Video and Photo Tips and Examples

TIPS FOR RECORDING VIDEO AND TAKING PHOTOS

How to Look Your Best!

If you are going to record and send a Video Clip

If you are going to send a Photo . . .

Video Recording Tips

SETUP

We want to see your face in a "medium close up" and free of shadows, like this:

Here's a 10-second example video of what your video should look like. This shows how our editor assembled a few video clips from several people.

Notice how the person is framed. This is called a "medium closeup" shot.

WHICH CAMERA TO USE

You can use a video camera, web cam, or camera on your mobile phone.

Video cameras today are usually of good quality, and this includes phones built in to your cell phone or lap top.

We suggest that you use the camera that takes the best quality video.

LIGHTING

Ideally, the light should shine on you from the front.
Natural light is great.
If shooting inside, do not stand directly under a light (or else we won't see your eyes), and don't stand with the light coming from behind you (you will just be a shadow).

YOUR SCRIPT

Please begin by saying your name, then spelling. Then PAUSE and start saying the lines.

Please say these lines one at a time, pausing and leaving a couple of seconds between each one.

• How would I know?
• I didn't know.
• I never heard of that.
• It never occurred to me.
• Elder Abuse. There's Just No Excuse.

Since you should be looking directly into the camera when you say a line, you might want to have someone with you who can read you each line before you say it.

If someone does read you the lines: Have them read it to you . . . then PAUSE slightly . . . then say the line . . .PAUSE . . . have them read the next like . . . then PAUSE . . . then say the line, and so on.

Photo Tips

HOW TO FRAME YOUR SHOT

The example to the left for framing a video also applies to photos. It is a a "medium close up."

LIGHTING

• Similar to videos, ideally, the light should shine on you from the front.
• We advise shooting in natural light is great--especially since using a flash can present problems.
• If shooting inside, do not stand directly under a light (or else we won't see your eyes), and don't stand with the light coming from behind you (you will just be a shadow).

Here's an example video our award-winning professional editor assembled to demonstrate how photos might appear in one of our videos.

FYI:
How You Will Send Us Your Video Clips and Photos

Since video files can be rather large, and some Internet connections either present problems sending ("uploading") large files, or are not optimized for speed, we've arranged for a "big file" service to help make the process easy for you.

This will enable you to upload large files using fast servers. Then, after your file is uploaded, they will send us the link so we download them.

Participants in this first round will receive the upload link upon the completion of the donation process.

Sending Photos

Some digital photo files can be large enough to result in either slow sending speeds, or size limits imposed by some Internet providers.

As with our video file procedure, if your Photo file size is larger than, say, 1 mg, and you don't want to take a chance emailing the photo directly to us, you can use YouSendIt to make it easy.