback, and remote workers can enter self-evaluation comments through a set period.
If you need to track time for billing purposes, consider using Paymo, which offers a work management tool that brings together project management, work reporting, and time billing. Time tracking tool Toggl can help with project planning and even hiring. It uses an online timer and timesheet calculator to measure the actual time spent working on specific projects. Of course, tracking tools will only take you so far, and you’ll also need to spend some time communicating the old-fashioned way – in (remote) person.
While there has been a lot of discussion about the best remote communication tools for remote team management, to be truly valuable, these tools also need to be used efficiently. It is important to check in with your team regularly and to set guidelines for what type of communication to use – otherwise you could find yourself constantly monitoring umpteen number of mediums.
For example, you may want to use a video conferencing tool like Zoom or Google Hangouts for daily check-in meetings, but use Slack, instant messaging or a phone call for urgent messages. Weekly one-to-ones are also a good way to get and give feedback and keep in touch. And you could establish an ‘open office’ time when team members can pop into a Zoom room if they want to talk.
Keep in mind, however, that if you’re the only one your team members talk to regularly, they may end up feeling less like a team and more like a castaway on a desert island. To avoid this, try using innovative ways to keep team members connected to one another. For example, Donut’s Watercooler app allows you to pair team members up for “watercooler” chats about anything they want. It can be added to Slack and makes it easy to create serendipitous events like a virtual coffee or informal learning sessions. Small Improvements is another tool that can be integrated with Slack and Gmail. It allows team members to easily request and give feedback to others.
This is a best-practice staple, but one of the hardest adjustments for managers to make with remote team management. It’s also important for increasing team engagement and empowerment, which leads to better remote teamwork. It involves spending less time checking on when, where and whether employees are working, and more time on making sure they have the tools to meet their goals (and on whether those goals make sense).
It’s a common observation that work tends to expand to fill the time available for its completion – set aside all day for a task and it will take all day. This is an observation known as Parkinson’s Law.
Focusing on outcomes does not mean stepping back, just stepping slightly to the side. Clearly define the goals you need each team member to meet. Make sure they understand why the goal is important, and allow them to develop a plan for achieving that goal on time. As a manager, you may also find the focus on outcomes over activity also frees up your time to focus on more important tasks, rather than constant monitoring.
With your team working remotely, it’s especially important that you schedule regular face-time to engage in team building. Set up a regular meeting or virtual retreat to highlight what’s happened in the previous week, and increase active participation by asking team members to do a lightning talk, demo a recent project, conduct a well-being workshop, or even play a game.
There is no end of creative ideas, including virtual escape rooms and even hiring real-life animals to attend your Zoom meetings. Or, consider holding office parties on a different platform. For example, gaming platform Roblox has a feature called Party Place, which allows users to create a virtual space for private events. Or use XSplit’s VCam to replace whatever is behind you with a new background. Spice up meetings by having them “on the beach” – complete with beach background, cocktails and everyone wearing their best Hawaiian shirt.
Above all, being an effective remote team leader means giving your team the time they need to create a productive remote work environment. As Alex Turnbull, Founder and CEO of Groove once said, “Successfully working from home is a skill, just like programming, designing, or writing. It takes time and commitment to develop that skill.”
요즘들어 자녀들과 함께 집에 있는 시간이 늘어나면서, 어떻게 하면 자녀들에게 교육을 지도할 수 있을지 고민 해보셨나요? 홈스쿨링 체제가 점차 늘어나면서 온라인 자료를 활용하여 컴퓨터를 이용한 교육 방법이 다양하게 생겨나고 있습니다. 이러한 상황에 놓인 만큼 어디서 어떻게 자료를 구하는지, 자료를 어떻게 교육용으로 활용할 수 있는지 알아보도록 하겠습니다. 참고로 현직에서 온라인 강의 및 수업을 진행하시는 교육자들은 모두 인증 받은 절차와 자료를 통해서 교육을 진행하므로 이 가이드는 그 어떤 공식적인 지원의 역할을 할 수 없음을 미리 알려드립니다. 이 블로그를 통하여 현재 가지고 있는 컴퓨터로 조금 더 재미있고 알맞는 교육 방법을 배워보도록 하겠습니다.
만약 재택근무를 하고 있다면 시간과 장비의 기준이 부담될 수 있습니다. 요즘 시대의 가정은 대부분 한 대의 컴퓨터 정도는 있지만 만약 컴퓨터나 인터넷이 연결된 기기가 없을 시 가까운 학교나 교육청에 문의하실 수도 있습니다.
초등학생중 저학년 신분의 어린이들에게는 대부분 담당 선생님들이 학부모들에게 다운로드 해야 할 자료들을 미리 알려주며 자녀들이 자리에 착석하고 집중할 수 있도록 설정을 도와줘야 합니다. 온라인으로, 또 컴퓨터 자체의 프로그램으로 문구가 적힌 자료를 탐색할 수 있도록 기본적인 컴퓨터 활용법은 익숙해질 정도만 자녀들에게 알려주면 됩니다. (물론 다운로드 자료가 프린트물 일 경우에는 가정에 프린터 역시 있어야 한다는 것도 있으니 미리 준비하셔야 될 수 있습니다.) 출석 확인 및 선생님들이 모든 어린이들의 얼굴을 확인하고 태도와 집중도를 확인하기 위한 웹캠 역시 중요한 준비물입니다.
직접적인 교육을 제시하는 것 외에 더욱 중요시 되는 것은 바로 일종의 ‘루틴’ 입니다. 자연스럽게 하루의 일과 중 특정 시간에는 학업에 집중할 수 있는 환경을 제공하는 방법 입니다. 물론 단 한번에 이루어질 수는 없고 여러번 시간약속의 개념으로 하여 익숙한 하루 일과의 활동이 되도록 유도 해주는 것 입니다. 동시에 부모는 이 시간이 올때는 모든 지원과 집중을 자녀들에게 올인 하여 그들이 이 시간만큼은 편하고 안전하다는 느낌을 받도록 도와주는 것이 가장 좋습니다. 예를 들어 알맞는 주기로 휴식 기간을 최대한 활용하도록 하면 자녀들의 집중력이 흐트러지지 않도록 도움 되곤 합니다.
초등학교 고학년과 중학교 친구들은 이제 학교에서 시험문제도 풀며 이를 위해 자습과 복습을 하게 되는 시기입니다. 이에따라 집에서 하는 교육 역시 어느정도 체계화 될 수 있으며 진지한 분위기의 교육이 진행될 수 있습니다. 나이를 먹을수록 집중력도 더 생기기 마련이라 학교 교사들은 실시간 온라인 강의를 더 추구하곤 합니다.
이때는 부모가 신경써야할 부분은 바로 자녀들의 사회성 입니다. 실시간 교육이 진행 되는것은 보통 원래 학교의 학급에서 만나는 친구들이 이제는 온라인 상으로 카메라와 마이크를 통하여 만나게 되는 것이어서 선생님이나 다른 친구가 발표를 할때는 내 자녀는 가만히 경청해주는 자세를 갇춰야 하고 또 이에 맞게 컴퓨터를 다룰 수 있도록 필요할 때만 마이크를 켜고 듣는 시간에는 마이크를 끌 줄도 알아야 합니다. 카메라가 항상 켜 있으므로 수업 진행에 방해되는 요소가 카메라에 비춰져서는 안되는 것도 배워야 합니다. 보통 이러한 실시간 온라인 교육은 여러 참여자가 한 서버에 접속할 수 있는 줌 (Zoom) 프로그램을 활용 하기도 합니다.
게다가 이러한 나이가 되는 자녀들은 대부분 본인이 직접 새로운 것에 대한 호기심과 시도를 선뜻 해보기도 하는 시기입니다. 게다가 인터넷을 올바르게 활용할 수 있다면 여러가지 온라인 서비스 및 프로그램을 활용하여 본인에게 적합한 수업 및 학습 방법으로, 공부에 필요한 필기 및 스케치, 녹음 및 녹화를 할 수 있기도 합니다.
이론적으로 자녀들이 청소년기에 다다르면 더 철이 들거나 자발적으로 동기부여를 찾곤 합니다. 한가지 작업물에 끌리게 되면 이에대한 지식을 얻기위한 노력을 하기도 하며 개인이 원하는 방법으로 접근하며 다양한 지식을 쌓아갑니다. 어린아이들 처럼 부모가 밀착하여 모든 것에 집착하여 알려주지 않아도 되기에 어떻게 보면 그들만의 시간을 존중 해주는것 자체로 큰 도움을 줄 수 있습니다.
청소년들에게 시간만큼 중요한 요소는 바로 공간입니다. 그들만의 공부 환경이 정해지면 최대한 가꾸고 집중에 도움이 될 수 있는 개인적인 환경으로 개선될 수 있습니다. 휴식을 취하거나 취미 활동을 모두 동행할 수 있는 공간은 청소년들에게 가장 중요한 장소가 될 수 있습니다. 만약 이러한 환경에서 온라인 수업을 진행할 때 카메라에 특정 물건이나 요소를 보이기 싫어할 경우 아무런 부담없이 XSplit VCam 프로그램으로 배경화면을 투명하게 변경하거나 다른 이미지로 대체할 수 있어서 편리합니다.
이제 홈스쿨링은 특정 환경에 처한 어린이들에게만 주어진 특권이 아니라 일상 생활에 점점 녹아드는 하루 일과로 인정하게 되는 시기입니다. 이에 조금만 더 자녀들의 교육 환경과 요구에 집중한다면 부모로써 어떠한 지원을 해줄 수 있는지 찾을 수 있습니다. 재택근무 만큼 중요한 자녀들의 홈스쿨링에도 여러가지 현대적 요소를 적용하여 자녀들 뿐만 아니라 어른들도 시대에 맞춰 온라인 학습방법을 배워보면서 여러가지 상황에 적용할 수 있습니다.
Setting agendas can make or break a meeting, especially at the moment when all our meetings are remote. An agenda adds structure, purpose and helps keep everyone aligned towards a common goal. You don’t want to spend a quarter of your meeting discussing what it is you’re about to talk about, this is the magic of Agendas! So, let’s discuss the importance of Agendas and some practical tips to help you prepare and execute your next remote meeting!
The first thing to think about is how much your team will want to chat to each other about how they are doing and you should take account of that! The little conversations people used to have around the office have mostly been happening in text form over Slack or Teams. One thing you could do is set aside 5 minutes when setting an agenda for people to say hello and check-in with each other. Another idea, and one that could save you even more time if it’s a short meeting, set aside work time (and that part is important, don’t make it unpaid out of work time!) out of the meeting for your team to do this if they want. After all, team cohesion is important!
There are a few ways you can set up and track meetings, I recommend using Google Workspace. You can go directly to your calendar to set the meeting time, add a conference call link that will go out with the meeting invite, and add guests easily so it goes into their calendar as well. You can also add a description which is where I tend to put the meeting agenda. You can also use Google Documents for your agenda if you prefer having a larger place for all these notes to go, you can then create a link that is only visible to people attending the meeting, and that link can be put into the calendar description. I prefer to put my agenda in the description, however, as it is one less step for people to follow and everything is nice and centralized. Also, you can set it so anyone can edit the event meaning people can add their own notes, links, or attachments to the agenda!
One thing to keep in mind is agendas should be live documents, meaning they not only keep things on track but also act as a good record of what everyone said they would or wouldn’t do so you can review it in the next meeting with the same team. This is why having someone in the meeting in charge of taking notes can be vital! This would ideally be someone who doesn’t have a presentation to give in the meeting and can sit back, taking in all the information being given that isn’t already on the agenda. You can share these notes with the company at large if needed, creating a Slack or Teams channel exclusively for meeting notes can be a very useful tool to keep cohesion across teams within a company.
One thing that can be helpful is adding guidelines to your meeting notes, for example how the meeting will be lead and by who, if people should mute their mics when others are speaking, and use the “raise hand” tool if they have an immediate question or if not when questions can be taken. When typing up your agenda add expectations, for example, “Sarah will include the KPI report for Live Team”, this gives everyone a chance to prepare their part of the meeting and more importantly, know exactly what they are expected to contribute.
Get the agenda to people at the very least 24 hours before the meeting starts but ideally earlier than that so everyone has time to process and prepare what they want to discuss. Even 24 hours is a little short, ideally if you know the meeting is coming up give people a week to prepare, especially if people are giving presentations as a part of the meeting!
Adding timings to the agenda can also be useful. When you’re setting up your Google Calendar invite you can specify how long the meeting runs, in your agenda divide this time up between all the things that are going to be discussed “10mins, Sarah to discuss the Live team” etc.
A good way to give your presentations is with XSplit Presenter. When you join the meeting, set your camera to be XSplit Presenter and everyone will be able to see your presentation easily in the call without having to share your screen! You can create scenes for each meeting section with any relevant slides or information for each speaker and segment of the meeting. You can even import your slides from programs like Google Slides that your team has been collaborating on!
Agendas can honestly be one of the most powerful tools to help meetings go from a conversation that ends with another meeting being set because nothing got settled (these are the worst kind of meetings!) to knowledge being shared and goals being set. So, be sure to take your time with it and understand the importance of agendas for meetings!
Have you found yourself doubling as your child’s home educator? With more schools getting on board with online resources, your role should be more that of a friendly supporter, snack-maker and IT technician than an actual teacher this time around. We’ve put together a quick guide to help you support your child to learn at home, age by age. (This article is for families following a remote curriculum set by their schools. It’s not for the real home educators, those multiskilled parents who do this full-time. If you’re reading this, we rookies salute you.)
If you’re also working from home, this can put pressure on both your time and your hardware. Even techy households will find their home set-up stretched to its limits at some point (but please, if you’re really struggling, talk to the school).
With the youngest primary age groups, teachers mainly use online resources for sending parents downloadable worksheets and links to useful sites (learned tip: buy printer ink before it runs out). Online lessons with younger students can be pretty anarchic and only form part of the day, although it does help your child to see their teacher’s familiar face and wave to their friends. What’s more, it can be great fun and encourages children to start embracing virtual technology.
The best thing you can do to support your young child is to create a routine. Little ones are very much about routine, and if you can recreate any sort of timetable for your day, they’ll feel more settled. It’ll also help you schedule in your own work, reducing the pressure. For your own sake, make sure you build in plenty of running-off-steam time: there are good reasons why most schools have three playtimes a day…
Junior school-age kids are a more sophisticated group, and as the upper ages in this group often sit exams, the work can be more academic. As older children have better concentration, teachers may organize more live classes, and use platforms like Google Classroom to set work.
The most supportive thing you can do to help your child with online learning for this age group is to encourage social contact. The school can do some of this with online lessons, collaborative tasks on Zoom or class quizzes on Kahoot, but this is something that you can also help with. Much like the little ones, this age group is used to getting plenty of physical exercise during the day, so enroll them in an online kids’ yoga class with some friends. Then, let them have the laptop or smartphone for a FaceTime or Zoom with friends after lessons.
And, for your own sake, please make the most of this age group’s growing independence. They can do online work while you catch up with, well, everything else; there are a plethora of websites with programs of kid-friendly educational content out there.
How you approach home learning depends on the school’s techniques. Some teachers run live online lessons via Google Classroom, Zoom or Teams, while others set homework via platforms like Seneca Learning, which the student completes independently. Often it’s a mixture.
In theory, teens are more mature and self-motivated, and will simply crack on with the tasks set (stop that eye-rolling at the back). In practice, they need support. This isn’t the up-close, didactic level of assistance a younger child needs, but a friendly face in the background and an eye on the timetable will definitely help.
Space is important for teenagers, so work with them to set up a workstation. They may like the privacy of their own room or prefer to keep school and relaxation spaces separate. If they pick the kitchen table as their school zone, use something like desk trays to keep their work in, so you can scoop it all up at dinner time. You can also use our XSplit VCam feature to blur out the background and give your teen some at-home privacy.
Homeschooling always seems strange at the start, but with a little planning and timetabling, it will soon start to feel normal. You’ve got this – just brew more coffee and order more toner. Find out more about how this looks from the other side, with our blog for online teaching.
If you’re looking to produce interview content or just upgrade your camera for conference calls then you’ve probably been checking out a mirrorless camera. Now, if this is the first time you’ve thought about purchasing one of these cameras it can be very intimidating with terms like iso and aperture to learn and wondering if the camera will even work for the sort of thing you want to do! That’s why we’re here, to give you a beginner’s guide to mirrorless cameras.
Before we dive into all the different mirrorless camera configurations and settings there’s something really important we need to figure out first; will it work with your content creation or productivity software? There are two things you want to check for on any mirrorless camera you’re looking to buy. First, check if it has a clean HDMI feed. This means that when you hook the camera up to a capture card it won’t have all the settings information you see on the preview screen going to the HDMI output. This clean feed usually has to be enabled in the settings.
Second, as an alternative to using a capture card, many modern mirrorless cameras have an app that will allow the cameras to functions as webcams via USB. This sort of information is normally found in the product description but if not either the manufacturer’s website or just giving it a Google will get you the answers you need!
The first item you’ll need to purchase is a camera body and there are a variety of factors you need to take into consideration. First, it’s going to be the sensor size, of which there are three primary sizes for mirrorless cameras; micro four-thirds, APS-C and full-frame. Basically, what these sizes are referring to is the crop factor of the cameras. So, the full-frame is standard, APC-C is a 1.5x crop and micro four-thirds is a 2x crop. So, for example, if you had a 12mm lens on a full-frame the focal length would remain at 12mm, for APS-C that would become 18mm, and on a micro four-thirds lens that would be 24mm.
Generally speaking, the larger the sensor size the more expensive the camera body is going to be. So, if you’re on a budget you’ll likely get an APS-C or micro four-thirds as full-frame bodies are more expensive. This increase in price is also reflected in the lenses you can get for these camera bodies, which we will discuss later.
Also, most mirrorless cameras will have a micro-HDMI output, so you’ll need to buy a special HDMI lead, or an adaptor for your current HDMI leads if you plan to use the camera with a capture card. You’ll also need to buy a power supply for your camera as well or a lot of batteries to swap in and out if you plan to use it for an extended period of time. Some of these cameras will charge via USB, but a lot of the time you need to buy dummy batteries for third-party retailers if you wish to use them for something like streaming, or any use case that sees the camera on for hours at a time.
No matter which type of camera body you purchase, the image it outputs isn’t dependent on the amount of money you have spent on the camera, but by the effort you put into your lighting setup, this a topic we will cover here in the future so be sure to check back!
There are two main types of lenses, prime and zoom. Prime has a fixed focal length although you can usually play with that using zoom features on the camera body. Zoom lenses, as implied in the name, can change their focal lengths, but there are different kinds of focal lengths, large and small so let’s discuss what the differences are between them!
With a large focal length or longer length, you get a much narrower field of view and greater magnification. Basically, it brings things close and tight. With a smaller or shorter focal length, there’s a wide field of view and less magnification, so you can see the object and more of the background.
Lenses that are shorter than 24mm are known as wide-angle lenses. These are useful if you don’t have the space to put your camera far away, but wide-angle lenses can distort the facial features of a subject. Above 24mm, such as 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm, are popular focal lengths that don’t distort but generally complement facial features while giving you the space to keep the camera far enough away from the subject.
The next important feature of a lens is the aperture or f-stop. On your camera, you’ll see a number, usually below the focal length which shows the f-stop, the lower this number is the more light can get into the lens. This is not only useful for low light settings but also to add depth of field to a shot and get that blurred background effect.
A lot of the time, however, the cost can be a big deciding factor in what lens you are going to get. Generally speaking, wide-angle, zoom and lenses with lower aperture ranges will be more expensive. The price gap between a lens that’s for example, 2.8 vs 1.4 is quite high!
Also, it’s good to keep in mind the size of your camera body and your lens together. See how much space you have for your camera, take into account your sensor size and then look at your budget to make sure you can afford both the body and the lens. You may want to make some sacrifices in the aperture or focal length depending on the kind of content you’re looking to make or use case you have.
The settings with a mirrorless camera can seem confusing at first so let’s go over some of the basics! First, let’s look at the settings that affect exposure, or how light or dark the image coming out of the camera looks.
First up, aperture, which controls the amount of light coming through the lens. Lower apertures let in light but as we mentioned before, also affect the depth of field or the level or blur between objects that are in and out of focus. A higher aperture means more objects are in focus, but you’ll require more light from other methods to achieve good exposure. Another method is the iso. Iso is basically a digital gain that amplifies the amount of light coming in which can also add noise to the image, making it look less crisp. The higher the iso, the brighter the image but also the more noise you introduce.
Next is shutter speed. Shutter speed is usually meant for photography but for video, there is a rule of thumb you can generally follow. For a pleasing motion blur, you want to set your shutter speed to 2x that of your frame rate. So, if you’re doing a 30fps video, for example, set your shutter speed to 1/60. The lower the shutter speed the more light you let in, so use this as the final adjustment for exposure if necessary.
Next up, let’s have a look at setting your white balance, which is crucial to get accurate colors. While you can use auto-white balance, something most cameras offer, it’s recommended that you set your white balance using either the custom settings in the camera, using a white balance card held up next to the subject, or setting the kelvin manually if you know the kelvin settings for your lights.
Now cameras have a ton of other settings, like picture profiles and 10bit vs 8bit that will affect the look of the image and while we’re not covering all of them here I will say focus on getting your white balance and exposure right and you’re about 95% of the way to getting an amazing image out of your camera. Of course, if this is all too much there’s always full auto mode which usually gives pretty good results on modern cameras.
Capturing Your Camera
Now that you’ve gotten familiar with your camera’s settings and you have your exposure set it’s time to get it connected to your computer to create some content or look great in your next call! With software like XSplit Broadcaster and XSplit VCam you can capture your camera in a couple of different ways.
As we’ve mentioned, pretty much all modern mirrorless cameras have an HDMI output so connect this up to your capture card of choice and add it as a source in XSplit. This is easily done by going to Add Source > Devices > Video and selecting the capture card you have listed. From there it’s easy to move, adjust and resize your camera source. It’s pretty much the same with XSplit VCam, just select your capture card from the drop-down menu and you’re ready to use it in any software like your next Zoom call!
If you’re using the software provided with your camera, this can vary by manufacturer. Some will convert your camera into a virtual camera which you can then add in the same manner we described above. Other solutions will just have the camera appear in it’s own window on your desktop that you will then have to screen capture that in software like XSplit Broadcaster, which can itself act as a virtual camera and still be added to software like VCam or Zoom. One thing to note with this method is that due to limitations on USB bandwidth, you likely won’t be able to get above a 720p 30fps video signal.
Conclusion
With that, you should have a basic grasp of how to pick the mirrorless camera and lens to suit your needs, how to configure the settings and capture that video, but honestly, the videography well is endless! Try not to get too trapped in settings and purchasing bigger and better cameras. Finding the right body and lens that fit what you want to do with it but also conform to your budget are probably some of the biggest factors in your decision making! Let us know if this has been helpful or if there is anything else you’d like us to cover like this in the future!
콘텐츠를 주로 제작하는 사람들은 동영상 편집을 마친 후 생각지 못한 한 가지 난제에 빠질 때가 있는데, 그것이 바로 동영상과 관련있는 썸네일을 만드는 것 입니다. 많은 시간을 대본 작성, 촬영, 편집에 쏟아 부은 후 일이 마무리 되었다 싶을때 썸네일도 만들어야 된다는 충격에 빠지게 되는 경우가 의외로 흔하다고 합니다. 특별히, 유튜브에 업로드 해야되는 영상이라면, 아무리 영상이 멋있고 정성을 다했다 해도, 눈에 띄는 썸네일이 없으면 사람들의 관심을 받지 못하게 됩니다.
많은 유튜버들이 어도비 포토샵 같은 이미지 편집 프로그램을 사용하여 썸네일을 만들곤 하지만, 해당 프로그램을 구입하지 않았거나 포토샵 다루기가 어려운 사용자들을 위하여 간단한 몇가지 대체 방안을 알려드리겠습니다.
사과같은 내얼굴…
일부 조사기관에 따르면 유튜브 썸네일에 인물의 얼굴을 삽입하면 얼굴이 없는 썸네일 보다 관심도가 더 높다고 합니다.
유튜브 썸네일로 사용되는 일반적인 얼굴 표정
일명 “유튜브 얼굴” 표정을 묘사하려면 일반 사진을 찍는것과 다름없습니다. 스마트폰을 켜서 사진을 찍고, 이를 내 컴퓨터로 전송한 뒤, 배경화면을 일일이 지우는 작업량은 시간이 많이 걸릴 뿐 더러, 이를 다 수행하기 귀찮을 수도 있습니다. 반면, 컴퓨터 프로그램인 XSplit VCam (엑스플릿 브이캠)을 사용하시면, 현재 이미 켜져있는 컴퓨터와 연결된 웹캠을 가지고 배경화면이 투명화된 얼굴 사진을 단 한번에 찍을 수 있습니다. XSplit VCam을 가동 후 배경화면 자동 제거 기능을 켠 뒤, XSplit Broadcaster (엑스플릿 브로드캐스터)에 소스로 추가하여 스크린샷 또는 영상 녹화를 할 수 있습니다.
XSplit Broadcaster 하단 메뉴에서 소스 추가 > 장치 > 영상 > XSplit VCam을 선택하면 됩니다.
엑스플릿 브로드캐스터에서 스크린샷을 찍기 위한 기본 단축키는 CTRL + Shift + C 입니다. 내가 원하는 단축키로 변경하려면 도구 > 환경설정 메뉴의 단축키 탭 에서 변경할 수 있습니다. 완벽한 썸네일을 위해서 투명화된 배경화면을 사용했을 때 주의할 점은 추후에 편집할 썸네일 이미지의 배경 색상과 다른 색상의 의상을 입어야 조금 더 입체적인 썸네일을 완성할 수 있다는 것을 참고하시기 바랍니다.
눈에 띄는 배경화면 찾기
썸네일의 분위기는 영상과 알맞는 색상의 배경화면 입니다. 이미 제작한 “유튜브 얼굴”을 찍어내는데 성공하셨다면 다양한 배경화면 이미지를 다운로드 한 뒤 이전에 사용한 XSplit Broadcaster의 방식과 비슷하게, 미리 저장한 내 얼굴을 가져온 뒤 여러가지 배경 이미지를 대조하여 원하는 결과가 나온 순간 스크린샷을 찍으면 됩니다. 만약 미리 찍어놓은 내 얼굴 사진에 크로마키 기능을 추가하려면, 얼굴 이미지를 마우스 우 클릭하여 색상 탭에 있는 크로마키 메뉴를 활성화 하면 됩니다.
XSplit Broadcaster 에서선택한 배경화면에 흐리기, 흑백, 노이즈 같은 특수효과를 적용하려면 배경 이미지를 마우스 우 클릭 한 뒤에 효과 탭에 있는 필터 메뉴에서 원하는 특수효과를 선택하면 됩니다. 이같은 효과 설정을 사용하여 일반적인 썸네일에 조금더 화려한 창의력을 덛붙힐 수 있습니다.
이제 썸네일이 어느정도 완성 되었으면 영상과 알맞는 문구를 추가하여 시청자들의 관심을 사로잡아야 합니다. 문구는 짧고 굵어야 하기 때문에 어느정도 알맞는 키워드를 연상하여 사용하는 것을 추천합니다. 이전과 같이, XSplit Broadcaster에서도 텍스트 소스를 추가하여 간단하게 문구를 삽입할 수 있습니다. 문구의 글꼴, 색상, 테두리 색상 등등을 설정하여 알맞는 디자인을 선택하여 썸네일을 완성해보세요. 예를들어 검은색 배경화면에는 밝은 하얀색 같은 문구가 더 눈에 띄기도 합니다.
짧은 질문 형식의 문구가 시청자들의 관심을 자극할 수 있습니다. 너무 긴 문구를 쓰면 글씨 크기가 작아져야 하거나 중요한 이미지를 방해할 수도 있으니 주의하세요.
완성품 승인하기
내 얼굴, 배경 이미지, 문구가 모두 조화를 이루게 되었다면 마지막으로 스크린샷 을 찍어서 하나의 썸네일 이미지를 완성할 수 있습니다. XSplit Broadcaster 에서 찍은 스크린샷은 상단 메뉴의 파일 > 내 스크린샷 메뉴를 들어가서 확인할 수 있습니다. 이제 유튜브 스튜디오 설정에서 내가 만든 영상에 원하는 썸네일을 업로드 하여 비로소 내 영상 업로드를 마무리 할 수 있게 되었을 것입니다. 유튜브 알고리즘에 잡히길 어느정도 기도는 해야…
썸네일은 유튜브 동영상 뿐만 아니라 리뷰 게시물 같은 문서 자료를 장식해주기도 합니다. 그리고 역시 SNS 같은 매체에서도 관심을 끌수 있는 최고의 첫인상을 남길수도 있으니 썸네일 만드는 방법을 연마하여 나만의 디자인을 만들어 보세요.
Let’s face it: the Zoom quiz is so last year. Those online quizzes may have kept us going through 2020 and taught everyone a lot about how to stay social from a distance, but, let’s be honest – we’ve started to get a bit jaded. Even though quizzing has done wonders for the world’s general knowledge, it’s time for a change of virtual scene. So, what else is in the pipeline for this year’s online entertainment as we look at some zoom quiz alternatives?
The Jackbox Party Pack
Family quiz alternatives
If you’re looking for Zoom quiz alternatives for your family get-together, there are plenty of games online. The Jackbox Party Pack has become a night-in must-have. Jackbox Games offer bundles of fantastic, interactive digital games like “Drawful”, “Fibbage” and “Quiplash”. And best of all, it’s available on a range of platforms, including Steam, Consoles and even Apple TV. It’s super-easy to join a game (cutting down on the inter-family troubleshooting) and your smartphone acts as the controller. You might even like to split the cost between you.
Missing a good Scrabble argument with the family? Simply download the Scrabble GO app and continue. And of course, there’s always bingo. You can now create your own virtual game via BingoMaker – everyone with the code can join in.
As a Zoom quiz alternative, why not try making up a scavenger hunt? Appoint an MC who calls out from a list of household objects. The participants have to race off and find it, and the first person or team to wave it in front of their webcam wins that round.
Teams meetings, home education and the daily walk: done. It’s time for the grown-ups to relax and unwind.
If you’re keen for a change, why not email out a cocktail recipe, then have a go at making it together in real-time? XSplit Broadcaster will not only take care of the live stream but you can also use the whiteboard and annotation features to share the recipe with your guests. For non-drinkers and keen cooks, you could likewise try a culinary-themed evening. Ideally, prepare something like sushi or canapés, which are challenging to make but don’t involve heat and hot oil.
The last few months have been the toughest gig ever for musicians. If you have a friend or family member with a band, a guitar or a gorgeous voice, get your friends to chip in and set up an online gig. XSplit VCam‘s green screen feature makes it a great option for setting the scene and our powerful streaming tech means your broadcast remains seamless. Virtual performances like this are just as special and mean you’re still supporting a performer and they make a great zoom quiz alternative!
OK, we’re not judging here: if you’ve really loved all the online family quizzes (and that feeling is mutual among your nearest and dearest), maybe you don’t need a zoom quiz alternative? Quizzing has become a lot more sophisticated than when we first ventured onto Zoom back in March, with hosts like Scotland’s Goose’s Quizzes developing a whole new business from the demand for online brainteasing. You might like to join in with their Twitch quizzes or engage them to run a special session for your group.
This year, you can also mix up your family quizzes with some new ideas and ways of playing. TV spin-offs can be a good idea. Try teasing out Grandma’s youthful secrets or testing everyone’s brain cells with a few rounds of numbers and letters games. Word games are a different take on the classic quiz: look up some obscure words and get people to guess their true meaning (we’d suggest getting hold of a book about obscure words or word origins for some great inspiration).
By now, we’re all (literally) at home with the idea of remote socializing. Whether you’re quizzing, gaming or hosting a virtual Bake Off, make the online experience as smooth and high quality as possible. Find out how VCam can enhance your visual online experience in our blog.
Like many of you, I’ve made a new years resolution to become more knowledgeable about my equipment and what it is or isn’t capable of. One of the things I spent a lot of time on last year was learning how cameras worked; shutter speed, aperture, exposure, white balancing, you know, camera things. Since I was learning via YouTube university, one thing I noticed is that while there are tons of videos about the most cinematic camera, 4k video, or 120fps video, there wasn’t really a guide for cameras based on people’s budget and needs. So what I wanted to do was create the ultimate camera buying guide to save everyone else some time!
One of the first categories to discuss is the budget-conscious options, and what could be more budget-conscious than free? First up in the free category let’s talk about the best camera you probably have that you also probably forget about all the time, your smartphone! Smartphone technology has come so far in the past few years that basically any flagship smartphone camera can rival a standalone camera or webcam.
Smartphone cameras are also great because they’re beginner-friendly, they basically work automatically, you don’t need to learn a bunch of settings to get a good quality image. They’re also easy to set up with your streaming and recording software.
You just need to install an app like XSplit Connect: Webcam on your phone, iOS or Android, then install XSplit VCam on your PC. Make sure your phone and PC are connected to the same WiFi router, launch both apps and then click connect on VCam.
Next in the cheap line up of our camera buying guide is the workhouse/gold standard, the Logitech C920. Now 2020 made these a bit scarce, therefore expensive, but things have evened out now and these are pretty much the best deal you can find for a webcam that can last you a long time. You can also combine this camera with VCam to add a blur effect to your background, making it look like the more expensive cameras we’ll be talking about next.
If you’re looking to take the dive into getting a full-fledged camera for your setup there are some things you’ll need to take into consideration and our camera buying guide is here to help! First and foremost is budget. If you don’t have a big budget you probably don’t want to get a camera that requires a capture card or one that will require you to buy an expensive lens. So in this scenario, point and shoots are your best bet. You may remember this type of camera from the early 2000s before our phones became our main cameras. These cameras are great as they have a fairly wide lens, they’re small and you can basically mount them anywhere you want.
Cameras like the Sony ZV-1 and Canon GX7 Mark 3 are popular in this range and they also have the added benefit of working as webcams over USB via software from their manufacturers. To use this software for streaming or recording, you’ll either need to screen capture the preview window or the camera can appear as a virtual camera device in your software. Now mileage may vary with frame rate and resolution, but this is a great starting point if you don’t have the additional budget for a capture card in our camera buying guide.
Now the next level in our camera buying guide depends on your use case. So there are basically two different types of cameras here, each with its own application. There are interchangeable lens cameras like DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras. Then there are video camcorders, you know the ones you’ve probably seen your parents use to film all those embarrassing birthday parties.
If you’re going to have a more permanent setup for streaming or recording, then you probably want to go with a DSLR or Mirrorless camera. Now there are way too many types of these cameras to recommend just one, instead, we’ll need to look at some key features to look out for.
The first is a clean HDMI output, this is a setting in these cameras that removes the display info on the HDMI output. Now, most modern cameras have these, you just need to dig through the menus. Next is a full-sized HDMI output. Most cameras have a micro HDMI output, which is fine, but easy to damage, a full-sized output is definitely preferred however, this is usually only available in the more expensive cameras. Last you’ll need to take into account the sensor size and crop factor. So there are micro-four-thirds, APS-C and full-frame.
What does this mean? It means each has a crop factor of 2x for Micro-Four-Thirds, 1.5 for APS-C and none for full-frame. That means if you buy a 16mm lens for Micro-Four-Thirds, it actually is a 32mm lens. I don’t want to get too into the weeds with this camera buying guide, but basically the longer the focal length the further away you have to be from the camera, which can be an issue if you’re in a tight space. Wide-angle lenses tend to be a bit pricey and full-frame cameras cost more than APS-C or Micro-Four-Thirds so take that into account when picking your camera.
As for what camera looks the best, well that’s really all subjective. If you don’t want to do a bunch of tweaking, like applying LUTs, then generally Canon or Fuji have great looking color profiles. If you like to tweak, then it’s great to go with Sony or Panasonic.
Generally, you would be purchasing these if you’re planning to do some type of event coverage or multi-camera production like a news show, talk show, sporting event or church gathering. Now, unless you buy used you’re likely going to spend at least 1,000 USD on these, but there are some key features to look out for so you can get the camera that’s right for you instead of spending thousands of dollars on features you don’t need.
The most important feature for this type of camera is that it has an SDI output. SDI is a video cable like HDMI but is far more convenient to run over extended distances and a lot more resilient than HDMI cable as well. Some great entry-level cameras with SDI are the Canon XA-15 and the Sony PXW-X70.
If you’re covering events or running a live production and want to take it to the next level or need to use telephoto lenses for some reason, then it’s time to step into the realm of Cinema Cameras. These are basically like the interchangeable lens cameras from the earlier section, just with more features meant for video production. These also generally have SDI outputs and for the most part, allow you to use the same lenses that you use with your DSLR or Mirrorless cameras, however there are much more expensive cinema lenses you can use as well.
Some popular cameras in this range are Canon’s C cameras like the C200, or Sony’s FX series like the FX6 and Blackmagic’s line of cinema cameras, some of which are designed to be used for productions like the Studio Camera or Ursa.
Now I know that’s a lot of information to take in at once in our camera buying guide so let’s just summarize this! Free or Cheap camera? Use your phone or webcam. With good lighting and apps like XSplit Connect: Webcam or VCam, these will take you pretty far. When you have a bit of a budget Point and Shoot cameras are a great step up. Some of these you can use as webcams but you also might need to use a capture card to use them with your recording software. Making money off your content or looking to do professional work? Get an SDI camcorder or cinema camera depending on your needs.
