Video Guide

Video guide for PyLadiesCon 2026

This guide is for everyone whose session is pre-recorded: PyJam performers, PyLadies chapters recording a highlight video, and anyone else we broadcast from a recording. It covers the format we need, how to get a good recording, how to send it to us through the PyLadiesCon portal, and what happens to it afterwards.

What is specific to your kind of session, such as its length, its deadline and what we are looking for, is in the guide for that session:

  • PyJam performer guide
  • PyLadies chapter highlight videos: the guide your liaison sent you, also listed under Speaker guide in the portal

Panels are different: our team records them with the panelists on a call, so panelists don’t record anything on their own. See the Panels guide.

If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].

Format

  • Length: the limit depends on your kind of session (a PyJam performance is up to 10 minutes). Your session page in the portal shows the limit that applies to you, and checks your video against it after you upload.
  • Landscape, preferably 16:9, ideally 1920 × 1080.
  • MP4 preferred, using H.264 video and AAC audio. If you cannot export MP4, MKV is also accepted; MOV and WebM work too. 30 fps is perfectly fine.
  • A slide deck with recorded audio is not a video. Export it as one first.
  • Clear video and audio. Good audio matters more than perfect video.

If your video uses copyrighted music, backing tracks, recordings, images or other material created by someone else, please make sure you have permission to use them in a video that will be publicly broadcast and published online.

Tips for a good recording

You don’t need professional equipment to make a good video. A phone, tablet or webcam can work perfectly well.

Video

  • Record in landscape, not portrait.
  • If you’re using a phone, prop it up or use a tripod so the image stays steady.
  • Place the camera roughly at eye level where possible.
  • Make sure we can clearly see you and what you’re doing. If you’re moving around, leave enough space in the frame.
  • Try to have some light in front of you rather than directly behind you. Sitting in front of a bright window can turn you into a mysterious silhouette.
  • You don’t need an elaborate background. A simple, tidy space is completely fine.
  • Record a short test first and check how it looks before recording the full video.

Audio

Good audio is more important than perfect video. If you need some basic recording equipment or assistance with your setup, contact us and we’ll try to help where we can; see Equipment below.

  • Record somewhere as quiet as possible.
  • Close windows and doors and turn off fans, air conditioning or other noisy equipment if you can.
  • Keep your phone or microphone reasonably close to you. The further away it is, the more room noise it will pick up.
  • Do a short test recording first. Listen back with headphones and check that the sound isn’t too quiet or distorted.
  • If you’re performing with backing music, make sure we can still hear you clearly over the music.
  • Avoid placing your phone or microphone directly next to a loud speaker or instrument.
  • If you have an external microphone, you’re welcome to use it, but it isn’t required.

Recording tools

Below are some suggestions on tools for recording your video.

OBS Studio

There are open source software that are available for free, one of them is OBS Studio which is available in multiple OS. There is a quick start guide at their knowledge base.

Advantage: Free and open source, available on multiple platforms

Disadvantage: Can be complicated to set up if you are not familiar with it.

QuickTime Player

With Quicktime Player not only you can record a video, you can also record your computer screen. It is free and included with Mac OS.

Advantages: Free, and included with Mac OS. Allows you to record video, audio, and computer screen.

Disadvantages: Not available in other operating platform. Very basic and limited video recording capability.

StreamYard or Riverside

You can record on the browser using services like StreamYard, which some users might find quite user-friendly. However, there is a watermark added if you use the free version.

The PyPodcats team has paid subscription to Riverside, and could help with recording your session using their account. If you’d like to record using Riverside, please contact one of the members from PyPodcats.

Website: https://streamyard.com/, https://riverside.fm/

Advantages: Easy to use, on the browser, no installation needed

Disadvantages: Video is watermarked with StreamYard logo on the free tier. Limited features on the Free tier.

Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams

These are online video conferencing tools, which allow you to record yourself, as well as adding a presentation to your recorded video. These tools can be used for recording, and you can use other video editing tools to further edit and adjust your videos.

Website: https://zoom.us/, https://meet.google.com, https://teams.microsoft.com

Advantages: Free to record. You can record yourself and your presentation.

Disadvantages: Requires an account with them.

Editing tools

After recording your video, you might want to edit or adjust the video, maybe adding, or removing some bloopers. Below are some recommendations of tools you can use to edit your video.

VLC Media Player

Since we love open source software, one of the recommendations is VLC Media Player which is free and open source. Although the name is “media player” it comes with some basic video editing features. It allows you to cut, rotate, crop, merge videos, and more. However, it is not very straightforward and not very easy to use. You may have to do some research online to find some tutorial to learn how to use it.

Website: https://www.videolan.org/

Advantage: Free and Open Source, support multiple platforms

Disadvantage: Limited functionalities, not easy to use.

iMovie

If you are a Mac user, the most accessible software to edit a video is iMovie, which comes with Mac OS. If you do not have it, you can download it for free on the App Store. This option is limited to Mac users and the functionality of iMovie is limited compared to a professional editing software.

Website: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/imovie

Advantage: Free since it comes with MacOS

Disadvantage: Limited functionalities, only available to Mac users

Canva

With Canva, you can create design, presentations, and even edit videos right on your browser. It has intuitive UI, and comes with many free templates and graphics. You can edit your design quickly by simply drag-and-drop. You can start for free.

Website: https://www.canva.com/

Advantages: You can edit videos on the browser, lots of templates and stock photos/graphics available.

Disadvantage: Requires subscription for premium content.

Veed.io

Veed.io is a similar service to Canva, it lets you edit and create videos on your browser, and it comes with a stock design library. The free plan lets you export videos up to 10 minutes.

Website: https://www.veed.io/

Advantages: Edit on the browser, stock design library.

Disadvantages: Need paid subscription for exporting videos longer than 10 minutes.

FFmpeg

FFmpeg is an open source tool for video and audio editing. It supports various audio and video formats, and works on various operating systems including Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, the BSDs, etc.

Website: https://www.ffmpeg.org/

Advantages: the command line tool is powerful, works on many platform

Disadvantages: requires installation, and familiarity with command lines

Equipment

We recommend several equipments to make you feel confident in your recording.

Webcam

A camera with a resolution of at least 1080p.

Examples:

Microphone

Do not use the built-in microphone that comes with your laptop/webcam/phone. The built-in audio quality is really poor, and it will affect the overall quality of your video. In the past, we have had to request our speaker to re-record their presentation because of the poor audio quality.

Instead, please use one of the following options:

  • An external USB microphone, or
  • A headset with microphone, or
  • A lavalier microphone

Examples:

Ring light or light panel

Proper lighting can improve video quality.

Using your smartphone as a camera

If you have a smartphone from within the last 3-4 years, it likely has a really good camera for recording videos. If you do not have a good webcam, we highly recommend this option.

Video recording support

If you don’t have adequate equipment, or if you need to purchase a new mic or camera, we can help! Submit your request for our Speaker Equipment Grant through this form.

We may be able to recommend some equipment to purchase and reimburse you the cost of the equipment. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Making it accessible

  • Not all attendees are native English (or any other language) speakers, so try to speak clearly and slowly.
  • If you show slides, images or text, keep them high contrast with a large enough font. Light background and dark text work best; you can check contrast at colourcontrast.cc.
  • Describe what is on screen as you go, so those who cannot see it can follow, and those who cannot hear you can read it in the transcript.
  • No flashing animation.

Transcripts and captions

You don’t need to send us a transcript. Once your video is in, the portal makes a first draft of the transcript itself: it runs Whisper, the open source speech recognition model, through faster-whisper with the small model, on PyLadiesCon’s own worker. Your recording is not sent to any third-party transcription service, and no account with an outside provider is involved. A person on our team then reviews the draft, and the reviewed transcript is what we publish and what the translations are made from.

The reviewed transcript comes back to you on your session page, under Files from the team, so you can check it. If you already have a transcript or captions file of your own (.srt or .vtt), tell your liaison and they will add it to your session instead of the draft.

Before you submit

Watch your whole recording once, with headphones if possible. Check that:

  • The video plays from beginning to end
  • You can be seen clearly
  • You can be heard clearly
  • The audio and video are in sync
  • There are no unexpected notifications, interruptions or background sounds
  • It is within the length limit for your session
  • The correct video is the one you are about to upload

It doesn’t need to look like a professional production. We want to see you, not your video-editing skills; our post-production team will help with the finishing touches, and you’ll get a chance to review the edited version before it’s finalized.

Submitting your video

Your video goes through the portal, not a shared folder or an email. You don’t need a Google account, and there is no size problem with a long or high-quality file: the video goes straight to our private storage in pieces, and carries on after a dropped connection.

  1. Sign in to the portal, open Speaking, then My sessions, and choose your session.
  2. Choose Upload video. It opens the Files tab at the Your video card.
  3. Pick the file and choose Upload. Keep the page open until it says the upload is done.
  4. The page then shows your video’s length against the limit for your session. If it’s over, upload a shorter cut: choose Replace video, and we always use your newest version.

That’s it. The upload ticks the upload item on your checklist and lets your liaison know. You can replace your video as often as you like until your deadline, and the portal keeps the earlier versions in case you want one back.

The full walkthrough, with screen recordings and what to do if something doesn’t work, is in the portal documentation: Your video and files.

After you submit

Your checklist gains a third list, What we’re preparing for your video, which follows our post-production work: the quality and length check, the transcript and its review, translations, the title card and final cut, and the YouTube publish scheduled for your slot.

We share files back with you the same way, under Files from the team on your session’s Files tab: the poster and social cards for your session, the transcript for you to check, and the final cut. The portal emails you, at most once a day, when there is something new there. When the final cut arrives, Approve the final cut opens on your checklist: watch it, tick it if you’re happy, or tell us what needs fixing.

Deadlines and extensions

Your deadline is in the guide for your kind of session and on your checklist in the portal, with a reminder email as it gets close. For PyJam it is 21 November 2026.

We may not be able to accommodate all requests for extensions. If some unforeseen circumstance prevents you from submitting your video on time, please contact us immediately so that we can work it out with you. Our volunteers need time to process and review all the videos before the conference, and we will also be translating and transcribing them, so any delay in submission affects our ability to prepare your video for the event.

If you have to withdraw for any reason, tell us as early as you can at [email protected], and if you can’t use the upload at all, reply to any email from the portal and we’ll find another way.

Thank you

Thank you for recording for PyLadiesCon! If you have any questions along the way, reach out to us at [email protected].