Apr 20 -
Homemade Video Straight From The Oven I describe Ottawa’s social media as “Ottawa in real life.” What that means to me is that our social media shows people what life is really like at the university ina genuine way. We show off our “genuine side” in our videos. They have a very homemade feel, which is partly because we want it that way, and partly because I have limited skills in the video production department. :-) Here are tips I have for making a great homemade video for your social media: 1. Leave the camera on the whole time when filming: the funniest things happen in between takes. I have used that footage as a blooper real at the end of a video, or made that footage the actual video itself. I don’t have to tell you that people love funny and almost expect it with social media. 2. Go with out a script: For the video above, we had no script. The footage is of us trying to figure what the heck to do. It turned out great because they were being so silly. It showed the personality of my Braves TV members. 3. You can probably make a video out of any footage you get: Even if you didn’t get very many or very good shots, don’t underestimate the power of good sense of humor and the “titles” section of your video software. What you can’t explain in video, you may be able to explain in words. 4. Remember, you’re not editing for an academy award: I personally feel people love our casual, quick videos more than our lengthly, well-thought out ones. Sure, we do those too. But, our fans seem to love it when we capture real life: mistakes, improv, mis-sayings and all. 5. Use Bad actors: Okay, maybe not “bad actors,” but what I mean is, use your peers. Seeing people who aren’t actors try to act is just funny and goes back to that genuine feel I’m so passionate about. Tip: Our video supplies include: three flip cams, two digital cameras, one very nice Sony video camera, a micro-phone, Final Cut Pro, Window’s Movie Maker, iMovie.
I'm Annie Noll, social media specialist for Ottawa University. I'm developing the social media strategy from zero to full throttle for OU. This is the good and the bad.
