Camera setup

What is in the kit

Colby sets up every phone before it ships, so a recorder starts at the recording app, not at phone setup. Each kit has:

• An iPhone, already set up by Colby.
• A head strap with a phone clip.
• A battery pack.
• A Lightning charging cable.

The kit guide at colby.ing/setup/kit has the steps in English or Spanish, one screen at a time, with pictures. A printed sheet with the same steps goes out with kits. Making the recorder's account is covered on Recorder setup. This page is about the camera itself.

Put the phone in the clip

1. Wipe the camera lenses with a soft cloth.
2. Open the clip's jaws and set the phone in sideways, screen up, with the cameras facing down toward the work.
3. Center the phone. The jaws must not cover the cameras or press the side buttons.
4. Tug the phone gently. It should not slide.
5. Check how the holder joins the strap's arm. It should use the mounting hole on the back of the holder, not the one on its bottom edge, because that holds steadier and keeps the camera aimed at the hands.
6. Check both screws are tight: the one on the back of the holder and the knob on the side of the arm.
7. Before the strap goes on, look at the phone screen and check the picture is right side up.

Wear the strap

1. Plug the battery pack into the phone with the Lightning cable.
2. Put the pack in a pocket and run the cable behind the ear, so it stays out of the picture.
3. Put the strap on like a headband. The mount sits at the top of the forehead, above the eyes.
4. Pull the strap snug. Shake your head and bend over. If anything moves, tighten more.

If the strap is too small or too loose for someone's head, the owner tells Colby. Do not swap in a cap, a helmet, a chest harness or any other mount. Only a camera on the head is accepted, and other mounts have not been checked yet.

Set the angle

1. Stand the way you work, with your hands out in front of you.
2. Let the phone stick straight out from the forehead, like the brim of a cap.
3. Tip the front edge down until both hands are in the middle of the picture.
4. Tighten the knob on the side so the phone stays put.
5. Put a strip of tape across the joint by the knob. If the tape moves, the angle moved.

Set the angle in the posture of the real work, not standing up straight. Each kind of work has a quick check:

To take the phone out, open the clip's jaws. Never loosen the knob, or the angle is gone. Put the phone back the same way, centered, and check the tape still lines up.

The 10-second test

Before the first video of every shift, and any time the phone has come out of the clip, record 10 seconds and watch it back. You should see both hands with the whole palm and all the fingers, the tool, and the surface being worked on with some space around it. Forearms at the bottom edge are fine.

Light

A dark video is not accepted. Turn on the room lights before recording in each area, including storerooms, back halls and kitchens. Some crews work in areas dark enough that they need a flashlight to do the job. Those areas are not ready to record. Skip them and tell Colby.

Battery, storage and upload

• Charge the phone and the battery pack before every shift. Keep the pack plugged in while recording.
• Check there is room on the phone for the whole shift. If it is full, upload over Wi-Fi first.
• After the shift, connect to Wi-Fi and upload. Keep the app open until every upload finishes.
• If an upload fails, check the Wi-Fi and try again. If it still fails, photograph the screen with your own phone and send the picture to Colby.
• If the app says the account is on hold, stop recording and call Colby.

Sign-in codes and account rules are on Recorder setup.

Recording on the phone

1. Open the recording app and tap the task that matches the work.
2. Tap start task. The camera opens.
3. Tap the red button to start recording, then do the job.
4. Tap the red button again to stop.

• Each video runs 1 to 30 minutes. For longer work, stop before 30 minutes and start a new video of the same task.
• When the work stops, recording stops.

Pre-shift checklist

Send it to owners, or have them tape it where the crew starts the shift. The crew sheet has the same list in English and Spanish.

• Phone charged.
• Battery pack charged and plugged in, cable behind the ear.
• Lens wiped clean.
• Room on the phone for the shift.
• Strap snug, mount at the top of the forehead.
• Holder joined by the hole on its back, both screws tight.
• Tape on the joint lines up.
• Picture right side up.
• 10-second test passed: both hands in the middle.
• Lights on where you will work.
• Everyone in the area has said yes, and you know the places to skip.

Questions

Read next

• Why hours get rejectedNearly every rejected hour comes from a short list of causes: a camera in the wrong place or aimed wrong, a picture that drifts or goes dark, work that is not real, the wrong task, or something private in view. Each one has a quick fix.
• Recorder setupHow each recorder gets from an unopened kit to good video: the account, the strap, the angle, a 10-second test, the pre-shift checklist and uploading.
• Phones and kitsWhat comes in a camera kit, how Colby sets up each phone, how kits ship, and what to do when a phone breaks, goes missing or changes hands.
• Helping crews improveYou can raise a company's accepted hours without seeing a single video: watch the numbers in your portal, call the owner early, send the crew sheet and the kit guide, and give one clear fix at a time.