Panopto: Record a lecture

Panopto combines lecture-capture software with a video-streaming platform to facilitate recording in-person classes or talks and sharing those recordings with others. Panopto can capture audio and video of a person lecturing and a screencast of what they project on the screen to an in-person audience. Recordings will be uploaded to Panopto’s video streaming library and can be made available to students through a course Moodle page or shared with anyone using sharing links. 

Record a lecture in your classroom

Start recording

1. Turn on the classroom computer and log in.
2. Open any applications and files that you will use during your lecture (e.g., PowerPoint slides, a web page, PDF documents, etc.) Recording requires considerable computing power and resources; opening everything else you need before starting the recording ensures that sufficient resources are set aside for other applications.
3. If the speaker will be projecting overhead, select the classroom computer as the video source for the projector using the room control panel.

4. Launch the Panopto Recorder by double-clicking the green Panopto button (shown below) on the taskbar, Dock or desktop.
   If prompted to log in, choose SAML or Moodle and log in with your BMC credentials if you have them; Haverford users should choose Moodle and use their Haverford credentials. (See Panopto: Get an Account to troubleshoot accounts and log in.)
5. The Panopto Recorder launches with the Create New Recording tab active as shown below. (If an update is needed it should auto-install before launching.
6. Under Session Settings, choose the Folder in your Panopto video library where you want to store the recording:
   • If the recording is for a course, choose the course short name (e.g., bmc.BIOL.B101.001.SP20).
   • Otherwise, choose “My Folder” to record to your personal Panopto folder.
   • You will be able to move the recording to different folder later if needed.
     
7. Give the recording a meaningful Name or use the default (recording day, date, and time). You will be able to rename the recording later.
8. If you want to capture video of your speaker, choose a Video source under Primary Sources; otherwise choose None.
   • Check the preview window to the right to ensure the camera is positioned correctly and adjust as needed.
   • Some rooms have two cameras — one facing the podium and one facing the audience. Be sure you’ve selected the correct one.
   • Some room cameras are repositionable. The panning and zooming controls are located on the room control panel; there is often a pre-set that centers the camera on the podium.
   • Contact the Help Desk (610-526-7440) for help troubleshooting video.
9. Check your Audio levels by speaking and watching the microphone bar.
   • Move the slider bar to increase or decrease the volume as needed.
   • If the sound is too low with the microphone at max, check whether the podium has a microphone that needs to be turned on. Some classroom microphones are directional, or designed to pick up sound from a certain direction, so the speaker may need to move a bit to find the sweet spot.
   • If no audio is picking up, try choosing another option in the Audio drop-down menu. In some rooms, the video camera provides the only microphone and you must record video in order to record audio.
   • Contact the Help Desk (610-526-7440) for help troubleshooting audio.
10. Check the Capture Computer Audio box IF you plan to play media with sound on the podium computer during the talk AND you want to include that sound in the recording.
    
11. Select and configure any Secondary Sources you want to capture:
    • Check Capture Main Screen to capture a screencast of everything your speaker presents onscreen and projects overhead to the in-person audience.
    • Check Capture PowerPoint if you also want to add the PowerPoint slides to the recording (don’t use this instead of Capture Main Screen.)
    • If additional cameras (such as an audience or document camera) or monitors are attached to the podium computer, you will be able to select or add them. Please don’t try to connect new video sources to a classroom computer yourself, as you could disturb other connections and settings — contact Multimedia (multimedia@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7449) for help.
    • When you are ready, click the red  record button to start your recording.
    • If you are capturing a screencast, minimize the recorder window so that it is out of the way.

Stop and upload the recording

Click  (pause) in the recorder window if you need to temporarily stop recording — e.g., while speakers are switching places. (Panopto keeps recording to ensure no data is lost, but then automatically deletes the portion of the recording between the time that pause and play were clicked.)

When you are ready to end the recording:

1. Reopen the recorder window if needed and click  (stop).
2. A Recording Complete dialog will appear; choose Done to upload the recording to the Panopto server for processing and streaming.
   
3. Lock the computer (Windows) or put it to sleep (Mac), but do not turn it off.

The recording will finish uploading in the background as long as the computer remains on and connected to the Internet, even if other users log in. Uploading typically takes about 15-30 minutes for a one-hour video, but can be longer if Internet usage is heavy. If the computer is shut down before the upload completes, Panopto will try to resume uploading the next time it is turned on and connected to the Internet. A local copy remains on the hard drive in the meantime to ensure nothing is lost.

Record a lecture off campus/outside your classroom

With Panopto, you can also record lectures and talks and share the recordings with students or others. Recordings can be automatically uploaded to Panopto’s servers and shared with students via a Moodle site or with viewers outside of a course via a public link.

Start recording

1. Open any applications and files that you will use during your lecture. For example: If you want to show PowerPoint slides, a web page, and an image in a PDF document, open your PowerPoint file, your web browser, and the PDF file. This will ensure your computer runs smoothly while using Panopto.
2. Launch the Panopto recorder from the desktop app or from Bryn Mawr’s online platform.
   • To launch Panopto From Your Desktop:
     • Double-click on the desktop Panopto icon (a green circular ribbon with a blue arrow inside it).
     • If prompted to log in, choose the SAML or Moodle options and sign in with your Bryn Mawr credentials. (Note: If you are not prompted to sign in and someone else’s name is listed in the top right hand corner of the recorder window, click Sign out, and then log in.
   • To launch Panopto From Bryn Mawr’s online platform:
     • Visit brynmawr.hosted.panopto.com
     • Choose the SAML or Moodle option and log in using your Bryn Mawr credentials. 
3. Click on the blue Create button and select Record a new session from the drop-down list.
4. Choose the course you are recording to from the drop-down Folder menu at the top of the page.
5. Give the recording a Name or use the default (recording day, date, and time).
6. Check the audio levels by speaking and watching the microphone bar:
   • Move the slider bar to increase or decrease volume as needed.
   • If nothing shows up in the audio level window, click Settings and try different options on the Default audio source menu until you find one that works. Call (x7440) or email the Help Desk if none of the options work.
7. Check the video settings:
   • Be sure the Instructor Video box is checked.
   • You should see the camera feed in the window above the checkbox.
   • If no video appears or the camera isn’t pointed where you need it, click Settings and try a different Default video source or reposition the camera using the onscreen controls. Call (x7440) or email the Help Desk if none of the video sources work.
8. Panopto automatically records a screencast of what is presented on the recording computer. You do not need to do anything to enable this and you cannot turn this off.
9. When you are finished setting up your recording, click Record to start recording.

Note: In many technology enabled classrooms, the video camera mounted in the ceiling is the only audio input source. In these cases, you will need to enable Instructor Video in order to record audio even if you only wanted a narrated screencast.

Stop and upload a recording

1. To end a recording, click Stop in the Desktop app.
2. In the dialog box that appears, choose Done to upload the recording to the Panopto server for processing and streaming.
3. Lock the computer (Windows) or put it to sleep (Mac), but do not turn it off. The recording will finish uploading in the background as long as the computer remains on and connected to the Internet. (Even if you log out and another user logs in.)

Questions?

If you have any additional questions or problems, don't hesitate to reach out to the Help Desk!

Phone: 610-526-7440 | Library and Help Desk hours
Email: help@brynmawr.edu | Service catalog
Location: Canaday Library 1st floor