The impact of camera angles in learning videos on the perception of teaching excellence and emotional connectedness of students in the creative industries

Abstract

With the use of learning videos in higher education (HE) on the rise, and an increased importance assigned to the perception of teaching excellence by students in the United Kingdom (UK) and worldwide, this paper considers the impact of camera angles on students’ perception of teaching excellence and students’ emotional connectedness. Two focus groups comprising undergraduate students studying full time in subjects of the creative industries watched and discussed two videos with identical content (a presenter, presenting) but different camera angles – low-shot versus eye-level. The videos were provided as part of the course materials. The responses elicited in the focus groups suggest that an eye-level camera shot positively affects student perception of the presenter’s credibility, goodwill and professionalism in learning videos. At the same time, findings call into question the suitability of presenter-focused learning videos altogether for the teaching of creative industries subjects in HE, since students perceive that they lack sufficient presenter sparkle to enthuse, motivate and engage their audience.