2024:Speaker resources

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Conference rooms

Information about the conference rooms, their size and features is available at the venue page.

Slide decks and designs

You are free to use any presentation theme you like. We have prepared a slide deck template and set of assets, including video call backgrounds and other elements, that match this year's Wikimania branding. We encourage you to use them in your materials.

Deadlines for slides or links to slides is 4 August. Please add your slides or a link to your slides in eventyay by visiting your session page on eventyay, scrolling down to "Resources", adding the file or link with a description, and clicking "Save". If you provide a link to Google Slides or similar, you can continue editing your deck after the deadline. If you are unable to share your slides by this deadline, you should be prepared to bring your slides to the session, allowing extra time for production to load them.

In-person sessions

Speakers who are presenting in person should arrive at their room 15 minutes before their session begins. Speakers can approach the audio-visual production desk to ensure their slides are correctly loaded. The production team will run the slides.

Each room will also have a volunteer room manager that can help answer any questions or retrieve any supplies you might need.

When speaking, speakers will have a clicker to advance their slides, as well as a teleprompter for any presentation notes and a timer that will help them keep track of their remaining time.

Speakers who choose to do Q&A can take questions from the room; room assistants will run the mics and field any questions coming from the virtual attendees watching on eventyay.

Pre-recorded sessions: Filming and uploading information

For speakers who will be pre-recording their sessions, the deadline is 2 August. Please add your video to the Commons category and also add the link to eventyay. Add the video link to eventyay by visiting your session page on eventyay, scrolling down to "Resources", adding the file or link with a description, and clicking "Save".

Filming tips

Expand for filming tips

Camera Settings for Android

Touch the Settings icon. Choose Resolution & Quality, a mode and a camera.
Choose a resolution or video quality setting from the list: 30 fps will look like standard video; 60 fps will make captured motion look very smooth.
Choose the 16:9 ratio setting over 4:3.

Camera Settings for iPhone/iPad

On the iPhone, open Settings, then head to "Camera." From here, tap "Record Video," then choose any of the 4K options. Changing it here will switch it in the Camera app immediately.
Select your frame rate: 30 fps will look like standard video; 60 fps will make captured motion look very smooth. If it helps, the Apple default is 30 fps.
Choose the 16:9 ratio setting over 4:3.

Camera Settings for Computer on Video Conferencing Application (such as Jitsi or Zoom)

For further information, see Webcam recording.
Open Jitsi or Zoom and press the record symbol. That is on the bottom of the screen.
You can save it to your desktop or the cloud, whatever is more convenient for you.
Keep in mind that you will have to send us the link of that video so remember where you save it to.

Recording

Expand for recording tips

If you are using a mobile phone, put your phone in airplane mode and shut down background apps to prevent interruptions.
Do not film in a dark environment. Being in a well-lit environment makes all the difference in your video.
White light vs. yellow light will capture better. Natural light is the best. If you are by a window, make sure to face the window, not away from it. Turn on any lights that can help light your face from the sides and behind you. Try to avoid using flash.
Clean your camera lens. Use an eyeglass cloth if you have one; do not use disposable tissue (especially one with lotion).
Make sure there are no distracting background noises or activity. Make sure you are in a quiet area. Do your best to turn off any fans, air conditioners, TVs, or anything else that is projecting noise.
Make sure you have at least one clip with clear flow and a beginning and ending cadence. Send us your best video, usually it will take 3 takes to get the best one.

Landscape

If you are filming with your phone make sure you are filming in a landscape orientation. This will ensure your video doesn’t have black empty spaces on the side. Your video will take up more of the screen and people will be able to see you better.

Framing

Now that you're recording in the proper orientation, completely fill the frame with your subject. Make sure your head is not being cut by the camera, there must be space between the top and bottom of your head and the screen. You will need to make sure you are not too close to the camera.

Stabilizing and Smooth Footage

If recording with a smartphone try to remember to do the following:

Keep the phone close to your body.
Rest your elbows on a nearby object for stability.
Use your body to absorb bounces and shakes.
Try and prop your phone so that it stays still, if you have a tripod or phone mount, even better.

Quality Control

Watch your video(s) and make sure the audio sounds good, and that the lighting looks good too. Don't be afraid to reshoot and do it again.

Virtual sessions: Dialing in for your session

All speakers will dial in to present via Zoom. This is to ensure the most stable, reliable connection for speakers and the most straightforward user experience.

All virtual speakers will receive a Zoom link to join in the days before the event. Speakers should plan to join the Zoom 15 minutes before their session starts to do testing with the audio-visual team.

When joining the Zoom, you will be greeted by someone from the team. You will not be live at that point. The team will complete your testing and will then indicate to you when you will be live.

As a virtual speaker, you will be able to see the physical room while you are presenting. If you'd like to have a Q&A at the end of your session, a room attendant will run the mic around the room for you and will voice any questions that have come in from virtual attendees watching in eventyay. You will be able to hear anyone speaking into the mic.

You should be prepared to share your own slides from within the Zoom as this will allow you more control advancing your slides.

You may use the Zoom chat to communicate with the production team during your session. This chat will not be public.

Before your session, please ensure the following:

Ensure you are in a place with stable internet connection. If you are worried about connectivity, you can pre-record your session following the instructions in the previous section. You can still dial in to take any questions after your video, just let us know this is your plan by emailing wikimaniawikimedia.org.
Headphones: Use headphones to eliminate echo and sound disturbances. Test the headphones beforehand to ensure sound quality is good.
Camera setup: Please position your camera so that it is not directly facing a light source, which will improve the image quality.

Speaker guidebook

The Wikimania 2024 speaker guidebook is now available on Commons. It has tips for creating your deck, as well as helpful pointers for public speaking in both virtual and in-person contexts. We highly, highly recommend giving it a careful read as soon as possible, ideally at least two weeks before Wikimania.

Speaker support sessions

The Community Development Team at the Wikimedia Foundation provided a support session to interested speakers to help them work on public speaking skills and improve the structure and clarity of their talks.

The slides from that session are available here.

FAQ

I'd like to change the time of my session. Whom should I ask for it?

If you want to reschedule your session, please find another person who is willing to swap their program slot with yours. Please go to the program talk page and follow instructions laid there. If you don't find suitable time, you can pre-record your session as well.

May my team of co-speakers be hybrid?

Yes. Please ensure you have selected "hybrid" as the method of delivery on your eventyay session page under the question "How will you be presenting this session?"

In case of questions

If you have any questions, please reach us out at wikimaniawikimedia.org.