Kalix Marketing partners with experts to share the stories of independent schools for a more strategic marketing. This month, David Morley, founder of Zinnia Films and a talented storyteller and videographer, shares his best, jargon-free tips on how to create unforgettable short-form video for your school’s website and digital and social marketing.
With video becoming more and more important as a messaging tool for schools, I am often asked for advice about creating user-generated content, whether it’s for short-form social media material or longer video content to promote admissions or student/parent engagement. I advise schools that working with a professional production team will produce the best results for video storytelling—typically a project-based endeavor—but most independent schools don’t have the budget to do video projects all year long.
However, there are certainly ways to capture video that will look more engaging for your current and prospective families. Whether the plan is to produce a video yourself, create short pieces for social media, or to amass footage to hand to a production company, here are a few tips and tricks to think about without too much industry lingo.
1. Vertical vs. Horizontal Orientation: Choosing the Right Video Format
For any video, it’s all about the orientation. There are lots of things to think about related to orientation of video. And that term is pretty broad.
It’s very easy to film vertically, since our phones naturally fit in a vertical orientation, but when it comes to producing a video for web or broadcast, it’s better to film horizontally and adjust for vertical applications while you’re editing.
Shooting vertically and then attempting to retrofit for horizontal loses a lot of information and can produce more blurry images. Our workaround is to keep the vertical image smaller and to put a super-blurry image of the same video behind the vertical video to fill the screen.
If you scale the size of the video up, you can run into issues. If the plan is just to post to reels, and you don’t plan on using the footage for other purposes, then film vertically, but as a rule of thumb, it’s better to film horizontally.
2. How Eyeline Orientation Strengthens Video Storytelling
There is something in our industry we call the “Eyeline.” It’s the line of sight or, in filmmaking terms, the direction a character looks. It’s something to consider, perhaps not so much if you’re filming students who are high-school age, but certainly is important when filming younger students.
In general, the lens of the camera should be at eye level with your student. Whether you’re getting footage of an athlete kicking a soccer ball down the field, interviewing a student for a profile, or even just getting a snapshot of them for a newsletter, put your camera at eye level with the student. Camera at eye level is generally an inviting way to capture imagery and bring your viewer into the experience you are depicting.
That may mean kneeling down to get the shot of the kid working on a math problem at their desk, or getting down to the physical level of a Kindergartener. There are reasons to break this eyeline rule, but generally speaking, it’s best to stick with keeping the camera at eyeline.
Here’s an example of a brand video we shot and produced for Kalix for Father Ryan High School in Nashville, Tenn. We used eyeline orientation to keep the visuals and the message focused on the personalized academic and overall experience of the Father Ryan students.
3. When Context Orientation Brings Value to a Video
When we’re setting up for interviews in schools, a lot of times, we’re offered a space that is pretty tight. We’re asked to film a student interview against a wall or a whiteboard. Try to avoid this.
Think about the context under which you’re filming the student. Try to think about the background as something that can inform who the interview subject is. If you put them against a wall, too often, it looks like a mug shot or a police lineup.
- Is she a soccer athlete? Film her with the field behind her, so you paint the picture of her soccer world in the background.
- Is he a musician? Film him in the music room near the door with the musical instruments behind him.
Not finding anything contextual that makes sense? Film them in front of your school sign, or a step and repeat, but try to have 10 feet or more between the subject and the background so that they are visually separated.
Here’s another Father Ryan High School video example that demonstrates how to incorporate context when filming a student on campus:
There’s lots more to think about in terms of building your video library. We’re happy to help with tips and tricks.
When you experiment with this, send us your clips to Jonathan Oleisky, Kalix founder and president at joleisky@kalizmarketing.com, so we can see and give feedback.
If you’re ready to take your video marketing game to the next level, Kalix can help you create a strategy that makes sense, whether it’s content that you create or it’s a project that we manage.
About David Morley,
Director/Principal of Zinnia Films
David, founder of Zinnia Films, is a 20-year-plus veteran of film and video production. He was a producer and director of photography for the documentary film By and By: New Orleans Gospel at the Crossroads. In addition to working with Kalix Marketing on a variety of video needs for school clients, Zinnia works with a wide range of corporate and nonprofit clients. A talented producer and on-ground camera person, he is also an FAA-licensed drone operator. David graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.
