I'm getting ready to shoot a lot of classes for our church that they are trying to move from a classroom setting to an online video. One of the things that I know will be required on these shoots is for the instructor to use either a markerboard and/or paper flipchart on an easel. To make my exposure easier to deal with, does anyone know of a light grey paper pad for an easel or a light grey markerboard (or both hopefully), that will end up looking white, without me having to worry about a giant square of 100% white in the frame?

I created some training videos for a previous employer. We used Power Point slides instead of a marker board and left one of the lower corners of the slide available to composite the instructor video on top (if needed).

That's not a bad idea, but we have instructors that will want one no matter what our video support is. Trust me, I've tried to talk them out of it - and it ain't happening. So I'm gonna need a grey marker board or flipchart paper for this one.

You might want to look into renting a SmartBoard or equivalent and then you'd be able to capture the penmanship in a digital format to include later. In many cases you don't need the projector to record the screen activity, a cheap solution is made by Mimio. I'd done this once before, that way you can still tape the person writing on a marker board, but then use the digital capture from the board to have "close ups" of the handwriting without fighting the actual hand or light reflections.

You can order flip chart pads in pastels.

The most common are the ones for kids classroom handwriting exercises...

Colored Chart Tablet PAC74733 Pacon® (http://www.rapidofficesupply.com/eshop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=PAC74733)

You can also order brighter colors like these...

http://www.ontimesupplies.com/Wausau_Paper_Astrobrights_Easel_Pad_skugroup_2709.html

Finally, you can also go to the local Kinkos or Alphagraphics and you should be able to order custom made flip charts if you have the time.

Good luck.

I know that I'm late to the party here but wanted to make a comment about presenters not using PowerPoint. For 20 years in tech marketing I gave presentations to large and small groups. I made my first computer based presentation on a Lisa. Yeah I'm old. I got so I could get slides to really dance.

Then I attended a company sponsored class on presentations that actually discouraged using computer-based presentations. I won't bore you with details of why that's so, but the Director of Training and several of my bosses commented on how much they liked my adopting this new style of presentations. One that used flip charts and props.

I bring this up because coercing presenters into PowerPoint is not always a good thing. Using flip charts may complicate your production but you may get better material to work with as a result.