Video Content

Why video content? 

Video is a great medium to convey a message. Executed well, a video is visual, engaging, and easy to digest. A great video helps your audience really connect with you as a brand, and remember the message that you’re wanting to share with them. 

As much as 74.9% of the UK population, totalling 50.6 million, consume digital video (2022), and the majority of marketers consider video to have a positive impact on brand engagement, website traffic, and conversions. These figures are only likely to grow. With this in mind you can be confident that video is likely to have a positive impact on the delivery of your message.

Types of video

This is definitely not a one-size-fits all medium. You will find that one target audience connects to video subject matter in a completely different way to a different target audience. Understanding your audience is key. 

The channel that you’re intending to share your video on is also key to the planning process. A video that’s going to be shared at an event or exhibition will be different to one that is going to be hosted on a website. A film intended for YouTube will be very different to a short piece intended for TikTok or other social media channels. 

The different communication methods will impact on the length, call-to-action, the style and delivery of your video.

How to create video and audio content

If you’re looking to create your own film for the University, see our guidance on creating your own video and audio content.

You can also contact the Creative Assets team at creativeassets@ncl.ac.uk to discuss possible video marketing projects.

What to consider when creating video and audio content

When creating content, the typical workflow processes consist of:

• planning (pre-production)

• filming/recording (production)

• editing (post-production) 

Pre-production

1. What do I want to achieve?

Having an idea of preferred style and structure is really useful for determining what needs to be recorded. It’s often useful to write a synopsis and a detailed description of each section of the production with names, locations, descriptions, and actions. This is sometimes referred to as a storyboard or blocked script.

Then outline the structure (beginning, middle and end), describe the key learning/information points and show how you plan to tell your story.

2. Who is my audience?

Think about who you are targeting and what level of education viewers will have, as this will determine how the video should be pitched. Consider how you will host and share your content as this will determine its range and reach. 

3. How long should my video be?

Statistics suggest that the first 3-10 seconds are crucial to grab the viewer's attention. Anything longer than 3 minutes will generally show a drop in interest level. 

4. What is my deadline?

Your timescales will determine what you will be able to produce in terms of complexity. The less time you have, the more simplistic the end product will have to be. Consider your deadline and work back from there, factoring in any critical recording dates and when resources will be available.

5. What additional material might I need?

You may need access to images, graphics, music etc to enhance your content which could take time and money to source. Commercial music is subject to copyright and usually costs a lot of money to use. It is also very time consuming to get the rights to use and you will incur royalty payments, so we wouldn’t usually recommend this route. 

6. What do I have to consider regarding legalities?

You need to consider legalities for everything you wish to record, and when using music or images in your content.

For someone to appear on camera, a completed consent form, known as a 'model release form' needs to be signed. You need to make sure that they are aware of the extent of their contribution, and also the context of the video. A release form is not needed if someone is recorded as part of a crowd, in a public place, and the person is not the main focus/subject of the video. 

When filming on location you will need permission from whoever the location 'belongs' to and need a ‘location release form’ completed.

When adding music or images to your content, you must ensure you have either paid for the licence to use it, or obtained written permission from the material owner in advance.

There are various companies that provide copyright free content at low cost or for free, including Shutterstock, Pixabay and Storyblocks. Each website should have details on what their licence covers so make sure to read thoroughly. 

7. What do I need to consider regarding logistics?

It’s important to think ahead about what you need to organise for your production. The more people and locations you need for your project, the more time you may need to prepare. It’s important to factor everything and give yourself enough time.

Things to consider with logistics:

Location 

Indoors or outdoors? Each area comes with its own benefits and challenges but it’s important to understand the complications that can arise from both.

• if indoors, is it suitably sized for your talent and crew? You will need adequate space for everyone

• if indoors, how well is the space lit? If it’s a dark area you may need to consider additional light sources

• if indoors, how does the room sound? Reflective surfaces have the potential to add reverb (echo) to recorded audio. There may also be additional noises such as machinery, air-con, even foot traffic that can impede on any audio you’re recording

• outdoors presents elements that are out of your control, such as weather, noises, wind, people and vehicles. The pay-off is that you can get some interesting and exciting footage

If you’re filming on private property, you may also need a location release form signing prior to any recording. 

Contributor availability 

Everybody’s schedule is different so it’s important to reach out to anyone you want to be in your production as soon as possible to ensure their availability for your filming. It can be a delicate balance between securing a location and availability of your subjects at the same time. Plan in advance and don’t be afraid to split your filming across multiple time slots/days if needed.

Anyone scheduled to be recorded will need to sign a model release form.

8. What will I be recording?

A simple question with a potentially complex answer. Plan in advance of what you actually need to record. Do you need interviews? How many do you need? Will they be scripted or do you need someone to ask questions? Do you need any particular shots of activities or locations? What specifically do I need to capture? Do you need any additional material such as graphics or music?

You’ll generally record a mixture of what’s called A-roll and B-roll material. 

A-roll material consists of the important interviews and recorded audio segments of your production that make up the content of your piece. 

Your B-roll material will consist of additional material to complement and support your A-roll material.

For example, a video with an interview (A-roll) of someone talking about deforestation will have greater impact with video of forests (B-roll) to support the content. 

A simple tool to help you plan out what you will be recording is by using a blocked script. This way you can plan out all the content you wish to 'say' in your piece and identify what you need to 'show'. This will help you outline what A-roll and B-roll footage you need. 

An example is below. In the script section you can detail what needs to be said by your subject, or you can bullet point topics/talking points. You can even write down questions to ask your subject. The visual section is what you want to show next to it. 

SCENE	SCRIPT	VISUAL
1	Deforestation not only affects our environment but local wildlife	Subject talking. (A-roll)
2	It’s important to take the necessary steps now to avert future problems.	Views of a forest. (B-roll)
3

9. What equipment will I need?

It’s never been more accessible to create video and audio content than it is today. Most smartphones have the ability to record high quality video and audio. Pair that with a well lit and suitable recording space and you’re increasing the quality of your content.

For recording your own content, the following equipment as a baseline is a good start:

• a camera that can record HD video (1920x1080) 

• a microphone for audio recording that either connects directly to the camera or a separate audio recorder

• support for the camera, such as a tripod

It’s important to remember that your audio recording is just as important as your video recording. Look at some options for a microphone.

• Shotgun Mic - will pick up sound in the direction it is facing and can usually be mounted onto a camera via a hot-shoe

• Wireless Lapel Mic - a small wireless microphone that can be attached to a subject to record their voice and relayed back into the receiver

It’s always best to recce a location first to get an understanding of what equipment you may need and what challenges you may face for your shoot. 

Some questions you should ask yourself on location are:

• where are the entrances and emergency exits?

• are there any health and safety risks I need to take into account?

• are there any power outlets?

• is the space well lit? 

• are there any noises that can’t be turned off?

• can voices be heard through walls/doors?

• are there any foot or vehicle traffic noises?

• what’s the weather like if filming outdoors? 

Hint - the best weather for filming video outside is dry and daytime overcast with little to no wind. This way you avoid any sun glares, long shadows, rain, and audio distortion from wind.

10. How do I plan filming our video?

Planning is always the most difficult part and marrying up the availability of a subject and a location to film can become difficult. Once you know the availability, you can use some simple tools to make organising your film much more manageable:

Filming schedule

Knowing where everyone needs to be and what time is essential. If you’re filming over multiple days, a simple filming schedule can ensure the production is organised.

 

Date	Location	Time	Subject	Description	Sound?	Crew
01/06	Meeting room 1	10:00-11:00	John	Interview (a-roll)	Yes	1 camera 1 sound
	Courtyard	11:10-11:30	John	Walking outside (b-roll)	No	1 camera
02/06	Lab 1	15:00-16:00	Sarah, Ben, Eric	Students conducting an experiment (b-roll)	No	1 camera

 

Shot list

A shot list is a checklist to ensure you do not miss any important visuals/shots on the days and time slots of filming.

It can also contain the type of camera shot/angle movement you want to use.

 

Shot number	Interior/exterior	Shot	Angle	Movement	Description
1	Interior	Mid	Eye-level	None	Interview with John (a-roll)
2	Interior	CU	Low	Track	John's hands while talking (b-roll)

 

Make sure you have your equipment organised in advance of each shoot - keep your batteries charged (bring spares!), have formatted memory cards (bring spares!) and make sure it all works.

Production

11. I'm ready to record, now what?

Once you have everything ready, sometimes it can be daunting to start the initial shoot. 

Make sure you have your location set up with your equipment and that your talent is where they need to be. Make them feel comfortable and talk them through the process. Give them time to settle in and for you to check that video and audio are ready to go.

If you have headphones and you can hear the audio levels from the mic, it’s a good time to do a sound check by asking the talent some general questions. This way you can hear how loud they are talking and check the audio isn’t spiking.

When they feel ready, let them know when you’re going to start recording. You can even say 'rolling on camera' when you press record so everyone knows it’s recording. When you want your contributors to start let them know - this is where you can say 'action'.

Allow the camera to keep recording until you’ve captured everything. Then when you have finished, let them know by saying 'cut'.

If you want to do another take then feel free. If you all feel you captured what you wanted then you can 'wrap' your filming. 

For B-roll footage, you might be observing an activity or recording footage that doesn't require directing others, so there's no need to say rolling or cut.

Post-production

12. I’ve recorded everything, now what?

Once you’ve recorded all the footage you need, you can then start to edit your production. 

There are many free video and audio editors available online such as DaVinci Resolve and iMovie. You can even look at Adobe Premiere Pro.

When producing a video for Newcastle University, you should use our branded lower thirds (for labels such as names and job titles) and end cards. You can read more about these in our Visual Identity - Videos section, and download what you need from our Image library.

Make sure you back up and organise all your footage so you don’t lose anything. You can also use this time to source any additional material you wanted such as stock footage/, images and music. 

After you have completed an initial edit, it’s a good idea to receive feedback from stakeholders or colleagues. 

Once you’re happy with the edit you can export the video file ready to be shared, hosted and distributed!

13. How much time will it take to produce a project?

Each project is different and will require a certain length of time to produce properly. The more time you give yourself to plan and develop a project, the more likely it will be a success.

It’s a common misconception that the shorter the final video is, the easier it is to produce. It all depends how much needs to go into the video to create what’s required.

Give yourself plenty of lead time to organise your contributors, write your script, plan what footage you want to get, organise your locations, and source your equipment. 

You might spend weeks planning for a shoot that lasts a few hours, or you might shoot something ad hoc and be done in a day. It all depends on what kind of product you want to produce and what you want to include. 

For example, if you’re planning on creating a 2min 30second promotional video with multiple interviews on location and accompanying b-roll with stock music/stock graphics, your timeline may look like this:

• 3 weeks planning and prep

• 1 week filming

• 4 weeks editing

If you’re planning on recording a 3 minute interview with a colleague your timeline may look like this:

• 1 day planning and prep

• 1 afternoon/morning of filming

• 2-3 days editing

The important thing is to not underestimate the length of time it will take to produce. When it comes to video, the more people you need to record, locations you need to record in and the other material you need to gather, the more time you will need. 

Summary

Each video project is different and following a simple workflow process below can help you keep track of your progress.

1. Formulate your idea, it’s purpose and audience
2. Write your script / your interview questions
3. Seek out your contributors
   • Obtain a release form from each main subject
4. Decide where you are going to film
   • Obtain a location release form from the property owner
5. Plan your filming
   • Filming schedule
   • Shot list
   • Organise equipment
6. Record your material
7. Edit your material and include appropriate branding (You can read more about these in our Visual Identity - Videos section, and download what you need from our Image library)
8. Get feedback from peers and colleagues
9. Publish your material

Video guidelines

View our visual identity section to ensure that videos you are working on are consistent with our brand.