UCL
PRODUCING YOUR OWN VIDEO CONTENT AT UCLGetting
started(Equipment
(Filming(Post-production
Understand what you want
Camera, audio & lights
Mini-tutorials
Editing to achieve from a video
Exporting & uploading
Planning your shoot
1) Getting started
i. Before you start producing video, ask yourself a few basic
questions:
Who is your target audience?
Is video the best format, or is your message better suited to an
audio podcast or a written article? Will enough people watch this
to justify the resources required?
What is the output for your video streamed, embedded or
downloaded?
Evaluation how will you measure the success of your video?
Target audiences
Many departments nowadays feel they should have some sort of
multimedia to spice up their webpages. The problem is, not all of
these departments have thought through how to engage their target
audiencese.g. prospective students, prospective researchers or the
general public through multimedia. UCLs Scandinavian Studies
Department provide a good example of how to use a unique, quirky
video to appeal to prospective students.Formats
Not all messages you may want to get across are suitable for
video. Messages that are more corporate, hard sell or for internal
UCL audiences are usually better suited for audio podcasts or text
pieces on a website. Producing video requires much greater
resources than text. You must ask yourself whether video is worth
the effort required.
Outputs
UCL has different official channels for various types of
video.
YouTube: UCLTV is UCLs official channel, though several
departments have their own channels. From YouTube, you can embed
the videos onto blogs and your department websites
YouTube audience: mixed ages and demographics, often
international, and those looking for short and snappy videos; the
ideal length for videos on YouTube is about 3-5 minutes iTunesU:
for longer videos, mainly lectures, to be downloaded
iTunesU audience: often internal and those who want full-length
lectures
Streaming (housed on Multimedias streaming server): you can
enter the video ID into your webpage and it will be embedded as a
streaming video
Streaming audience: this is the best format to embed videos for
a specialised audience or for more institutional message-heavy
videos, like About UCL, where you need a more professional, slick
look than YouTube
eNewsletters: increasingly departments are using eNewsletters
with links from multimedia embedded in them; see UCL Alumni Network
for an exampleEvaluationThere are various ways to measure the
success of your video. Videos on YouTube can give you viewer
statistics, including demographics and where your video is being
viewed, as well as attract comments and Like rankings. If embedded
on a UCL page, you can measure page clicks and time viewers spend
on the page via Google analytics. You can also assemble a focus
group of your sample target audience to give you feedback and
ensure that your video achieves its aims.ii. What to film:
Research abroad we are Londons Global University, after all. UCL
Communications have HD-quality CreativeVado cameras (like FlipCams)
that we can lend you. These are small, compact cameras that can
take still photos or video. Take a look at how they have been used
by UCL students travelling to China.
Students doing fun & imaginative projects, either
course-related or extracurricular
Examples: Biology fieldtrip to Spain; project from Bartlett
School; Sikh Society festival Stories that a significant amount of
your target audience would be interested in
Example: Remembering UCL after the War, used for alumni
audience
Groundbreaking events/research
Example: Peter Tatchell lecture, filmed with iPhone on
tripod
iii. Planning a shoot
Scripting and shot lists
Even for very short talking-head videos, it is helpful for
everyone involved if the producer or project manager to puts
together a brief on the project and then a script for the shoot
with questions for the interviewee and a list of shots to film.
Script example
This is a script for a short video. There were two crew
(director and assistant producer) and one interviewee. The script
was useful for establishing date/time of shoot, contact info and an
equipment checklist before setting off. Once we were there, we had
lists of interview questions and shots we wanted to use as cut-away
material.
For your shoot, you can download a template of the above form
here.
Consent and release forms
Ensure all contributors have given their consent to be filmed.
If you are filming with school children or anyone else who is not a
student or staff member at UCL, UCL Communications can provide you
with Release Forms. If youre filming in a public space, a filming
notice is also useful.
iv. Training and internal resources
If you want tips on shooting simple talking heads, take a look
at the mini-tutorials below in section 3. You can also always
contact Rob Eagle in UCL Communications for further advice. If you
or your department want to start shooting more elaborate videos,
then think of training courses. There are film-making courses at
UCL, run by InSight and Social Anthropology course instructor
Michael Yorke.
If you think that filming something yourself sounds like too
much to take on, consider UCLs internal resources:
If you think your project or story would be suitable for UCL
News, contact UCL Communications to discuss the possibilities of
film, audio-slideshows or a written text piece.
Media Services UCLs in-house AV production team can film or
webcast lectures, panel discussions, talking heads or events and
produce a promo video for your department; can also assist will all
technical issues, including digital media conversion and creating
DVDs; check their website for rates
Student Film Soc the UCLU Film Soc, like UCLU Photo Soc, can
film your event for a fairly affordable rate
2) Equipment
If you have any questions about what kind of equipment is
appropriate for your video, contact Rob Eagle in UCL
Communications. Heres a brief overview of your options for kit and
where to go to purchase or hire it.
i. Camera types
Flipcam or mobile phone these can be great for talking heads,
vox pops, video diary-style videos or even lectures. UCL
Communications and Media Relations have been using very simple
Creative Vado cameras for talking-head video on blogs and YouTube.
example> UCLs Cheltenham Science Festival blog; Peter Tatchell
lecture Small HD video cameras (under 1000) ideal for talking heads
and simple videos
Lightweight professional cameras (2000 and up) for more
professional and documentary-style videos
ii. Sound equipment
Not matter the kind of camera you use, make sure you that you
can record clear sound. Nine times out of ten, you will need to use
a lapel mic for an interviewee or a directional mic to record a
specific person in a crowded, noisy room. And always use headphones
to monitor sound.
What you will need:
Lapel mic (recommended) either affordable lapel mic or
higher-spec radio mic Directional mic (optional) like a Rode mic
Headphones (highly recommended) any brand, just to be sure that
your sound is decent
iii. Tripod
Unless youre going for a shaky, handheld aesthetic, use a
tripod. Any will do, although one with a spirit level bubble is
best.
iv. Lighting
Big studio lights are expensive, so improvise with whatever
lighting you have. Open all blinds (those that will not harshly
backlight your interviewee) and turn on any desk lamps available.
Alternatively, consider using a top light on or beside the camera.
See mini-tutorial in Section 3 below for how to light.
v. Where to loan, hire or purchase equipment
UCLs Audiovisual Centre have some equipment that you can borrow.
They have camcorders, microphones, laptops and DVD players, amongst
other equipment.
For certain projects that fall within a UCL Communications / UCL
News remit, we can also lend equipment for short periods of time.
Contact us if you have any questions about this.
Your first port of call for purchasing equipment should be UCLs
AV official suppliers via Procurement. If these vendors do not have
what all you need, then there is also ASK Electronics on Tottenham
Court Road and PEC for more professional level equipment. If you
would rather hire, consider these places: PEC, DV Camera Hire,
Calumet
3) Mini-tutorials for filmingi. Step-by-step guide to filming
vox pops, talking head interviews and vodcasts
Online mini-tutorial: A guide to filming vox pops, talking heads
and video podcasts1. Prepare and print off Shooting script and Out
on a shoot checklist The key with any shoot is to prepare for it.
To make life easier for yourself, fill out the shooting script
template with contact information, key interview questions and a
list of other cut-away shots to film. Then print off the Out on a
shoot checklist to make sure you dont forget steps along the way.2.
Set up camera If you want a more formal feeling, mount the camera
on a tripod. If you are going for an off-the-cuff talking head,
then hold the camera steadily as possible. Next, bring your
interviewee away from any walls, as this gives the image a bit more
depth. You should also take your interviewee away from a bright
window, so s/he is not backlit. Most academics offices can be quite
cramped and dull, so try to set up something interesting but not
too distracting in the background.3. Framing Usually you dont want
your interviewee to be too low or centred in the frame. Ideally,
place her off centre, with her eyes about a third down from the top
and a third in from the side. See examples below.
-Interviewee too centred
-Interviewees eyes 1/3 down from top
-Face too far down
and 1/3 over from right/left edge
4. Lights Turn on all available lights and open blinds. You dont
want your speaker looking like he works in a dark cave, even if he
actually does.
5. Sound Close all windows and doors and turn off any whirring
computers. Then attach a microphone to your camera. The in-built
mics on most cameras are poor quality. So use a tie-clip mic or a
decent mic on top of the camera. People often forget about sound
with videos for the web. Good sound is more important than many
people realise.
ii. Short features (mini-documentary style)
In our experience, giving students and staff cameras to film
their projects or research abroad has resulted in some successful
videos with a heartfelt and direct appeal. For examples, look at
the video of students who went to China on a study exchange and
another video of students who went to the 2009 climate change
conference in Copenhagen.
Always be mindful of the points above: framing, lighting and
sound. Additionally, if you are filming someone doing something
exciting, consider filming from a variety of distances so that you
have wide shots, mid shots and close-ups to edit together.
If you want to start doing more sophisticated videos, consider
film-making courses at UCL, run by InSight and Social Anthropology.
4) Post-production
i. Editing
If you just want to upload a simple single-shot video but edit
the beginning or end, YouTube has a rudimentary editing function,
YouTube Video Editor. If you have a Mac, then it already comes with
iMovie perfect for a short video. If you have a PC, use Windows
Movie Maker, or you can purchase editing software through UCLs ISD
Software Database. You will need decent computer RAM and possibly
an external hard-drive for storage. Speak with ISD for advice on
ideal computer specs.
Online tutorials on editing videos
If youve never edited a video before, check out some helpful
editing tutorials on YouTube.
Cutaway (or B roll) footage of UCL campus and students
Contact Rob Eagle in UCL Communications if you would like to add
to your video general shots of the UCL campus, researchers in labs,
the libraries or student societies. Music
As recorded music is copyright-protected, its advisable to
purchase tracks from a royalty-free music library or look at one of
the free music libraries below. For all of our videos, we use Audio
Network, which offers tracks at an educational-use discount for 79p
per track + VAT. See their Rates page for details.
http://www.publicdomain4u.com/ copyright-expired music,
including blues and jazz http://www.musopen.com/ mostly classical,
in the public domain and can be accessed for free
http://www.opsound.org/index.php music samples and links to
websites of artists http://www.sectionz.com/cc.asp electronic music
tracks, Creative Commons-licensedii. UCL branding
Fonts and text in your video
In line with UCL branding best practice, we use the following
styles for text in videos:
Font: either Arial or Garamond
Titles: Professor (not Prof) and Dr (not Dr.)
Departments: UCL Geography (not UCL Department of Geography)
Here is a screen shot of how an academics
title and department should lookBranding and logos for video
In UCL Communications videos, we use a small watermark UCL logo
at the top of the video screen and a UCL logo card at the end of
each video. These are not mandatory for your videos, but are
recommended for videos that represent institutional messages. We
can provide you with these. UCL logo for end of video UCL
watermark
Further information on UCL branding - see Corporate Identity
site for guidelinesiii. Exporting video
This is a technically complex final stage of post-production.
Settings depend on where you are uploading video to:
YouTube see their uploading settings page iTunesU or UCLs
streaming server contact Maurice Brown in UCL Multimedia for best
settings
DVD export video as Quicktime or WMV file; we recommend using
Toast software for creating DVDsOut on a shoot checklist (for
filming short interview videos
Before you go:
Double-check equipment, including batteries fully charged and
enough free memory on the camera
Confirm time and place of filming with everyone involved
Fill out shooting script and shot list so that you know what to
ask and film
On the shoot:
Interviews
Setting bring the interviewee away from wall or window with
something interesting but not distracting in background
Lighting turn on all available lights; make sure interviewee is
not backlit
Framing place interviewee off-centre (either right or left) in
the picture
See examples:
Sound make sure all windows and doors are shut, radios/TVs and
mobile phones off (not just on silent) and, if possible, turn off
whirring computers; IMPORTANT: do a sound check!
Cut-aways and other material Get shots of interviewee hard at
work, whatever that may be
Close-ups of hands and face
Wide shots of interviewee in office or lab etc
Get shots of buildings outdoors and indoors, including corridors
and signs, preferably with a tripod
Record any other sounds (like water or music) or shots (like
animals or flowers) that you might be able to use as a cut-away
Shoting Script Template
(Name of project) shooting script
(date)
NameRoleContact numbersEmail
Director/cameraMobile:
Office number:
Project manager
Mobile:
Office number:
IntervieweeMobile:
Office number:
Equipment:
Camera, batteries and memory storage
Microphone
Tripod
Interview:
(name)(location address)
Interview questions
Interview questions
Interview questions
Shot list:
- General shots of people, building or facilities?
- Close-ups?
Background information:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/_(department website)
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