There are a few important things you better know... before going live.

the first and most important one is that you don’t need to try and look pro.

It’s not formal media and whoever watches you, knows that and doesn’t expect that of you.

Tips:

1. Light

If you are using your mobile to shoot, just make the room lit - I mean really lighted because mobile phones don’t shoot well enough in the dark. (The light will make it look less grainy, and it will look good.)

2. Warm light:
Another reason why not to use your open window’s sunlight -

You might want to have a warm light in the room. It gives a nice warm and calm atmosphere. To do it, use tungsten light. The sunlight/daylight will create a rather white/blueish light (and so will a fluorescent light) but adding a tungsten light or even just tungsten with no sunlight at all will make it yellowish and warm.

(Tungsten are regular lightbulbs like the ones we all had once. Before they came up with white leds. Real fire is also tungsten light)

3. Angle

Put the phone or cam in front of you. Not higher than you, not lower than you. Don't allow an angle. Make the viewer connect with you (the other options will mean different things that are already there in the viewer subconscious and that were created thanx to film conventions [low angle can be the villain, the protagonist, the strong guy... high angle can make you look mean, ugly, week...]) put it in front of you to make it neutral. Other angle are a distraction to the viewer without even realizing it.

4. Be natural.

You get to have that after many rehearsals. So -

Have no text to read from (learning by heart would be great but bullet points somewhere will do the work), look in pics or in the mirror and check what looks natural for you. What feels comfortable.

Shoot your self, look at it, repeat that over and over. Then try it with your friends.

Then, when you go live for real, it will be best if someone you feel really comfortable with, will be on the other side as one of your cliends and that you feel like you are talking to him/her. That can really make you feel confertable.

5. Do not wear stripes!

Wear something smooth. Stripes make it “noisy” in the “eyes” of the cam.

6. Let the background be warm.

If it’s a library, a picture, anything that is not white where you can see the electricity plug and so it won’t look like a rented student apartment. That is not a pretty site.

Why is it not good to sit or stand with a white wall behind you?

It’s not that it’s not good, but if I need to explain, I think an example would be best - let’s go to the top; pick almost any movie, any tv series... you probably won’t find a plain white background. And although you are talking about a frontal “lecture”, it works the same. Plain white bg might make it look “cheap” in the eye of the viewer. First, again, because the film industry made it the norm to have something on the bg, but even before that, the reason is to place the subject in a specific environment that can imply on the content the viewer is consuming. This means that white is now both cheap and too neutral. And in this case, neutral equal to not using this tool of planting something in your subject’s mind. For example - Maybe you are knowledgeable because you are in a library, maybe you are a chef because you are in a kitchen... it adds to the context, it adds to the context.

Leaving the bg white is kinda like you didn’t take care of it.

Moreover, the white wall will not absorb the light that is in the room and will throw it all (the light) into the lense. (That’s one important reason which creates an unpleasant visual at times)

7. Do not sit where there is a window in the background behind you.

The light should come from in front of you or from your sides or both. Not from behind you. Don’t make it more complicated than this.

8. Avoid unneccesary noises.

Close all windows, doors, and noise sources. (Sometimes it is essential to shutdown the refrigerator and air conditioner. That is probably not the case here but just notice if there is a distracting noise/hiss/buzz)...

9. Makeup

If you are shooting HD, makeup will make you look more pro. If not, it will simply look regular/nice or you can choose not to use it at all

10. DO NOT ACT !

Be your self. Even if it is embaracing, don’t try to be an alter... lol don’t try to imitate something you think would look good. Imagine you are talking to a single person. That will make it less epic and therefor - simple and possible.

11. Light continuity

The only reason not to use a natural light that comes from an open window in the room is because the sun moves and the light changes. So - it is true that it will be a short shot, but you do want to control the lightning in the room. And maybe the time you rehearse where the lightning is perfect won’t be the same as the time you broadcast live for the course. So just make a set where you control the light and do not trust the sun (and clouds and weather...)

12. Horizontal angle of the shooting:

Keep it even. Pick an object in the room and make sure that the angle matches that object’s line so it’s not diagonal with respect to the object. (Objects may be the floor or sealing line in case you shoot frontal)

13 Headspace/Headroom:

Notice that there is not too much headspace between the shot object (yourself) and the top end of the shot (unless there’s a justified reason to that)

Regarding horizontal space between the object and the sides of the frame, you can choose if to be in the center, or one of the sides (sides make it more interesting to watch as long as it is not eccentric)

14. Large hall:

Try shooting in the largest space you can find. This will allow you to do many things.

Here is an example:

Out of focus elements:

You may want to create a shot where you are focused but the background is blurred. That will look pro. Use a dslr for that, choose a room where you can please the cam far from the object that you are shooting,

Advanced:

Addons

Incase you want to make it look pro visual wise, and a DSLR is too much to handle (both, the cam itself and the plunging it to the computer to broadcast live), there are some solutions that are kinda cute - you can plug a real lens (which is the main factor in making a shot look good) to your mobile. Look for “iPhone lens mount”. (I never used it, but full length features were shot with those as gimmicks for the manufacturers)

Sound

Regarding recordings, zoom (the recording tool and not the multi vhat program) is great. It is even more pro, but it’s more work to sync later. If you record directly to the cam while shooting on your dslr and the sound comes out good, use the cam for both simultaneously, why not. It’s mostly the mic it self that sets the quality. You can plug your nec mic or any other mic to the cam. (Cable or remotely)

I’d use zoom for large scale operations where you want to allow the cameraman full control over the shootings and the soundman full control over the sound. Here, we’ll, there’s only one person - you, and you are the one who is using them both at the same time :-)

Doing it not live

here’s a cool app that is aiming to be pro - it is called “Filmic Pro”

You might want to try it. It is as close to a video cam with all its features that I found.

* I also like “switcher” app which enables you to shoot and use multiple phones for different angles and switch between them - and do that all LIVE