Lights, camera, action! It's official, fitness has a permanent place in the online space. If you're new to teaching virtual, let us help you translate your in-person barre skills to virtual. We're giving you a few good tips and pointers on how to bring the "boom from the classroom" to the virtual barre room. Read on for more!
In a Barre Intensity class music is the backbone and we are moving to the beat of the music the entire time. It’s so important to have a strong beat and great sound when teaching virtually so your clients can follow along seamlessly. If you’re using Zoom, the built-in microphone in your laptop or desktop computer has poor audio quality, especially for playing music live over the internet. Zoom does offer a few setting adjustments to help you sound a bit better. To amp up your voice and sound quality through Zoom, listen to our free video outlining additional equipment and set up. A small investment into sound enhancement equipment can make a big impact in your virtual barre room.
Lights, camera, action! A good light source and the position of the light will help you look even better to your virtual clients. Here are a few tips on how to get that perfect glow:
1: Make sure the camera has the light behind it and shining onto you. This will ensure that you don’t have a dark silhouette and your clients can see your face when teaching.
2. Use a softbox light or a ring light behind the camera. With a softbox light, you’ll still need to place your camera on a surface or stand in front of it so the light shines from behind the camera. With a ring light that has a tripod stand, you can place your camera directly on the light and adjust one piece of equipment vs. several.
3. Use natural light. You can’t go wrong with natural light but you won’t be able to adjust natural light. Although natural light is great, you’ll have to plan your virtual class at the right time and in the right location.
Lights on, sound on, energy up! When teaching virtually you must bring a big personality. Get ready to give a little more than usual because there isn’t anyone else around your participants to feed off, it’s just you! We’re trying to replace that group fitness feeling with a virtual twist. Look at the camera lens and make eye contact with it vs. looking down or side to side. Walk up to the camera so they can see you closer if possible. Cheer for them even though you may not be able to see them.
In a Barre Intensity class, saying someone’s name is motivating virtually or in person. If you know or can see your participants, use their names to keep them engaged. Start practicing mirroring if you haven’t already nailed it by now or never have to use it. Your right is now their left and so on. You can even replace specific directional cues like “right and left” with cues like “other side” or “change direction”.
Last, keep your choreography (and your background) simple. Simple choreography set’s you and your clients up for success when teaching virtually with fewer distractions. Have a spot set up that you can easily get to and move around in. We sure don’t want to trip over equipment when teaching!