Patterson-Brandt, Inc.
The PBI Post
Same Old Same Old
I see a lot of college videos. So many of them look exactly the same. Lots of faces, lots of very short short interview clips, quotes like “friendly environment,” “caring faculty,” “small class sizes” … etc etc etc.
Every college video says things like that. Every single one. Sure, it might be true at your school, but instead of saying it, show it! An effective video isn’t just a parade of students/faculty/staff saying typical things. An effective video should show you what classes are like. An effective video should give an example of a dynamic faculty/student relationship. An effective video does more than tell — it shows.
So 5 Years Ago
It amazes me when I see some schools with little or no video presence on the web. It’s 2012, folks! You’re already five years behind (at least)!
I realize there’s a self-serving interest here (after all, we produce videos for higher education) but even if you don’t work with us you have to get started. If you have no budget, 1) create a YouTube channel then 2) get some lively, enterprising students with a video camera to make short videos about the school, their major, their extracurricular activities … something. Anything! (Within reason, of course.) If you can’t have afford professional content go for personality and quirkiness. Start conveying the character and quality of your institution. It’s time to get going!
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