FLO Student Support
Before you start planning and filming your video, it’s really important to find out what the submission method is for your assignment, because this might impact how you record and edit your video.
Submission via My Media is typically the preferred submission method. If you have been asked to submit a video, but can't see the online text box in your Assignment submission page, please ask your teacher to enable it.
Submitting a video assignment via MyMedia is a two-step process:
Step 1. Upload video to MyMedia
Step 2. Embed the link in the online text box.
Please refer to video instructions below.
Submission method | What the submission section looks like | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|
Upload to My Media, then embed link to your video in an online text box  |  | My Media is your private audio and video repository in FLO where you can upload, store and view your media. Only you can view your media, until you embed it in a FLO topic site. Once you've uploaded a media file to My Media you can embed it anywhere on a FLO topic site where the text editor box is available, like an assignment or discussion forum. All common video formats are accepted, including those produced on mobile devices. There's no file size limit; you won’t need to compress your video before submitting it. But, really large media files can take a while to upload to My Media, so please allow plenty of time before the submission deadline to do your upload. |
If you need to submit an additional file alongside your video (like a Word Doc or PPT presentation), use the file submission box on the same page as your video upload.
Make sure you upload all files before you confirm your submission on the next page, as once you submit your assignment you will not be able to edit your submission or add additional files
Submitting your video assignment via My Media is a 2-step process. Can't view the videos below? Log in to FLO for access.
Step 1. Upload your video from your mobile or computer into your My Media in FLO
Upload a video from a laptop or desktop computer
Upload a video from an Android device (phone or tablet)
- Please avoid using the Okta App for this process, and access FLO directly via your browser
Step 2. In your assignment submission, embed the link
, then submit
If you have been asked by your Topic Coordinator to upload a video file directly to the assignment submission box check out the More on Videos guide for instructions.
Express Capture allows you to create a video using no equipment other than the camera and microphone on your computer and MyMedia in FLO. The video is automatically saved to MyMedia.
To use Express Capture:
Go to MyMedia, and select “Add New”, then “Express Capture”.
Grant your web bowser permission to use your camera and microphone.
To begin recording, click the big red button.
A countdown will be given, and recording will commence.
A timer will display how long recording has been running.
The stop button will stop the recording.
When recording has stopped, three options become available.
- “Record Again” allows re-recording.
- “Download a Copy” allows saving the video to computer.
- “Use This” uploads and saves the video directly to MyMedia.
Enter the requested details to name the video, then click the “Save” button.
Go back to your MyMedia homepage, and you will see the video in your list of MyMedia items.
The best option for recording and editing depends on the kind of video you need to produce for your assignment.
If you use a mobile phone, you can borrow a mobile compatible tripod from the Central Library to stabilise your device.
| Type of video | Options for creating and editing | Help resources |
|---|---|---|
| A simple "present to camera" style video You or your group to talk directly to camera, and the footage will only need basic editing | Film on your phone or tablet, then upload the footage to MyMedia in FLO. Film on your computer / laptop with Express Capture in FLO. Select this option from MyMedia and record using your inbuilt camera and microphone.
| Refer to the help videos on the main video assignment page for how to upload videos from Apple iOS and Android devices into MyMedia. Learn how to use the Desktop Recorder and more about editing video in MyMedia How-to guides for editing with iMovie on Mac, iPhone and iPad are available here. |
| A narrated presentation video You've created slides and want to add narration and export as a video | PowerPoint on both Mac and PC have this functionality built in. You’ll need to use a device with an inbuilt mic. Upload the PowerPoint file to MyMedia in FLO and embed the link in the assignment submission box. Mac's Keynote application also provides these tools. But, Keynote only allows you to export a video as an .m4v file. Depending on how your topic teaching team have set up the assignment submission, you might need to convert the file type before submitting. If the submission method is to upload to MyMedia then embed the link, you shouldn't need to convert it. If the assignment uses the standard file upload method, you'll need to convert it first - check out the information on using Handbrake on Mac to do this. | Turn your Powerpoint into a video on PC and on Mac Video tutorial: Create a movie file from Keynote |
| A narrated screen recording You want to record other content on your screen (a website, software, document images etc), add narration and export as a video | If you have a computer / laptop has an inbuilt mic, you can use the free Desktop Recorder in MyMedia to record any content on your screen, while you narrate. You can use the MyMedia editing tools to chop/trim before submitting. PowerPoint has a screen recording function that lets you record & narrate content on your screen outside of PowerPoint (e.g. websites, other software, images, documents). Upload the finished PowerPoint file to MyMedia in FLO and embed the link in the assignment submission box. | Learn how to use the Desktop Recorder and more about editing video in MyMedia |
| A practical skills demonstration or live scenario You need to film some ‘live action’ and then do additional editing, like adding voiceover, annotations or splicing in other content like slides/graphics, etc. | If you need to move around to film the 'action', it's best to film on a mobile device like a phone or tablet, rather than a webcam. For editing your footage, you’ll probably need access to more sophisticated editing tools than what’s available in FLO. If you have the following devices available to you or your group, here’s some options:
| How-to guides for editing with iMovie on Mac, iPhone and iPad are available here. |
| A recording of you or a group presenting in a teaching space, including recording the lectern and screen, etc | Most lecture theatres & some tutorial spaces are equipped with the University's lecture capture system, which includes a ceiling mounted camera and lapel or handheld microphones. This means you can film the teaching space, including the presenter/lectern area, the screens, and if applicable to the teaching space, whiteboards and the document camera. The recording system can be activated via a USB, which you should bring along. This could be an option if you don't have access to other devices to record footage on. Upload the finished video file to MyMedia in FLO and embed the link in the assignment submission box. | If you're interested in this option, you'll need to:
|
Make simple videos with MyMedia Desktop Recorder in FLO.
Videos created using the Desktop Recorder are ideal for submitting via the MyMedia method, but you also have the option to download the video if you need to.
You can use it to capture screen recordings, webcam and audio. When making screen recordings, you can also add annotations like drawing and highlighting to the slides, webpages or applications on screen as you record. It also has a whiteboard mode where you can record yourself drawing basic diagrams & graphics.
How to get the Desktop Recorder
Student computers on campus should have the Desktop Recorder installed. Be aware, not all student computers have webcam and microphones, so you may not be able to use the full functionality on every computer on campus.
You can also download the Desktop Recorder onto your personal laptop or computer as shown below. You need user admin rights on the computer to install it.
Please be aware that Chromebook devices currently cannot support the installation of the Desktop Recorder.
IMPORTANT! If you are using Desktop Recorder on a Mac, you will need to give permission to Kaltura to access the screen capture function. If you do not allow this permission, you may receive an error message similar to 'failed to stop recording. Please try again'.
1) Close Kaltura Capture.
2) Go to 'System Preferences' then click on 'Security & Privacy'.
3) Go to 'Screen Recording' and check the box next to 'KalturaCapture' .
Create a video with Desktop Recorder
- Open the Kaltura CaptureSpace Desktop Recorder, either:
- from the icon on your desktop(PC) or from Applications (Mac)
- or, from within FLO. Open the drop-down menu next to your name and profile picture, click My Media > Add New > Desktop Recorder
- The Recorder opens. Select the recording inputs for the type of video you'd like to create. You can click an icon to toggle the input on/off. See the table below for which inputs to use for different kinds of video.
If you choose to use the screen recording function, you have the additional options to annotate your screen or use the whiteboard tool.Video type Recorder inputs to select Screen recording (no audio)
Screen only. Click Camera and Audio to turn them off.
If you have multiple monitors, you can use the drop-down menu to select which one to record. Choose whether you want Full Screen recording, or to select a specific area on your screen.
Screen recording (with audio) - Record presentation slides with narration
- Record yourself using a website or database, software application, etc
- Show an image, diagram etc and talk about it
- Optional: use the annotation tools to overlay a markup over the content on screen.
Screen and Audio. Click Camera to turn it off.
If you have multiple monitors, you can use the drop-down menu to select which one to record. Choose whether you want Full Screen recording, or to select a specific area on your screen.
Talking head, presenting directly to camera Camera and Audio. Click Screen to turn it off. 
Multi-stream recording (screen recording plus webcam talking head)
The Desktop Recorder will create two video streams - one for the screen recording, and one for the webcam. When your TC or tutor watches the video, they'll be able to choose how the two streams are displayed, and change it as they watch (it's interactive).
They can view it as:- picture in picture view, with one stream displayed in the bottom corner and the other filling the screen.
- side-by side: splits the screen in half and plays both streams side by side.
You don't need to do any additional editing to make this interactive viewing experience possible. When you create a multi-stream recording, the video player in FLO just provides the functionality.
All three inputs - Screen, Camera and Audio.
If you have multiple monitors, you can use the drop-down menu to select which one to record. Choose whether you want Full Screen recording, or to select a specific area on your screen.
See the video below for a step by step demonstration.Audio only Audio only. Click Screen and Camera to turn them off. 
- Click the red Record button. You'll see a 3-2-1 countdown, then the recording begins.
- The recording toolbar will reduce in size and display in the bottom right of screen. You may need to move it or minimize it to make sure it isn't included in your video. As you record, you can pause and resume at any time. If you make a mistake and want to discard what you've recorded, click the cross icon to cancel the whole recording.
Note: if you make a mistake while recording, don't worry! You can always cut it out after uploading your video to FLO, with the the editing tools available in My Media.
- When you're done, click the Stop button then Yes, Stop it to confirm.
- A preview of your video opens in a pop-up window. Enter a name and description (both mandatory fields that are required to submit your video to the assignment later).
- Click Save and Upload. This saves the recording and uploads it directly into your My Media repository in FLO.
Note: the Save option saves the video into your Desktop Recorder library, but won't upload to FLO. You can always access the video in the Recorder library at a later stage and upload it.
- You'll see the upload progress percentage displayed; it may take a few minutes to complete.
- When the upload is complete, you can click the URL displayed under the video to access it in My Media. From there, you can preview the video and edit if necessary.
