WACI YouTube Video Teaser Guidelines
This year, WACI requires the authors of all accepted papers to submit a short video that highlights the main contributions of the paper. The video should be submitted concurrently with the final version of the accepted WACI contribution, and is due with submission of the final paper, 5:00pm MT, Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Please send an email to DAC Papers for video submission site instructions; instructions will guide you to submit via a FTP site.
The video may be posted on the conference home page and used as a publicity tool to promote attendance at the conference.
We list below some guidelines relating to the content and production of the video.
Guidelines on Video Content:
1) The goal of the video is to be a teaser for the WACI session's attendees. It should be approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute in length, and should be no longer than 2 minutes.
2) The content should provide the motivation for the research and present some high level intuition for the proposed solution. It should explain to the attendee why the talk will be interesting. No details need to be provided, nor results. In other words, the conference presentation should be an accurate report of the research, and the video may be simply evocative of the research without actually describing it. Remember that the purpose is to tickle the curiosity of potential attendees!
3) If a software tool, prototype, or a gadget is being developed as part of the research, it would be great if it were included in the video - even if it is still under construction at the time of the shooting. The scenes in the video could be simply a talking head mixed with shooting of the tool/prototype, or could show objects or a demo that can provide some intuition for the project. Alternatively, another possible format could be a third-party interview of the authors of the paper. Make sure the video is interesting – for example, a video clip of a person reading a section of the paper is likely to be boring!
Guidelines on Video Production:
1) Audio matters. Although the users are "watching" a video, the audio is what really conveys most of the information. Some guidelines: use an external microphone and place it as close to the speaker as possible. A lapel mike is good, but even a table mike placed close to the speaker will minimize extraneous sounds and room echo.
Eliminate extraneous background sounds. Filming indoors is best, and if there are outside noises that will distract the viewer, close the windows and doors. If you film outdoors, make sure you get a take with no extraneous sounds. Cars, sirens, construction sounds, a TV in another room, etc., all distract from the message you are trying to convey.
2) Use a tripod! Though most cameras have stabilization, camera movement is often very distracting.
3) Make sure the subject is well lit. Make sure the subject has lots of front lighting when compared to the rest of the scene. Try not to film with an open window in view of the camera, as this may set the exposure too low and make the subject hard to see.
Type of lighting is not that critical with current video cameras, as they will generally set an acceptable white balance automatically. That said, daylight fluorescents seem to work well. If your camera has a manual white balance, try using the tool to get a good setting. If you have the software and capability, shooting in front of a "green screen" is good because you can control the recording environment (lighting, audio), then add a different background later.
Advanced note on lighting: More lighting generally decreases video noise. When you encode for YouTube, you are using an MPEG encoding, which is a motion-based encoding. Noise appears the same as motion to the encoder, so you will either get a lower quality or larger file. Reducing noise (more light, less extraneous movement) means a better image with a smaller file.
4) Minimize visual distractions. Just as extraneous audio can detract from the presentation, so can external visual cues. Make sure, for example, that the background doesn't have something flashing or otherwise distracting. You want to keep the viewer focused on the main message.
5) Look at the camera and smile! Using a script often helps to keep you "on track" as you talk to the camera. If you do use a script, place it as close to the camera as possible so you are looking towards the camera. Moving away from the camera a little (use the zoom) will minimize the angle between the script and the lens.
If you can do the talk smoothly without a script, great. Remember - there is a stop button on the camera, so you can do this in multiple takes if you prefer and edit it together. Most computers these days have some rudimentary editing software that will allow you to append multiple clips.
Don't be afraid to do multiple takes. It's hard to get a smooth video in one take. Even the pros have blooper reels.
6) Last, but not least, be enthusiastic! The goal is to make the viewer want to come to DAC to hear the rest of your story. Project your enthusiasm for the topic onto the video.
For some examples from 2010