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How To Videos

How To Videos are tutorials. ​Tutorial videos teach us how to do something. You could teach us how to complete a task, how to build something, proper procedure or protocol for certain events, etc. Tutorials are interactive. Teachers lead by example and supply information to complete tasks, step-by-step. You can demonstrate and list the instruction or supply your audience with some interactive problem solving. These videos are fun to make and don't require that much time.

Mandatory Requirements:
  • Choose something you love to do and teach us how to do it. Or choose an interesting topic and go from there. Basically you just need to start with a great idea and everything will come together from there.
  • Keep it short and sweet.
  • Follow steps simply and logically.
  • Don't be afraid to have fun.
  • Bring your props, costumes, and other materials to class each day.
  • Create a clever title and use it at the beginning and end of your film.​
    • Use the perfect font and text size, and display the title in a creative way at the beginning.
  • Write any dialogue or instructions far in advance and triple check your grammar.
  • All text is on the screen long enough for slow readers to comprehend.
  • For actors or voiceovers you must use high quality microphones.
  • Perfect lighting:
    • Shooting from overhead creates shadows - so be very careful.
    • Shooting from overhead creates reflections in any shiny surfaces.
    • Consider using a bendable selfie stick and your phone with highest possible video quality setting (instead of school DSLR camera)
  • Consider using multiple angles, possibly 2 or 3 cameras and some of them not on a tripod.
  • Consider using a slider, filming "cinematic shots"
  • Perfect focus.
  • Lots of cuts - avoid long shots - use many quick cuts here and there - the audience will understand time went by and appreciate the faster paced video.
  • Royalty free background music - instrumental only.
  • Ending credits are okay.
  • "Fade to color" transition at beginning and end

First get some inspiration from some professional How To Videos using this link, then view some great student examples below.