Commissioning video
Find out about producing University-branded videos for the Sussex website, our social media channels or third-party sites.
Video process
Video can be a powerful medium to reach the audiences you need to speak to most.
However, videos are also expensive and time-consuming to make. If done badly, they can diminish our brand.
Because of this, we have a defined process for producing video, led by in-house video experts. This ensures your video is on-brand and has the best chance of making an impact.
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Why video?
Think about why you’re creating a video. What is the story you want to tell? This is critical to achieving success. Story is everything. It needs to have a clear beginning, middle and end. Why is video the best medium for telling your story?
Clear examples of storytelling through video include the importance of mental health research and the career goals of a Masters student.
Sometimes video can be the perfect medium to show our audience what we want to communicate. Using a current or emerging technique to engage our audience, often with short videos on social media platforms.
Visually-driven video examples include finding your space at Sussex and exploring East Slope residences.
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Contact
Contact the University’s video manager (Flavio Ferrari – f.ferrari@sussex.ac.uk) to discuss your requirements and what it is you want to achieve.
We may suggest starting a project with the Digital and Creative Media team if your request is better suited to other formats or broader than just video. We may also direct you to the Social Media Manager if your video is exclusively for social platforms.
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Briefing
If we think video is the right approach, we will send you a briefing form to fill in at this point.
In the briefing form you’ll cover details including your objectives, the audience, key messages and the style.
We will then work through the brief with you to cover all the technical and creative considerations.
Once everyone is happy with the brief, it is signed off and the video can be produced.
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Video production
Videos take longer to produce than you may expect, so give as much notice as possible. This helps with planning and sets you up for success.
Videos are usually made:
- using one of our trusted video suppliers – you pay for this out of your department’s budget
- by our in-house central video team – there is little cost, although the team has limited capacity
- through a combination of the above, where different aspects of the process are managed between them.
The video production process has three distinct components:
Pre-production
This is the planning stage and planning is everything. It can include scripting, scheduling, storyboarding, permits, insurance, permissions, casting, location scouting, budget breakdown, rehearsal, pre-shoots, equipment and crew booking. Getting this stage right sets you up for the subsequent stages. This is the most time-consuming part of the process.
Production
The filming or principal photography. This is when the actual shooting and audio recording happens.
Post-production
The editing process. This is when the video and audio materials are cut together to create a video. Music, sound effects and graphics may also be added at this stage. Sometimes pick-up shots may need to be filmed as part of post-production. However, getting pre-production right helps to avoid this unnecessary work and expense.
Publication of video
The channels on which we publish video will depend on your audience. This is made clear in your brief, because different channels require different kinds of videos.
For this reason, it’s not good practice to re-purpose videos for other channels after they have been made.
Once you’ve completed a video project, you should evaluate its success as this helps us to define the best mediums for future communications.
Videographers
The in-house video production team is part of Digital and Creative Media. It produces professional quality video content and offers advice and support for recording and editing video.
The team is:
- Video Manager – Flavio Ferrari
- Video Producer – Jayne Rowlands.
We also use trusted video suppliers for some of our work.
If you’ve been commissioned to film and produce something on behalf of the University, follow our guidance for videographers. This means you will create accessible video content for the web.
Embedding video on our website
All videos appearing on our website must be uploaded to Vimeo. This is because of its global reach, customisation, privacy options and data management. The video team will do this and supply a final link to the video.
Video and web accessibility standards
All video content created for our website must meet WCAG web accessibility standards. This is to ensure all visitors to our website are able to understand video content.
Find out about creating web accessible video and using our video component on web pages.