Shooting Guide
We hope to make shooting videos for Assemblywomen as easy as possible.This guide is primarily for those who have limited experience in shooting video presentations. In most cases your mobile phone will probably be the best thing for you to use to shoot your video for Assemblywomen unless you have access to a digital camera with video functionality.
Shooting
Video
Apps
In most cases the camera app on your phone will have a video function that will shoot video of a high enough quality. There are many free apps that can help you with shooting your video, including teleprompter apps.
Shooting
You will need to shoot in landscape mode, with a preferred ratio of 16:9. Almost all cameras and mobile phones will shoot in this ratio automatically. There is some excellent information in the Production Section of the YouTube Creator Academy:
- Before You Shoot:
https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/production-equipment?cid=production-planning&hl=en
- During your shoot:
https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/course/camera-lighting?hl=en
Lighting: usually, using natural light is preferable and sufficient if you do not have access to lighting equipment. Please ensure you are well lit from all sides to reduce shadowing, this can easily be achieved by facing your light source. White cardboard can be used as ‘fillers’ to bounce light into areas covered in shadow.
Audio
Please make sure you shoot your video in a quiet space that does not produce a lot of echoing. It can be helpful to shoot using a microphone, which can be purchased cheaply, for example: https://amzn.to/3dfol1v. However – this is usually not required if controlling for external noise.
Editing
Basic editing can be done to a good standard using the software that usually comes pre-installed on computers, this is either iMovie for Macs or Windows Video Editor. There are many other options available for both Macs and Windows, both free and paid. YouTube accepts many file types, please check the list, this list also contains instructions for how to export project files (the editable file type that your software will save into as standard) into video files ready for uploading onto YouTube.
While any of the file types in the above list are suitable, we recommend you save your files in .MP4, using H.264 codec with a standard aspect ratio of 16:9. We can provide assistance and support for this if necessary.
How to Guides:
There are many excellent step-by-step how-to guides available on YouTube, and we recommend looking here in the first instance, particularly if you are looking for a single process. General guides
iMovie: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/imovie/welcome/mac
Premier Pro (Adobe): https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/tutorials.html
Final Cut Pro: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/final-cut-pro/welcome/mac
Filmora: https://filmora.wondershare.com/video-editing-software/
Windows Movie Editor:
Movie Maker: https://www.maketecheasier.com/windows-movie-maker-beginner-guide/
FAQs
Do I need to be on camera? No. While being on camera will probably be the most common style of video for Assemblywomen there are several options if you do not want to be on camera. You may decide to ask someone else to ‘front’ your video submission – in this case, you will be clearly identified as the author. You may wish to use images or maps which you can voice over.
What is the likelihood my video will be rejected? We are very conscious of the fact that this is not a common format for academic publications, and that rejected videos represent a considerable amount of time and effort. This is the reason we have instigated a pitch model, this means we will work with you to ensure that your submission has the greatest chance of acceptance before you film.
Can you film me? We are hoping that we will be able to offer some filming services after COVID restrictions have lifted It is most likely that this will be offered at large conferences. Submissions filmed in these venues will need to have been through the entire pitch process first.
How does peer review work?
This is addressed in the pitch guide, but all peer review will be conducted prior to being given the go ahead to shoot. This means that peer reviewed works will only be rejected after shooting on quality grounds or if there is a significant change to the content. At this point in time we strongly encourage you to produce a script that can be uploaded into a teleprompter app, or which you can record as a voice over to images or video.