A scaled solution for nonprofits looking to create video content

By Kyle Shannon

Stories are the lifeblood of social organizations. To a large degree, your ability to tell stories is directly proportional to your ability to succeed and grow. While charts and graphs of success are important, the stories of people you impact is the best proof there is.

Video is an increasingly powerful and in-demand way to share these stories, and yet a major challenge remains. How do you increase your ability to produce video content without dramatically increasing your budget?

If you want to create video, you effectively have two major options. There’s professional video, which is typically high quality but is limited in its scalability. It can be expensive, slow and logistically complicated.

On the other side of the coin is user-generated video, which seems great in theory. It’s authentic, often engaging and you can have as much as you want, since there are now billions of devices with high-quality cameras. The problem? User-generated video is completely out of your control, and the storytelling quality is unpredictable at best.

There is another option. Think of it as professional user-generated video. By using the best attributes of both professional video and user-generated video, you can create a hybrid approach to creating video content. Storyvine is a Guided Video platform that is designed to live in the space between the two worlds of Pro and User-Gen video, and will be discussed here, but there are numerous tools that can assist in the activities that must be managed to effectively scale video storytelling.

Here are two examples of Pro-UGC Video created using the Storyvine platform. The first video is from the National Association of Public Charter Schools:

Here is a grassroots presidential campaign video created with Storyvine:

Content strategy is key

Regardless of which tool(s) you use to create and manage your video content, it’s critical to understand that “more video” is not a strategy — video is simply a tool. Your content strategy should emerge organically from your goals as an organization. What are you trying to accomplish? What are your major initiatives? How are you measuring success? Who are your stakeholders and what do they need to feel taken care of and connected to the organization?

Answers to these questions will lead naturally to important content strategy questions. Who’s stories do we want to capture? Why will they share them with us? Who are the audiences for these stories? What are the communications initiatives we have in place that this video content could augment? And finally, whose job is it to create, capture, curate and connect these stories with relevant audiences?

Now you’re ready for the 4 C’s of creating video content in a scalable, sustainable way:

• Create
• Capture
• Curate
• Connect

Here’s a 3-minute video on how to create a video on Storyvine.

Step 1: Create the story program

Once you understand the kind of stories you want to capture, you can design everything from the kinds of question you want people to answer, to the visual design and branding of the videos that will be produced, to the communications you will share with your constituents to let them know their voice is important and might be reaching out.

By asking the right questions and eliciting a series of answers, you end up creating content that is consistent and well-structured. Here are some questions you might ask to get things rolling:

Intro: Share your name, location and why you got involved.

Q1: What was you most impactful experience with the program?

Q2: How has being involved with the program changed your outlook about it?

Q3: Give a shout-out to someone you engaged with who made a difference.

With Storyvine, we create a story template that consists of a VideoGuide (the coaching prompts) and a visual Storyboard of what the final video will look like. The video segments are captured via an iOS or Android mobile app that prompts the user what to say in a step-by-step capture process. The videos themselves are then “automagically” edited into a fully branded video within minutes.

Outside of Storyvine, you can use this same structured approach to improve the quality and consistency of your video content.

Step 2: Capture the video content

Because smart phones and tablets are so ubiquitous and contain high-quality cameras, you can capture content at events by having your team members capture the raw assets of answers to the prompting questions you created, or even have people film the clips selfie-style. There are a number of techniques to get the people you want to film to increase your ability to capture the stories you want.

Friends and close colleagues

With video, most people have a basic fear of looking silly. No one wants to go first. That said, once people see that others have done it and realize it’s socially safe, they’re much more willing to participate. So leverage the relationships you have with your friends, colleagues and even superfans whom you can cajole into getting the ball rolling. You can then show off their videos as examples for others to follow.

Events

Even though events can be noisy and chaotic, they are also often high concentrations of people who’s stories you want to capture. With a little bit of pre-planning, your team at the event (or even volunteers who can be trained at the beginning of the event) can “wrangle” participants at the event and capture more content than you can imagine.

Here’s a good example that was captured an education-centered event:

A lot of Storyvine clients use events as the launchpad for creating their first video content.

Gamification

We’ve had good success with clients creating “Video Challenges” where Person A films her story and then “calls out” Person B to film his. It works. So do friendly competitions for most creative stories.

Deadlines & assignments

Let people know they have one week to capture their content, and follow up with them one day before the deadline. Also, let Sally know that it’s her job to film two people this week, and hold her to it.

Build it into a process

This is by far the most effective approach. Let’s say you want people in your org to film testimonial videos. Build the video capture task right into the process, like so:

• 1. Sign person in.
• 2. Make sure person is taken care of.
• 3. Sign person out.
• 4. Ask if he or she will give us a testimonial.
• 5. If yes, film him or her.

Another variation on this theme is something like “It’s Thought Leadership Thursday”… make the creation of content an event.

Step 3: Curate the stories

If you successfully increase the quantity of video content, you now have a new challenge on your hands. Namely, who is looking at what was created and what are the criteria to determine which videos should be shared far and wide.

Our experience has been that when you use a tool like Storyvine to increase the number of videos, not every video will be perfect — and that’s OK. We see a normal bell curve of quality with the videos that come into the system. If 10 videos are created, one might not be usable, most are fine to really good, and one or two are terrific, maybe brilliant.

The highest-quality stories can even be elevated and leveraged into other kinds of content, like compilation videos of the best soundbites for a website or gala presentation.

Here are two examples of compilations created from the structured approach to capturing content as I just described. Age of Agility is a four-minute short from America Succeeds:

I Stand with PP is a 75-second short that shows the power of Planned Parenthood:

Step 4: Connect the stories to relevant audiences

The final step is relatively straightforward. In a world with as many digital channels as we have today, there are increasing number of options where you might share your newly created video content. Short videos might be used as “snackable” social content on Twitter or Instagram. Videos longer than 60 seconds might live on your website or your YouTube channel. Business-focused social networks like LinkedIn are featuring more and more video, and it’s often longer-form video.

Especially when it comes to fundraising and development efforts, don’t be shy about sending a video link directly to a person whom you feel will relate to that story. “Here’s a story of one of our people I thought you might enjoy.” That kind of personal outreach and connection will go a long way to keeping donors engaged.

Experiment and see what works for your organization. Compelling video stories will drive social engagement, and when you find a kind of video that works, make more!

Kyle Shannon is the co-founder/CEO of Storyvine, a Guided Video platform and allows companies and organizations to create professional, authentic video content … at scale. You can find him on LinkedIn or on Twitter at @kyleshannon.

The post Video storytelling to amplify the impact of your organization appeared first on Socialbrite.

How 15-second videos are taking advocacy campaigning to the next level

This is the third part of a series on how nonprofits can use video. Also see:
• Part 1: What to consider when investing in video
• Part 2: 7 top video editing tools for nonprofits

Guest post by Mike Kondratick
Director of Strategy, See3 Communications

Nothing tells the real, impactful human stories of actual constituents like video. In the years that I spent as an advocacy program director, collecting user-generated video from our supporters – advocate stories, testimonials, and messages to legislators – was always high on the priority list.

These programs, no matter how well conceived or how good our intentions, were always difficult to manage. Folks would use a variety of ways to capture the video: Flip cams, their laptop’s camera, their smartphone, etc. The video got back to us in different ways: email, links to YouTube pages, posted to our Facebook fan page, etc. Organizing the footage to make the desired impression on potential advocates and/or legislators was a time suck. And, regardless of how well we crafted message points for our supporters to simplify the process and make it less stressful, the video that came back had varying levels of usability. In short, these programs were a hot mess.

Enter Viddy, the latest mobile-based, social video collection/sharing app. Viddy has created a platform that streamlines and simplifies video production, collection, and display. And, in my opinion, it’s the best available tool right now for advocacy organizations to make user-generated video campaigns at once easier to manage and more impactful.

This post won’t focus on the laundry list of Viddy’s features. You can find good feature-based reviews and comparisons of Viddy vs. Socialcam elsewhere. I’ll note only the features that I think make this app unique for use in the nonprofit and advocacy space.

A focus is on keeping mobile video short & simple

Viddy’s focus is on keeping mobile video short and simple — in other words, perfect for users with varying levels of experience and comfort with video. In fact, it’s been described as “the Instagram of video.” Setting up your organization’s presence couldn’t be easier. Just go to Viddy.com or download the app from the AppStore, enter a username and password, and upload your logo. (Viddy video can only be collected via mobile device, so regardless of where you sign up, you will need to download the app.) The main drawback, as of now, is the lack of an Android version, but that’s coming soon. The sign-up process for your supporters will be just as easy. Finding and following other organizations and friends requires a simple search.

The video collection process is where Viddy really shines. Response rates from advocates on video asks are low for lots of reasons — the biggest being that people are just going to be nervous capturing themselves on camera. Though Viddy can’t change this aspect of human nature, it does smash many of the other barriers.

First, it limits the length of any video to 15 seconds — a limit that does not exist on Socialcam. Some are going to look at this as a drawback, but to me it’s a key differentiator. After you spend some time looking at the video on the Viddy platform, you start to realize just how long 15 seconds really is and how much you can communicate.

Returning to my advocacy program experiences, no matter how few message points we gave people for their videos or how well-written those points were, our supporters always stressed over ‘performance’ aspects—how to combine the points, how long they needed to talk, etc. Because the video ask was still so amorphous in their minds, few attempted it. A 15-second limit provides all the structure you need. There’s only time for a name, key message points, and an ask for a legislator (or a one or two sentence story). A short time limit reduces the level of effort and stress.

Do you really need more than 15 seconds from an advocacy video?

This also got me thinking about just how many times I needed more than 15 seconds from an advocacy video. I couldn’t really think of any. Whether it was a testimonial for our program or one of our events, a message urging a legislator to support our issues, or a thank you message for a legislator, pretty much all of them could be accomplished in 15 seconds or less. And, invariably, I’d find myself having to edit down the longer videos I did get to combine them with other clips or to fit with typical short attention spans that people have with most online platforms.

Second, Viddy provides just enough in the way of production effects to improve the overall video quality without overwhelming the user. As you get ready to shoot, it gives you tools to track your audio and light levels —just enough to make sure the video looks good. After the video is completed, you have only three options (should you want them): choosing a thumbnail image, adding a visual effects package, and choosing a soundtrack.

The troubles I described above with collecting and managing the video I received? Viddy solves these as well. Each Viddy production can be tagged. So, you can give your supporters specific instructions to tag their video with your organization’s name, an issue name and/or a legislator’s name. As these videos are completed, they’ll show up in your feed (assuming you’re following your supporters). You can also search by tag to see your videos nicely grouped. The quality of the videos will also be consistent since they’ll all be generated by the higher-quality video cams available on iPhones and, soon enough, Android-powered phones.

Social sharing with Viddy, as you’d expect, is also very user-friendly. You can quickly share your advocates’ videos on your organization’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Google+ page. (The one caveat I noted is sharing through your organization’s fan page. You can do this through Viddy.com using your page admin’s Facebook accounts but, from what I see, you can’t do this through the mobile app. Let me know if this is possible in the comments below.) You can also grab the embed code for your website or blog. Through the mobile interface, you can also quickly post the video to your Tumblr or share it via SMS.

To be sure, I’d like to see additional features added over time, most notably the ability to include overlays to drive additional advocacy actions. And, for Viddy to be a feasible mobilization platform the Android version will need to be reality. But once that happens, issue campaigners will have a widely available platform that:

1. Limits the stress of video collection by providing a short time limit
2. Provides for a higher level of quality by using higher-quality video cams and basic production effects
3. Makes video collection and organization drop-dead simple
4. Facilitates social media campaigns around user-generated video by making social sharing quick and easy

How can Viddy help your cause?

Think about how Viddy can build your video library and how you can roll this user-generated content into your future video projects and production. Mashups of constituent messages? Check. A wall of advocate message videos on your website? Check. A quick solution to create video contests? Check. A constant stream of simple and direct advocate testimonials? Check.

Has your organization tried Viddy for an advocacy campaign? What do you think of the overall feature set? Share your thoughts with us below!

The post Video for your cause: Get giddy over Viddy appeared first on Socialbrite.

Hardware & software for telling your organization’s story through video

This is the first of a three-part series on nonprofits’ use of video. Also see:
• Part 2: 7 top video editing tools for nonprofits
• Part 3: Video for your cause: Getting giddy over Viddy

Target audience: Nonprofits, cause organizations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, businesses, educators, journalists, video producers.

Guest post by Stacy Laiderman
Senior Producer, See3 Communications

I‘m going to let you in on a little secret: Producing video in-house at your organization isn’t as scary as it sounds. More than ever before, organizations are using video as their primary vehicle for communicating their issues and telling the stories of their cause while the tech becomes easier for laymen to use. That’s not to say that you don’t need at least one professionally produced video. You do.

But organizations rarely have the budgets to hire pros to create every piece of video content. Creating your second-tier video content in-house is within reach. First, you need to know how to navigate the galaxy of good, bad and in-between products that is the video marketplace.

Here’s a roundup of gear and other things to think about from a seasoned producer’s point of view.

Before you think of buying gear

Before delving deeply into the best type of gear for organizational video, let’s play devil’s advocate. This is a question that applies mostly to small and medium-sized organizations that may be hesitant to shell out $3,000 to $4,000 for a decent professional video production system: Does your organization have the human resources to create videos?

I’m not talking about tacking on video production tasks on to your communications department’s already hectic steep list of to-dos. Does your organization have an individual or team that is motivated to produce videos? If not, that should be your first investment.

One of my production associates at See3 also teaches photography. He told me, “I meet a lot of hobbyists and amateur photographers in class, but one of the largest groups of people who come in are folks who wanted to help their company with their photography skills.” As an employer, one of the most empowering things you can do before buying a killer camera kit is to first see who in your organization is interested in helping to produce videos — then motivate that individual or team by investing in training and classes for them. Empower your people with the fundamentals to create good video stories and help them learn the production process. The right gear is only as good as the people who are confident enough to use it.

That said, let’s talk about the equipment.

Audio

Audio is key. In fact, it’s often more important than visuals. Remember one thing: People will watch bad video with good audio but won’t watch even the best-looking video if the audio sucks. If you went to see “Transformers” in the theater and couldn’t hear the dialogue (and clearly, the amazing dialogue is the best part of any Michael Bay movie) or the explosions, you’d walk out, right?

If you’re on a tight budget, the onboard mic is okay for interviews in quiet rooms with subjects less than 4 feet from the camera, and for recording ambient sound. But if you’re planning anything more than that, you need to get a wireless mic pack.

The Lectronics systems are the best, and the EW-100 from Sennheiser is also great. If you’re going to use wireless audio in an urban environment, don’t spend less than $800. Seriously, anything else and you will be throwing money out the window.

A lower cost option is to grab a wired lavaliere microphone for $200, which will suit most sit-down interview situations.

Recommendations for quick and dirty ‘pocket’ shooting

These are some simple products that most NPOs should familiarize themselves with. They’re small, inexpensive and good choices for your people in the field who need to point and shoot on the fly.

The iPhone: Seriously, this is one of the best low-fi options out there. You can also set up your phone to host a live stream event. Just know that the zoom on these lo-fi devices don’t work well, so when filming you need to be in the action, otherwise everything will come out looking distant. Don’t forget a mini-tripod where suitable.

If you’re looking to move up a little:

Kodak Zi8 camcorder: While there are some cameras out there with better image quality, the Kodak Zi8 gives us above average quality HD video and the ability to record better sound than a camera with on-board microphones. The Kodak also gives the option of using external memory cards making data transfer easier and less dependent on having a charged camera battery.

Sony EMC-T6 (audio): This small external mic will yield higher quality sound than the built-in mic, allowing subjects to record voice over and other important dialogue.

Conservatively, the total cost per package is about $300.

Consumer grade products

These are a wide variety of retail models that you can find locally or products that people in your organization might already own. When using these, consider the following:

• The No. 1 thing when looking at cameras is that you check the resolution size to make sure you can get at least 1080p quality.
• These days, most consumer cameras are tapeless, so make sure to figure out how much memory you’ll need and that you have a HD backup.
• Also, make sure your camera allows for an external microphone plug-in, in case you want to upgrade in the future. Hint: you will.

Recently, I was working on a project in Ecuador’s Cloud Rainforest and knew that I didn’t want to bring the most expensive high end gear. Also, I just didn’t need it! I shot on the Canon Vixia S20 series and loved it. The only nit to pick with this model is that most of the controls are on the screen, which can be a little cumbersome. This model is no longer available new, but you can always buy used, or the newest generation – the Canon Vixia HF M500 – for $528.

Pro gear

If you’re trained and ready to start creating video on high-end equipment — and have the budget! — consider the JVC GY-HM100U. It has a few major features that make it better and more cost effective for your department over the long run.

• JVC has just launched the HM150u, starting at $2,250. Check out its features.
• It records in a more universal XDCAM format while can be edited natively by most computers and software, without the 10x increase in file size of AVCHD.
• The camera has an SD card slot so you can back up your files in the field; JVC was the first company to implement this. This is a huge asset due to the volatile nature of digital data. The upgraded model allows you to record to both memory card slots at the same time)
• Many of the major camera controls are ergonomically located on the camera body and highly accessible, not buried in the menus. This is a big deal because you never want to have to search for small things like white balance or audio settings in the middle of a live event or interview. Those buried camera settings can cause you an aneurism in a tight situation.

Side note: Make sure to buy extra camera batteries. You can’t shoot an all day event with 60 minutes of juice.

DSLRs

Now I know everyone reading this blog post is probably wondering about DSLRs. Yes, DSLRs are an option and they are great. In fact, I will say they are beautiful! But ask yourself what you’re using it for. DSLRs are not the preferred choice for “run and gun” situations. To be sure, if you have a trained staffer and need top-quality content, it will produce beautiful images for your organization. To realistically use the DSLR for most situations you either have to have the Olympic gold in holding a camera steady or you need all the bells and whistles that essentially turn the DSLR into a shoulder mount professional camera. In the long run, by the time you have the lenses and peripherals you need to get 100% out of your DSLR, you’ve spent the equivalent of a Sony EX-3 (a very expensive camera).

I personally use the Sony – NEX7. I love it for the pocket size body but I can still add interchangeable lenses. The audio on it, like most other DSLR Canon and Nikon cameras, is terrible. So I also had to buy a separate Tascam DR-05 recorder.

See3 has the Canon 60D which is more of a traditional DSLR body and has a Tascam DR-100 as well.

Remember, if you are recording audio separately you will need to sync up your image in post production. Our recommendation to help you do this faster than a speeding bullet is to use the PluralEyes plug-in ($149) for your editing tool.

Considerations when integrating video gear with an editing solution

What format does the camera record in and is it compatible with your editing software? Here’s a scenario that has created many a money pit and bottleneck in people’s post-production: A camera records in the AVCHD format, which is a format that cannot be natively edited on most software (with the exception of Adobe Premiere). You must first convert the file then import it into the software you are using to edit. Sounds simple, but here is the catch: If you have 1 hour of footage, that is about 8GB. It will take you roughly 3 hours to convert the footage, and the resulting converted files will be about 10x the size at 80GB. This is a huge post production burden and you will end up burning through a lot of time and buying a lot of hard drives to store these huge files. So based on this example, every time you shoot 1 hour of footage you are committing to 3 hours of compression time in which a computer is tied up, plus about $80-$100 for a hard drive to store that footage.

Editing software recommendations

Adobe Premiere Elements 11 ($99) is terrific entry level editing software. For more advanced users, Adobe Premiere Pro ($750) is a fine choice. Adobe works on both Mac and PC and is what most smaller post-production agencies are moving toward with the recent changes in Final Cut.

If your organization is already using Adobe Elements in house, you can purchase the cloud package, which gets you the entire creative suite for $50 a month. The benefits are you will never have to upgrade again and there is an attached cloud storage solution. This is not big enough for all of your footage, but it is a great place for an archive of final products.

Get started – don’t sweat the hardware

Ultimately, it’s about how you tell your story, not the tools you tell it with.

Just remember: A camera doesn’t take good picture, and sound devices don’t get good sound unless the driver knows how to get it and has a story in mind. Whatever you do, be motivated and work with equipment you are comfortable with. And before you even press record, know why you’re filming, what you are filming and what it will do for you as an organization!

The post What to consider when investing in video appeared first on Socialbrite.

This is the first of a three-part series on how nonprofits can create powerful multimedia stories. Part one is an overview of multimedia options available to nonprofits.

Target audience: Nonprofits, NGOs, cause organizations, social enterprises, brands, educators, video producers, Web publishers, storytellers, individuals.

With the power of online video, social media and crowd-funding at an all-time high, nonprofits need a better understanding of how to create compelling multimedia stories that inspire a call to action.

Most nonprofits don’t have the resources to hire large film production crews to tell their stories. With recent innovations in digital video technology, nonprofits have more options for creating powerful visual stories in a timely and cost efficient manner. Socialbrite’s media resource round-up is a great list of tools and techniques to create media.

If time and staff resources are a scarcity, or technology just isn’t your thing, Socialbrite (I’m a partner through my consultancy Major Multimedia) can provide the expertise and training to help your nonprofit get its stories heard.

There are several options for nonprofit clients depending upon your needs, resources and technology know-how. We can offer training to nonprofit staff members and/or volunteers to learn how to create stories with an impact. Training will typically include uses of capture devices (Flip, iPhone, digital video/still cameras).

Using a mobile studio set-up (see photo at top) and a highly organized staff of two, Major Multimedia captured nine video interviews for Chicago Cares in one day for their upcoming gala/awards banquet. As the stories are produced over the next couple of weeks, we will share video excerpts while presenting set-by-step instructions of the equipment utilized and the interview steps employed. Stay tuned for articles 2 and 3 of this series.

Related articles

• Techniques to add dazzle to your advocacy video (Socialbrite)
• How to find amazing, powerful stories for your nonprofit video (Socialbrite)

The post Creating compelling advocacy videos for nonprofits appeared first on Socialbrite.