There’s absolutely no doubt that meteoric rise of smart phones with high quality video capturing capabilities and the growing accessibility of small, consumer-friendly video cameras like the Flip and GoPro has opened a whole new avenue for video content generation. Every day, I see more clients wanting to tap into the power of user-submitted video. Companies can use it to directly engage with their customers, through video contests, testimonials and blogs. And they’ve also found it to be a powerful way to motivate, engage and hear updates from their employees across all parts of the business. Because if there’s one thing that everyone has, it’s a smart phone.
It all sounds great in theory: put out a call for video submissions and watch them roll in. You can get a giant sample of video assets from all over the globe, for very little cost. No need for expensive crews or gear. But in practice, user-submitted video content can be a total crapshoot, quality-wise. Here are a few of the biggest pitfalls:
- POOR LIGHTING – Your customer gives a wonderful product review while standing in front of a window, which turns them into a ghostly silhouette.
- POOR AUDIO – Your employee delivers an enthusiastic update from the beautifully manicured lawns of your headquarters, only to be drowned out as cars zoom by on the freeway in the background or planes swoop by overhead.
- BAD EYELINE – Sometimes, people just don’t know where to look, especially when using the front-facing camera on their smart phones. They end up staring at their own image, instead of at the camera lens, making for an awkward video where your talent isn’t quite looking into the camera.
- THE DREADED “VERTICAL VIDEO” – Let’s face it, people are used to holding their smart phones vertically. It’s how they talk, surf the Web, select music, read email. So why wouldn’t they record video the same way? Unfortunately, vertical video isn’t very useful when you’re placing that video into a widescreen, 1920×1080 HD video frame.
So what’s the solution? Education. Most people aren’t video experts. They shouldn’t be expected to know the ins and outs of producing good video. As professional content creators, the onus is on us to provide talent being asked to self-submit video with a list of best practices on how to create the best quality video with the technology they have at hand. A simple list of do’s and dont’s, even if you think them to be obvious or self-evident, will go a long way towards improving the quality of content you get when calling for user-submitted video.
User-submitted video content will never replace high-end corporate video production. At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for a professionally produced video, produced with professional crew and created with professional instruments. The right way to think of user-submitted video is as a tool, one that can be selectively deployed in certain situations where the global reach or variety of messaging is paramount to production quality. To that end, it’s a great new arrow to have in the quiver.
Kevin
Owner, Red Oak Digital
NJ Video Marketing Production Company