It also means small technical problems — echo, a dark face, a shaky phone — can pull a judge's attention away from a strong performance. Here's how to make sure the only thing a judge notices is you.
First, check the rules. Every NOF tournament follows the NOF By-Laws, and each tournament invitation on ForensicsTournament.net has its own details and deadlines. A few rules matter most when you're recording:
- Interp is not an acting event. No costumes, props, or special lighting in Declamation, DI, Duo, HI, Poetry, POI, Prose, or Storytelling. Just you, your voice, and (where required) your manuscript.
- Your material has to be new this season. Nothing you've used in competition before August 1 of this season, and you can't use the same piece in two events at the same tournament.
- No jump cuts, filters, or effects. Your performance should play straight through, the way a judge would see it live.
- Extemp and Impromptu must be a single take. One prompt, one recording, no restarts.
- Upload your video to YouTube as Unlisted and submit the link (more on that below).
- Stay within your event's time limit (see the table below).
1. Sound matters more than picture
Judges will forgive a slightly grainy video. They won't follow a speech they can't hear clearly.
- Pick the softest room you have. Carpets, curtains, couches, and bookshelves absorb echo. Kitchens and bathrooms bounce it.
- Get the phone closer. Built-in mics pick up the room as much as your voice. A few feet away is usually better than across the room. If you have earbuds with a mic or a clip-on mic, test them.
- Kill background noise. Turn off fans, close windows, put pets in another room, and tell your household you're recording.
- Do a 10-second test and listen with headphones. You'll hear things your ears tuned out in the room.
2. Light your face, not the wall behind you
This is about being seen clearly, not stage lighting. Effects like colored lights or spotlights count as "lighting" under the interp rules, so keep it to normal room light.
- Face the window, don't sit in front of it. A bright window behind you turns you into a silhouette.
- No window? Use a lamp placed in front of you and slightly to the side, at about face height.
- Avoid overhead-only light, which creates shadows under your eyes.
3. Frame it like a stage
- Turn your phone sideways. Always record in landscape (horizontal), never portrait.
- Camera at eye level. Stack books under it if you have to. Looking down into a camera reads as looking down at your judge.
- Match the frame to the event:
| Event type | What the judge should see |
|---|---|
| Platform (Informative, Persuasive, etc.) | Head to at least mid-torso, with room for gestures |
| Interp | Wider — enough room for movement and blocking, without walking out of frame |
| Limited prep / Impromptu / Extemp | Head and torso; steady, clear, natural |
| Async Debate & Congress | Head and shoulders to mid-torso; clarity over movement |
- Keep your manuscript in frame. Poetry, Prose, and POI require one (college DI and Duo may use one). The judge should see you use it.
- Keep visual aids in frame. If you use one in Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, or Communication Analysis, make sure the judge can actually read it.
- Mind the background. Plain and uncluttered is best. No one needs to see the laundry pile.
- Stabilize the phone. Use a tripod, a stack of books, or a phone stand — never a hand-held shot.
4. Talk to the lens
The lens is your judge's eyes. When you look at your own face on screen, it reads as looking slightly down and away.
- Put a small sticky note with a smiley face next to the lens as a reminder.
- Recording on your own? No problem. Set your phone on a tripod or prop it securely on a stack of books, use the front camera to check your framing, then press record.
- Have a helper? Use the rear camera (it's usually higher quality) and have them check your framing.
5. Record like it's the real round
- Do a full dress rehearsal take and watch it back before your "real" take. (Prepared events only. Extemp and Impromptu must be recorded in one single take, so practice with a sample prompt before you draw your real one.)
- Keep it continuous. Record the whole performance in one go. No jump cuts, no splicing your best lines together, and no filters or beauty effects. If you stumble, keep going, just like you would in a live round. (In prepared events, you can start a fresh take if you need to.)
- Watch it twice: once with the sound off (are your gestures and face doing the work?) and once with your eyes closed (is your voice carrying the meaning?).
- Dress like you would for a live tournament. It changes how you carry yourself.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb so a notification doesn't interrupt your best take.
- Check your time. Make sure your performance fits within your event's time limit:
| Event | Maximum time |
|---|---|
| Async Debate | 8 minutes |
| Async Congress | 3 minutes (one floor speech; a pro and a con must be entered as two separate entries) |
| Assigned Platform | 3 minutes |
| Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain | 10 minutes (Elementary: 5) |
| Communication Analysis | 10 minutes |
| Declamation, Original Interp | 10 minutes incl. intro (Elementary: 5) |
| Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, POI | 10 minutes incl. intro |
| Duo | 10 minutes incl. intro (Elementary: 6) |
| Prose | College 10 · HS/MS 7 · Elementary 5 (incl. intro) |
| Poetry | College 10 · MS 7 · Elementary 5 (incl. intro) |
| Storytelling | 5 minutes incl. intro |
Source: NOF By-Laws. Going a few seconds over isn't treated the same as going two minutes over, but aim to finish on time.
6. Upload to YouTube as Unlisted, and do it early
NOF async videos are submitted as Unlisted YouTube videos. Unlisted means anyone with the link (your judges) can watch, but the video won't appear in YouTube search or on your channel.
- Choose "Unlisted," not "Private." Judges can't open a Private video, and a video they can't watch can't be ranked. "Public" isn't necessary either.
- Don't add filters or effects in YouTube's editor. Upload the video as recorded.
- Students under 13 will need a parent or coach to upload from their YouTube account (YouTube requires account holders to be at least 13).
- Upload well before the deadline. Large files can take a long time on a slow connection, and YouTube needs extra time to process the video after it uploads.
- Test your link. Open it in a private/incognito browser window while signed out. If it plays there, it will play for your judge.
The 5-minute pre-upload checklist
- I read the tournament invitation on FTN
- No costumes, props, or special lighting (interp)
- My manuscript or visual aid is in frame, if I'm using one
- I can hear myself clearly with headphones — no echo or background noise
- My face is lit from the front
- Camera is at eye level, phone is stable and in landscape
- The frame fits my event (room to gesture or move)
- I'm within the time limit
- No jump cuts, filters, or effects (and Extemp/Impromptu is a single take)
- I watched my final take all the way through
- Uploaded to YouTube as Unlisted, with time to spare
- My link plays in a signed-out, private browser window
Put it into practice
The best way to get comfortable on camera is to record often. Sign up for our newsletter for a quick monthly speaking challenge you can record on your phone, and then bring your best work to the Elm Async Invitational → Registration closes Saturday, November 7 at 8:00 PM PST.
Questions about recording or uploading? Email us at info@nationalonlineforensics.org.