Patterson-Brandt, Inc.
The PBI Post
Professional Video Content vs. Student-Produced Content
Many clients wonder about the proper mix between student-produced video content and professional content on their website.
The obvious answer is that you should have both. But they should be separate, and you shouldn't mix elements of the two.
Student content captures an unvarnished, authentic feel. Prospective students will enjoy checking out some of that “home-made” content so they get a “behind the scenes” look at your school.
But the majority of prospective students will watch your professional content because it looks better, sounds better, and is more compelling. Simply because it’s professionally done doesn’t mean it's any less authentic (if it’s done well by producers who care about authenticity).
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that your professional content is a direct reflection of the quality of your school. It should convey your main marketing messages, so it had better look and sound good. It should capture and hold the viewer’s attention. Student content, unless it’s created by a visual prodigy, is not going to deliver that kind of quality.
So keep the student content separate from your professional content, and make sure it remains clearly identified as student-made.
Great CUPRAP Conference
Thanks to everyone who stopped by our table last week at the CUPRAP conference in Hershey! The attendance was outstanding and the presentations were very informative.
I had the opportunity to chat with quite a few people who stopped by our table. Opinions of presenters and attendees was unanimous — video is more important than ever on higher ed websites. The mix of professional and “home made” content is important too - you need both. Please call (570-898-4368) or email me (steve@patterson-brandt.com) if you need advice on making your own videos, or if you need expert production services on bigger projects.
And many thanks to CUPRAP for a valuable and friendly conference!
Fast Turnaround
We just finished a great short video for Rider University’s College of Business.
Turnaround time? About a month. That’s pretty quick. How did we do it? The staff at Rider had a tight focus on what they wanted the video to accomplish — they had an “Accepted Students Day” event approaching and they wanted a video to showcase the benefits of their business curriculum.
They also took advantage of a great opportunity — prominent business leaders serving on Rider advisory committees as well as College of Business alumni were scheduled to be on campus for a series of meetings, so they had everyone in place to gather some great interviews for the video. Combining those interviews with a day of shooting in business classes and we had all the material we needed for a powerful video.
The lesson in this? Keep the focus tight and know what messages you want to convey. And if you have an easy opportunity to get interviews with supporters of your school, take advantage of it.
We’ll post the video soon — after its premiere at Rider.
Production Notes
Tips for a Good interview - Part 2
In a previous post I offered advice on doing informal interviews for “home-made” videos for use on YouTube and your website. That post focused on how to get useful responses even if your subject isn’t very talkative.
There are other factors to consider for a good interview as well.
Think about the background. Find an attractive location. A blank wall isn’t very appealing. Unless you’re going to spend time on lighting and framing the shot, putting your subject behind a desk isn’t very interesting either. An open space with a deep background would be much more interesting visually.
Consider the lighting. Take advantage of whatever lighting sources you have available. If there’s a lamp nearby position it close to the camera but just a little off to the side so it lights your subject’s face. The shade should diffuse the light so it’s not too harsh. If you only have overhead flourescent lighting that’s okay, but don’t place your subject directly under one of the lighting fixtures because that will darken their eyes and give a “raccoon” effect. Have the subject step forward or back a bit so the light from overhead can reach their eyes.
Don’t put a window or bright source of light behind your subject. Doing that will make your subject very dark compared to the background - you’ll end up with a silhouette.
You have to consider sound quality as well. Try to pick out a spot with a nice background but is in a low traffic area (both foot and vehicle traffic). Lots of background voices, noises, or cars passing nearby will make it hard to hear the person speaking.
Most low-cost video cameras don’t have a microphone input so you’re stuck with using the camera’s microphone. Stay close to your subject for the best sound quality.
Overall your viewers will be pretty forgiving because they realize this video is home-made and not meant to be a professional production. Nevertheless they need to be able to see and hear the subject, or you shouldn’t post the video.
Paying a little attention to your background, available lighting, and sound issues will make your video much better.
See Tips for a Good interview - Part 1