Video Production: Guidelines and Standards
Introduction
Like all promotional materials, videos produced by Emory University staff must be of the highest quality to properly represent both the university and the brand that is Emory. These guidelines are intended to set minimum production quality standards. Videos that do not meet these standards will not be posted to Emory's YouTube Channel.
Considerations
The first consideration is whether or not video is the best medium for the project. Video should not be selected simply because it is popular or cool. Video is not appropriate for all projects and can result in awkward content when used unnecessarily. In addition, video projects can be time consuming and expensive to produce when staff time is calculated into the cost. Here are a few instances when video can be used:
- When video is the only option to fully capture an event (one-time events and special guest speakers) or communicate a message that requires visual, sound and motion
- When the "life" of the project is longer than 18 months
- To communicate to large numbers of people (i.e. several hundred, thousands)
- To demonstrate emotions, interpersonal interactions, human response to unusual situations in a safe environment
Also consider the content of the video. The purpose of the video should be professional in nature. Ensure that the content is not ambiguous or misleading. All content in the video should be appropriate for the audience.
The final consideration is your skill and experience in creating video content. If you have never created a video, or have only created video for fun or personal use, consider a different medium, acquire video production training, or have your video produced by a professional. Amateur and unprofessional videos can result in a very negative response to your subject.
Video Resources
If you do not have the knowledge, equipment, or software to create video content that meets the standards presented in this document, visit the resources below.
- Emory's Center for Interactive Teaching (ECIT) will provide expertise, training and support for creating technology-enhanced materials.
- Computing Center at Cox Hall will provide HD camera equipment and editing suites.
Guidelines and Standards
The guidelines and standards below apply to video produced for external audiences or videos that are accessible to the public.
Overall Project Guidelines
All final videos should be added to the Emory University YouTube Channel. Do not use sites like Vimeo, your personal YouTube account, or other similar video sharing websites to host Emory videos.
All actors, interviewees, and other individuals clearly visible should sign a release permitting the University to use their image and voice in video and/or audio recordings. Forms must be signed and mailed (interoffice mail) or faxed (404.727.3750) to University Communications to become part of the comprehensive database. Get the university release forms here:
- General speakers: Use the release form on the Emory iTunes U website
- Health-related speakers: Download this PDF to complete
Copyright information for photos, graphics and music must be clearly identified by source. If permission has not be acquired, then materials cannot be used. Also be sure to check that there is no copyrighted audio or video used by those featured in your audio or video multimedia. Presenters often use slides of copyrighted images or maps that are fine for educational use, but not for promotional use.
- Audio and video quality should be consistent throughout the length of the project.
- Audio and video should be free of fuzziness, distortion, blurriness, interruptions, mismatches, etc.
Video Quality Guidelines
- Video output is to be well lit and should not appear dark on-screen creating difficulty in seeing the features of the subjects in the video.
- All shots are to be clearly focused and well framed. Close-ups should focus attention, not distract the viewer.
- Video output is to be stable, not shaky. A tripod should be used whenever possible to reduce "camera shake." If tripod use is not possible, camera shake should be very minimal.
- All titles or other text added to the video must be proofread for accuracy and proper grammar. Misspellings, typos, and poor usage are unacceptable and will require recreating the necessary section of the video.
- Any additional graphics or animations should be professional, appropriate, and necessary for the message of the video. Graphics and animations must be clean, clear, undistorted and fit on the screen.
- All fade in/fade outs, effects, etc. should add to the message of the video and must be smooth, not abrupt or choppy.
- All dead air should be edited out, so the video is seamless from beginning to end.
- For videos showcasing speakers, panels, and events make a version of the video specifically for online use. For example trim down or cut out extended introductions. An online audience wants to see the main attraction. If need be include speaker bios in the written YouTube description.
Video Technical Standards
For videos to be uploaded to YouTube:
- Video Format: Preferred file types to upload to YouTube are Quicktime (.mov) and MPEG (.mp4)
- Aspect Ratio: Native aspect ratio without letterboxing (example: 16:9)
- Resolution: High Definition video at either 1280x720, 1920x1080, or higher.
- Audio Format: MP3 or AAC preferred
- Frames per second: Native frame rate
- Aspect Ratio: The aspect ratio of the original source video should always be maintained when it's uploaded: Uploaded videos should never include letterboxing or pillarboxing bars.
- Testing: Since there is no facility to re-upload videos, it's important to test that your audio and video quality are satisfactory before you release your video publicly onto YouTube. Once a video becomes popular, the number of views, user ratings, user comments and other community data, cannot be transferred if another, higher quality version of the same video is uploaded. Make sure you get it right before you go public.
- Original Video Source: The less a video is re-encoded prior to uploading, the better the resulting YouTube video quality. We encourage you to upload your videos as close to the original source format as possible.
Audio Quality Guidelines
- All audio should be consistently audible throughout the length of the project.
- All audio files should be clearly understood through the length of the project.
- All audio files should be free of background noise, breaks, skips, hissing, etc.
- If there is more than one speaker, neither speaker should be noticeably louder than the other.
- Intentional background audio should be well-balanced with the primary audio.
Recognition and Credit Screen Standards
All videos must have the non dated, HD Emory Intro and Exit screens at the start and end of each video. Emory also has a standard lower third text setting to be used in all videos.
Download the above content here:
If one chooses to have video credits, make sure all credits to departments, divisions, and/or persons are centered and orderly on the screen in a professional font at the end of the video.
Submitting Files to Emory's YouTube Channel
Step 1: Get access to the Emory web drive
Email University Marketing with your Emory NetID (password not necessary) to be given access to the Emory web drive.Step 2: Upload to YouTube Drop Box on Web Drive and Repeat
1. Send an email to University Marketing listing the video's title, description and key words, which should be edited to meet the guidelines below.
- Title: This should be no longer than 5-7 words describing the content, not the speaker (unless it's the Dalai Lama or Salman Rushdie), no internal-Emory acronyms/terms.
- Description: Have fun! Include the relative date [March 2009] and an Emory web page to link back to (For more information, visit www.emory.edu/housing).
- Key words: List both internal and external descriptive words, names and items referenced.
2. With your access to the YouTube Drop Box enabled, click on the link below and bookmark site for future use:
3. A screen prompts you to log in with your Emory NetID and password before the site will load.
4. Once you have logged in, use the "Choose File" button to select your video file and press "Upload" to begin. Do not close this browser window while the upload is in progress.
Your access allows you to upload files. Do not Create a Folder or modify the Access permissions for yourself or any other user.
5. When the file appears, transfer is complete! You may now close the window.
Step 3: Contact a YouTube Administrator
For inclusion on the Emory YouTube Channel, you must submit your video file to one of the YouTube admins:
- University Marketing: youtube@emory.edu, available to the entire university
- Emory Photo/Video: Handles uploading of projects to YouTube for clients
- Health Sciences: Wendy Darling, available for Woodruff Health Science Center projects
- Emory College of Arts and Sciences: Brian Williams and Hal Jacobs, available for Emory College projects
- Emory's Center for Interactive Teaching (ECIT): Shannon O'Daniel , available for Emory on iTunes U projects
Things to keep in mind
This space is NOT for storage, only for transfer. Email University Marketing immediately after material has been posted so it can be downloaded and taken down.
The webdrive currently has only 4GB of space, so plan accordingly if you wish to transfer several videos at a time.
Office Quick Links
- Business Office
- Campus Planning & Sustainability
- Development Communications
- Emory Creative Group
- Emory Magazine
- Emory Photo/Video
- Emory Report
- Health Sciences Communications
- University Communications
- University Marketing
- Web Office
- Audio Interview Services/ISDN
- Clifton Community Partnership
- Filming at Emory