Recording Your Performances

Capturing the Magic

Filming shadows is harder than it looks. The extreme contrast between a bright white screen and a pitch-black shadow confuses automatic camera systems. Getting it right requires a few deliberate overrides.

Camera Settings

Exposure Lock

On most phone cameras, you can tap and hold on the bright part of the screen to lock exposure and focus, then lower the exposure a little until the screen looks clean white and the shadow looks true black. The exact wording varies by device, but this step matters more than any other camera tweak. Without it, auto-exposure will keep adjusting and your recording will pulse with distracting brightness shifts.

Focus

Lock focus on the screen, not your hands. Most phones let you do this with the same tap-and-hold gesture used for exposure lock. This keeps the shadow surface sharp even when your hands move closer to or farther from the camera plane.

Resolution and Frame Rate

For sharing online, 1080p at 30fps is sufficient and produces manageable file sizes. If you plan to do any slow-motion review of your technique, shoot at 60fps — this lets you slow footage down to half speed without motion blur, which is very useful for spotting positioning issues in your hands.

Physical Setup

Camera Position

Place the camera perpendicular to the screen at roughly screen center height. Angled shots create trapezoidal distortion. The camera should be far enough back that the full screen fills the frame with a small margin on all sides — this gives you room to move figures near the edges without cutting them off.

Stability

Use a tripod or prop the phone firmly. Even minor camera shake is amplified by the contrast of the image. Shadows move; your camera must not.

Audio

Built-in phone microphones are often enough for casual recordings if the camera is fairly close. If you are doing live narration or foley sound effects, position the camera 3–5 feet from the screen rather than across the room so your voice stays clearer. For performances with background music, test audio levels before recording: the music should be audible but should not overpower any narration.

Sharing Your Recordings

• Instagram / TikTok: Crop to a 9:16 vertical ratio. A close-up crop of just the shadow (removing the screen edges) usually looks better than the wide shot.
• YouTube: 16:9 horizontal. A full screen view is useful for teaching, while an edited cut may work better for performance highlights. Add chapter markers if you are posting a longer tutorial.
• Thumbnails: A single crisp shadow figure on a light background with your hands visible is often easiest to read at small sizes. Capture a still from one of your clearest figures.