How To Read A Script On Camera

Secrets to reading a script on photographic camera without teleprompter

Once you lot wrote a script or outline for a YouTube video, how do you deliver the content without memorizing the whole thing?
If you are anything like me, I`m really bad at memorizing.

You can try a teleprompter.
Simply, homo those things are expensive for a slice of plastic.
I finally figured it out after iii years and 300 videos and I`ll share the method with yous in this video.

Downsides of teleprompters

Although teleprompters are pretty popular, they are not ever the best solution.
It takes skill to read from a teleprompter naturally.
They make a camera bulky and heavy for a cameraman, and taking a teleprompter with yous on the road isn't convenient.

Also, you need to take reading speed into account, if the text is too quick or also boring you need to beginning over.
To command the speed, you demand either a dedicated operator or a remote that you can forget or a bombardment that can die.
Do you employ a tablet as text delivering device? Also that battery dies on the moment you need information technology the nearly …, or yous demand it or needs to install an update … , or can't connect to WiFi network, ...

Effort to wing the video

If you are similar me, you have a creative simply scattered brain, you can take hundred ideas at once and I tin can hop from one topic to the other in the wink of an middle.
Ideas make sense to me, but often other people can`t follow me in a conversation.

When I`k tense or nervous when talking into the photographic camera this trait gets worse.
When yous practise a second take, halfway through I often don`t know anymore if I talked about a talking-signal in this take, or the previous one.
Also my brain works in Dutch and I ofttimes have to translate Dutch words into English, but can`t think fast enough of the English language translation.

I`ve hours of footage of me rambling well-nigh a topic, that I subsequently try to edit into a chronological story.
This is a nightmare.
The video takes forever to edit, the value and structure are not optimal for the viewer and oft the point of the video often gets lost in the rambling.

Script or outline a video

Making a script or outline the video helps to construction a video:

This way you`ll know that you don`t forget anything, like a CTA to like the video
This way y'all mention target keywords in your video, so your video can be found in Google and YouTube search.
You stay on point and prevent fluff in the video,
Build a story arc in the right tempo in the video
You tin can recollect of English words and practice pronunciation
It makes editing a lot simpler, considering you know where you are in the video when you look at the script

I`d like to script my videos down into detail with consummate sentences to get a story that makes sense.
Bullet point would exercise the play a joke on also.
I chose scripting because:

This way I tin call up of the English translation before I have to speak the words into the camera.
I can convert the video content into weblog content for this website within minutes. This way the content can be institute via Google likewise on my website.

Software and hardware tutorials

For tutorials about software (or hardware) I`ll use sometimes bullet points or fly it completely.
The buttons in software (or device) gives me enough talking points and prevents me from forgetting annihilation or straying off topic.
Making tutorial videos near a program or device you already know a lot is extremely quick this way.

But information technology took a while before I could make software tutorials similar that.
I taught myself the skill by doing a dry out run with everything I want to tell before hitting record.
I rehearse my speech.

This way I tin think about what I want to tell, and think near the English words I want to use.
Making a lot of tutorials over the years made me a lot better.
It is true what they say: practice makes perfect.

Regular YouTube video

When I record a regular video (not tutorial video), I follow these steps:

I write the script with all the content of the video. (I have a free script template and instance script that yous tin download here).
Now I add scene numbers. Every 2, iii or 4 sentences is a scene.
Every scene is a jump cut in the edit. So for every scene a change the camera placement or I zoom in or out. Since a lot of my videos are talking-head videos this gives a change in the prototype, so it is less dull to look at for the viewer.
Before I showtime recording the bodily video, I`ll practise some exam-talking into the camera to get a bit more comfortable. I talk well-nigh yesterday, my breakfast or what I`1000 doing to set the recording.
I use my laptop to brandish the script. This style I tin also make little changes on-the-fly betwixt scenes if necessary.
I don`t have to stick to the sentences of the scripts literally, but it gives me an insight on my thought procedure behind a talking signal. It as well gives me a direction to phrase a talking signal. I allow myself consummate freedom to wing the talking point.
Over the years I'm making less fuss nearly the English language mistakes. If I'm communicating the talking indicate conspicuously, it is OK for me. perfection will kill your time.
The intro and the outro have to be perfect! I tin can`t make whatever mistakes, peculiarly in the claw (in the outset of the video) where I have to convince viewers to spend the next 10 minutes of their lives with me.
Do I brand a mistake or mess up? I exercise another take. I do one take per video file.
A trick that I picked upward in my actor days is to keep an administration of all the takes: bad takes and good takes. This saves me a tremendous amount of time in the edit because I don`t take to scout all the footage.
In the beginning of every take I mention the scene and take number, then I tin can split them in mail.
I convert the script into a written article (but like this article was a YouTube video by origin). The video you tin find on my YouTube aqueduct.

If you think you mess up a lot, you haven`t seen my raw footage.
I sometimes need to do 15-xxx takes to go it right.
Just to allow y'all know, that you are non the only one that messes up … A LOT!

Recording lists

"What about those pesky bullet point lists with five or ten points?"
"Do you have to remember all of them in one scene?"

You tin can do 1 scene per bullet signal.
Only that near bullet points are just one sentence long.

I noticed that it is quicker to do one long scene with al the talking points.
In between the bullet points, I look at my notes, talk most the next point, expect at my notes, talk well-nigh the next point etc.
Afterwards I edit the silent sections out.
I clap in my easily when I make a error.
By looking at the waveform in the edit I can run across I messed up, because there is a sudden spike in the audio.
When I meet a fasten I know that I tin can disregard the previous section.

Conclusion

I started to notice that I got more comfortable on camera over the years,
I starting time to mess up less and less and I go it correct in the first take on a regular basis.
Sometimes I can wing whole scenes and sometimes 2 or 3 scenes a time in one take.
Again, do makes perfect.

And some days still it won`t work, I can`t wing it, I keep tripping over words.
When that happens I effort to have it. It is just the manner how it works that day.

By not using a teleprompter and do information technology this way it is easier to deliver your content far more natural.

My advice for you would be to endeavour this process out, run into if it works for you.
Then notice your own way of working.
Happy YouTubing.

I would recommend you to read my article about the perfect YouTube workflow: from research to publishing a video on YouTube.

If yous are serious about YouTube and want to have it to the next level, take a look at my YouTube e-volume.
The book takes you step-by-step through the process of starting a YouTube channel.
How to get more views, subscribers, make money with YouTube, go viral ... and much more.
Click here for more information nearly my YouTube e-book: "What Big Tubers Don't tell yous"

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