Help :: Creating your first message
You've signed up to Eyejot and now you're ready to send your first message to a friend. What next? Well, you'll be surprised how easy this will be. Here's what to do:
- Click on Messages in the top navigation bar
- Click on Compose New Message
- Press Record
- Enter in one or more recipient email addresses
- Press Send
That's all there is to it. After you press Send your message will be delivered to your friend's Eyejot accounts. If they're not yet members they'll still be able to view your message and a link will be provided inviting them to join.
Tips for creating great messages
Recording a video message using the steps described above is only part of the story. To create really good messages it's important to make sure your lighting and audio conditions are ideal. Lighting is critical. You want to make sure that your light source is mostly in front of you and, definitely, not behind you. Here are some tips:
- Like still photography, have the light in front of you facing you and illuminating your features.
- Avoid too much light behind you.
- Using a laptop with WiFi and you're sitting in a dark room inside? Consider moving toward a brighter spot. Consider natural lighting, like sunlight.
- Visit a site like IzzyVideo for general video tips.
Audio is also very important. Here are some important tips to consider to improve audio:
- Disable echo reduction features in Flash (see flash audio). It might be labeled Reduce Echo.
- Consider disabling echo reduction in your computer too. For example, on Macs you can do this through the system preferences sound panel. The option is labeled Use ambient noise reduction.
- Speak clearly and don't rush.
- Consider using a lapel mic or headset-mic combination.
- Observe the audio meter during recording and try to keep it half-way into the green. Avoid having "red" appear all the time. That might indicate too much audio which will make listening painful for your message viewers.
