How to record a tutorial with your face on screen
A tutorial with a face in it is watched longer and trusted more than one without. The technique is not complicated; it is mostly preparation and one setting. This is the routine.
Before you press record
- Write the steps down. Not a script — a list. Reading a script sounds like reading a script.
- Do the steps once without recording so the app is in the right state and you know where the taps are.
- Light on your face, not behind it. A window in front of you is the best lamp you own.
- Do Not Disturb. Notifications on.
Camera placement
Picture in Picture, lower corner, small enough not to cover the content and large enough that your expression reads. On a phone that is roughly a fifth of the width. Put it on the side where the app has the least going on. Do not move it during the take.
Audio
Your voice is the tutorial; the app is the illustration. Mic high, app medium or low. If the app has no useful sound, turn it off entirely — a phone's ambient tap sounds add nothing. Speak as if to one person sitting next to you.
Pacing
Say what you are about to do, do it, then say what happened. That rhythm gives the viewer time to see the tap. Silence while you find a button is fine; cut it later or leave it — it is honest.
The two mistakes
Looking at yourself instead of the screen: the viewer sees you watching the bubble. Look at the content and glance at the camera when you make a point. And recording once: the first take is the rehearsal. Record it, then record it again immediately; the second is always better.
How long should a tutorial be?
As long as the task takes plus nothing. Two minutes for a single feature; ten for a workflow. Cut anything you would skip as a viewer.
