Introduction
Today’s top marketing and advertising firms are marketing their products on YouTube in a big way because they know that today’s 18 to 36 year old is shopping for information on YouTube. According to Broadband and Search, young people spend 153 minutes a day watching videos. Our prospects do everything online from shopping to banking to exploring graduate degree opportunities. Because of this, we need to meet their expectations for how they consume information.
Things to Keep in Mind
- Videos should be organic and not overly engineered to perfection. Young adults do not trust advertisements because they try to oversell the product.
- Videos with specific messages, transparency, relevance, and sincerity – along with entertaining qualities are the ones that prospects will believe.
- A good website video frames the student in a head-and-shoulder shot, preferably outdoors or in a natural lighting setting and are less than 45 seconds long.
- Remember that the best videos are when students tell stories about their experience in your degree program and the impact the degree has had on the quality of their life. Other great stories recount a particuluar time when the program, school, professor, student organization, advisor, mentor or staff person may have gone beyond the call of duty or when a student accomplished something extraordinary.
- Stories can even have humor and great advice from former students about how to get the most from their program.
Video Production
Resources for Video Production
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Hire a freelancer
There is a list of freelance videographers and editors that the university has hired and recommends. Keep in mind that they typically cost $100/hour for both shooting and editing. That would come out of your operating budget.
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Ask your students for help
Reach out to your student ambassadors or run a contest asking your current students can help produce videos about specific selling points.
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Reach out to the JSOM Marketing Dept.
We can help you with equipment and shooting.
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lumen5.com
Free service for creating quick videos.
How to Get the Subject Talking
Examples of questions to ask during an interview:
- How did you discover UT Dallas and the Jindal School?
- What were you looking for going into the program?
- What made you choose Jindal over another university?
- What have been the greatest benefits of this program?
- How has it changed you – how you think and function in the world?
- How has the program helped you reach your goals–financial,
- What was it like to be a student?
- What is an example of how faculty or staff went “the extra mile” to serve you?
- Why would you recommend this program to someone else?
- If someone called you and said “Why should I go to school and get this degree”, what would you tell them?
- How does the school align with the values that drive you every day?
The Do’s and Dont’s – Dressing for the Camera
Avoid the following:
- Pure reds, whites, and blacks: such extremes of pure white and black make it difficult for the camera to balance exposure.
- Hot colors, like hot pink, green, yellow, purple, orange, etc.
- Colors that compete with your complexion: ie. If you have more reds in your skin tone, don’t wear a red tie. If you are very pale, don’t wear white.)
- Dangly or flashy jewelry
- Bright or very glossy lip-gloss
- Low-cut or potentially revealing blouses
- Heavy makeup
- Glasses: unless you are known for wearing them
- Any tight or complex patterns or stripes
- Avoid busy patterns
- Avoid busy patterns
- Heavy fabrics
- Really loose clothing
- Really tight clothing (you know why)
Consider these options instead:
- Solid colors
- Cotton, or light fabrics
- Subtle jewelry & make-up
- Contrasting colors: ie. gray sports coat and cobalt blue shirt
- Bring an extra outfit just in case
The primary purpose of videos on our JSOM website and within the JSOM YouTube channel is to highlight the important work of JSOM faculty, students and programs. Videos should tell a positive story about the impact of the Jindal School and highlight the quality and caliber of our resources, students and alumni. Before you start, consider what story you are trying to tell and the widest audience you can speak to with your video.
In order to maintain the best storytelling and web accessibility standards, videos need to meet a series of standards. Videos that do not meet these standards will not be embedded on the website or included on the JSOM YouTube channel.
Video/Audio Tech Info
- The preferred video formats are Quicktime (.mov) and MPEG (.mp4)
- Aspect ratios: 4:3 (1.3:1), and 16:9 (1.7:1)
- Preferred audio format is .MP3
Resources
Free audio source:
- Bensound — You must attribute music to Bensound.com in a description. Bensound music is easy to download and free without restrictions.
Free video background/intro/outro sources:
Use of any digital images of UT Dallas’ buildings, faculty, staff and students is restricted to University-associated purposes.
- Canva — Use images of your choice and text templates to create video files.
- iMovie — All Mac computers come with this program, which makes it easy to string together photos, add music from a free library and use a few text/title/nameplate options.
- Adobe Premiere Pro Rush — All JSOM faculty and staff members can get Adobe Creative Cloud loaded to their JSOM-owned computer/s if they put in an email request to the Jindal School IT Help Desk at somtechs@utdallas.edu. Rush is the “junior” version of Premiere Pro and comes with dozens of stock options for intros, outros, animated lower thirds, nameplates, and more.
Free photo sources:
- Jindal School Photo Archives — JSOM’s External Affairs Office maintains an online library of JSOM building, classroom, event, faculty, staff, students and alumni photos that faculty and staff may use. Submit detailed requests in an email with Photo Archives Request listed in the subject line to Communications Director Jimmie Markham at jimmie@utdallas.edu.
- TandemVault — All JSOM faculty and staff members can access this UT Dallas photo library at utdallas.tandemvault.com using their NetID and password. Use of any digital images of UT Dallas buildings, faculty, staff and students you may download is restricted to University-associated purposes.
- Unsplash — A free stock-photo site, good for placeholders and backgrounds.
Video Resources
The JSOM marketing team can help you produce promotional videos about your program or center. Videos projects take time to shoot and edit, and like all other projects, they are completed according to a timetable that adheres to our priorities list. Please contact Nicole Stuessy for more information about video production.
If we cannot help you within the timeline you request, we have freelancers we can recommend.
Overall Project Guidelines
For videos to be added to the JSOM YouTube channel and/or website, use the following checklist to be sure they meet the guidelines:
- All actors, interviewees and other individuals who are speaking or identifiable need to sign a Talent Release Form (pdf).
- Make sure you have permission to use graphics, images, animations and music from the original source. If you use elements in your video that you did not make yourself, you need permission to use them promotionally before you can publish the video. There are sites on which you can find royalty-free music, photos and videos. Some of those are named in our Resources section, above.
- Proofread before you send the final submission to Web Services. Please double-check names, titles, degree programs, graduation years and any other information included in the videos to be sure they are accurate before you submit the video.
- Make sure both your audio and video quality are consistent throughout the whole video.
*Important Note*
- Videos that are five minutes or less can be embedded in the JSOM website. These videos will need to adhere to UT Dallas Web Accessibility standards.
- Videos longer than five minutes will be linked from the website to the JSOM YouTube channel. These videos will have closed captioning available through YouTube’s closed captioning services.
Video/Audio Quality
- Be sure your audio is consistent and audible throughout the entire video or audio file.
- Videos need to be well lit so you can clearly see all the subjects in the video with no shadows across their faces. Some tips if you are shooting video without lighting equipment:
- Face the window while filming or have a window on your side.
- Shoot in the morning or at dusk.
- Don’t have a window or bright light behind you.
- If natural light is not an option, try using a table or floor lamp and angling towards you so it illuminates your face.
- All videos need to be stable, not shaky. Use a tripod if possible.
- Stability is needed in audio files, too. Audio should be maintained at similar levels throughout and remain consistent.
- If you choose to include graphics or animation in your video, be sure those elements are professional and aid in the storytelling, not distract from it. Do not distort graphics, images or logos.
- If you use transitions for both audio and video files, make sure they are smooth and professional.
- Any background audio should be intentional.
- If you are reaching out to students or alumni to create videos on their own, we have included a Video Instructions guide you can send them.
Submitting Your Video Files
- Read all the guidelines and the checklist to make sure your video is compliant. It is the responsibility of the content creator and the person who submits the video to be sure it meets these requirements.
- Submit your video through the JSOM JIRA for Web Services.
- In the JIRA, include the following information:
- Title: This should describe the video content. Do not use acronyms or terms only known by few; please spell everything out.
- Description: We are looking for at least one sentence for this description, but we encourage you to channel your creative writing skills here. You want people to watch the video, so give them a hook and a reason to watch it in the description. Include the relative date [such May 2020] and link back to your website. For example, “For more information about our program, visit jindal.utdallas.edu/accounting.”
- Keywords: This is one good way people find the video, so include both internally known and externally known descriptive words, names and references. Allison Marshall, JSOM’s SEO specialist, will add to this list and can assist you in finding the right keywords to market your program.
Web and Video Accessibility
Learn more about creating and publishing web content that is accessible to all visitors. Not only in web and video accessibility part of disability law, it is the right thing to do, and following accessibility standards leads to a better web experience for everyone.