TOOLKITS
by Raphaël Harfaux @raphaelharfaux
Introduction This toolkit has been designed to help organisations produce powerful videos on a budget. Videos are an incredibly effective way to get your message across and linked with social media can mean a potentially huge audience for your campaign. Most organisations think that they cannot afford to produce a video because they don’t have the funding and the time for it. We hope to show you that you can produce quality videos with a limited budget and some basic kit. We take inspiration from the fact that some very successful videos are one shot wonders produced on a phone and directly published on Internet. This toolkit has been designed to give you simple practical process to follow.
Cost examples:
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Camera: from £150
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Tripod: £20-25 Editing software: free to £800 Sound recorder: from £80
Plan your video Planning your video is essential. There is a good chance you will waste time and money if you don’t have a clear idea of the objectives of your video: how will it support your message, who should you interview, which questions should you ask your interviewees and what kind of images should you include in your video?
Think strategically. • Why do you need a video? This video should support an action or cause you are wanting to promote, so be clear about its objectives from the beginning. • How will you use it and where? Will you use it during events or on your website? Will this video be used as an introduction or as an example of your work? • What is your target? This question is important. The answer will help you to define the tone of the video as well as examples you will use. • What effect do you want the video to have on viewers? Do you want people feeling happy, sad, shocked? • What is the message you want to get through? This is the core element of your video. This will help you to build the story you will develop in the script. • How long do you want your video to be? Keep in mind that shorter is often better. You have more chance of keeping the attention of your audience if your video is short and is going straight to the point. • What is the budget and time commitment available? It is important to be clear on this.
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Time to write the script.
After answering all previous questions, it is time to work on the script. This will help you to produce a plan on how you will produce your video: the narration, the duration of the different sequences, the information you need from the interviewees and images that you need to shoot in order to illustrate the message. So begin with a blank piece of paper. Divide it into two columns with an arrow representing the duration of your video.
Logistics.
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The second column is about the action on the screen.
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The first column is about the story and the narration. What examples should you use? How many interviews? Length of interviews and narrative parts. Which kind of information do you need from your interviewees (and therefore which questions should you ask?)? It is important to think how the video ends so your objective is achieved.
Next to each story point, write ideas of the images you could show in order to powerfully illustrate your message. If you speak about a problem, think how you can describe it.
This is obviously linked to the question ‘What is the budget and time commitment available?’ • What material do you need (do you have or can you afford?). • Crew needed? e.g. cameraman, editor, producer. • Where do you need to film? • When can you film? • Which people should you interview? • Do you need some special authorisation?
DDay - Let’s get shooting! It’s DDay. You will probably be very busy especially if you are planning to produce a video report about your organisation’s annual general meeting for example, and like most employees in the charity sector you will be multi-tasking. But don’t worry, you’re now prepared, you know what you want, how many interviews you need, what questions you will ask and what images you want to capture. However there are a few rules you should keep in mind in order to create a great video:
Images. • Film with the highest quality definition you can get on your camera. • Try to film various shots. Keep in mind that your footage needs to illustrate your message. Each of them will give particular information to your audience, so try to shoot the right information. • Don’t move when you film. Try to avoid zoom and other movements as it is difficult to edit footage with excessive movement. • Be careful with the light! Except if you are an artist, always keep the sunlight (outside or through a window) behind you. • Produce short clips. Long clips are a nightmare to work with when editing.
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Recording Interviews. • When possible, prioritise originality and authenticity. • Prepare your interviewees. It is also very important that their answers go straight to the point without too much hesitation. Have an informal discussion with them going through the questions. They will feel more confident in front of the camera knowing more or less what you’re interested in.
Sound. • Be careful about the quality of the sound! It is very important. • Be careful with the wind and other background noises, especially if you don’t have a good sound recorder. • If you use an external sound recorder begin your interview by a ‘Clap!’. This sound will help you to synchronise both files when editing.
Think accessibility: • Subtitles: On YouTube, you can easily add subtitles. Make sure that the subtitles appear clearly. •
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British sign language: It is easy to add a small video on the bottom right of your video with a British sign language interpreter if required. • Audio description: Lots of action without description of what’s happening can be boring for visually impaired people. Include a narrative voice to describe the action and what’s happening in the scene.
Editing and Promotion Time to edit. There are lots of simple, free/cheap editing software. Here is a simple process we advise you to follow for editing. • First have a look at all your clips, keeping your script in mind. Always select the most dynamic footage which contains action. • Begin by editing the interviews. This can be the most lengthy process especially if you have to shorten a 5min interview into 20seconds. • Between interviews, add narrative voice. • Add the other images on top of interviews and narration. • Work on the sound levels.
Promotion. There is no secret here: if you don’t promote your video, people will not watch it. • Use it in events as much as you can. • Upload it on a sharing platform (e.g. YouTube, Dailymotion). • Embed your video on your website, blogs and other online platforms. • Email the link to your contact list and add it on your newsletter. • Promote it regularly through your social media platforms and ask your followers/friends to share it.
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Include a call for action on your video! If the objective of your video is to encourage people to take action (e.g. join your campaign, make a donation), don’t forget to link the video to your action.
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● You can encourage people to visit your website at the end of your video or tell them what they need to do. ● On YouTube you can add a ‘Donate’ or ‘Join Us’ button directly on your video that people can click to visit your website or donate. For more info visit: www.youtube.com/nonprofits.
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