In Situ Digital has created a short humorous video with examples of “The 7 Deadly Sins of Webinars.” I probably would have said the sins were more about webcasts, since several of the tips are about appearing properly on camera, which is much more common in webcasts than webinars. But that’s just lexical nitpicking.
The video gives some good, quick tactical advice in a way that makes it fun to watch. And you get the extra benefit of listening to a classy BBC-style English accent (In Situ is based in the UK).
The video doesn’t call attention to itself, but if you study the production techniques, you’ll see how you can make a very professional and polished production without a lot of fancy camera work and locations. It is shot in a studio with a single fixed camera and uses a chroma-keyed background to feed in a visual behind the presenter (with humorous effects). In Situ shows off the fact that they are comfortable doing digital inserts and a special effect at the end, but mostly it’s just a matter of short takes edited together with proper sound and sequencing.
What’s the difference between this and your typical desk webcam presentation? The lighting is bright enough to see details without casting shadows or catching hot spots on the presenters’ faces. The sound is caught with a professional microphone and holds a steady volume. The presenters are always properly in frame and in focus. And the background doesn’t pull your focus away from the presenters. If more video presentations followed only those simple guidelines, it would go a long way to making online video presentations more palatable and acceptable as business tools.
If your feed reader doesn’t allow hyperlinks, here is a URL you can copy and paste into your browser: http://bit.ly/7webcastsins
Definitely worth your time.
