Video Preparation Tips:

The information below will provide you with ideas & rules you need to be aware of as you develop your video.

It is against the law to use music, video or images without permission. You may not use your favorite song in your video. The videos on TV that use popular songs have the right to use the songs because the advertisers have paid substantial sums of money for the privilege. Royalty-free music is available for this purpose. Google “royalty free music.” You may not download pictures from the Internet, unless they specify that they are in the public domain. You may not scan magazines or books. It is important to understand that if your submission contains copyrighted material of any kind, you will be asked to remove it. If you do not remove it by the deadline for submissions, your project will not be considered in the competition.

  1. Selecting Your Topic

The objective is for the resulting video to give the audience an inside view of the career focus’ in manufacturing at the company you are paired with, what skills are needed in these careers, what a “typical” work day is like and how you & your audience can prepare for, and be successful in a manufacturing career. With this message we hope your video will open the eyes of your audience; students, parents, educators and the general population, about the career choices and viability of manufacturing as a career option. The intent of the Video Challenge is to steer the opinion in a positive direction.

  1. Determine Your Message

Simple messages are the most effective. Remember the video must be at least one minute but cannot exceed 3 minutes. Ask yourself what you can say/ show to convince your audience that manufacturing companies have evolved their processes, skills, products and machinery to be able to successfully compete in our current and future economies.

  1. Choose Your Method of Presentation

Here is where the creativity and fun begins! Do you want to tell a story, have someone talking to the camera, show an example; do a demonstration or any number of other methods? The sky is the limit here. Talk through the pros and cons of several methods before deciding. Ensure your method makes your point clearly. You do not want to make your audience work to figure out what you are telling them. Consider your ability to actually execute your idea. There is no value in a great idea you can’t do, and can’t do well.

  1. Define Roles

Movies have directors and producers and all those other people you see in the credits for a reason. While you won’t need nearly that many people, you still must decide who is going to perform each task. You will need a director. This person must have the confidence of all of the other team members. They will be the leader. There will be many decisions to make during your production. While the director should listen to ideas from everyone, ultimately you have to have one “decider” or you will never get things done. It is also good to appoint a producer. This person will be the ultimate coordinator of everyone else. They will coordinate all the other people who will be working on schedules, props, locations, etc. The producer needs to be a meticulous and precise kind of person. The rest of your team can choose assignments based on what direction your production takes.

  1. Production

Script

Once you have an idea, you will need to work on the details. Start with an outline of the idea, the people involved, where they are, etc. Gradually hone in on an actual script by refining and re-refining. This process will probably take several sessions. Remember to time your script by reading it out loud.

Pre-production

Depending on your concept, you will need to find locations, actors, wardrobe, props – everything that will be necessary to create the scenes. It is important to ask permission to use any private or commercial location where you shoot video. Make sure you can work safely in the locations you choose. Persons over 18 participating on camera or creatively in this production must sign a Talent Release Form. Anyone under 18 must get their formed signed by their parent or guardian. Your video submission will not be considered for competition without the accompanying Talent Release Forms.

You will need to determine a schedule for shooting. The director will want to determine camera angles. Make sure you are at a location where the light shines on your subjects.

Production

Now you are ready to actually pull out a video camera, digital camera, your cell phone, computer or whichever equipment you choose to use. The producer will guide the process, making sure everything is in place, on time, for the director. The director will take all those elements and put them together to create what the camera actually sees. You can be open to great ideas that come up on the spot, but generally, you need to stick to your plan. Shoot multiple takes of everything. You never know when something you don’t catch will ruin a take.

  1. Editing

If you do a good job with preproduction and shooting, editing will be fun. If you didn’t, editing can be a headache. Editing is usually not done well by committee. Go through and catalog your takes, choosing your favorites. Combine your favorite takes, paying attention to the flow of your video. It is usually easiest to lay down the sound first, and then put the video on top if sound and video are separate. It is oftentimes helpful to do a first cut, then step away until the next day. After spending a long time editing, your eyes and brain lose perspective.

  1. Critique Your Work

After completion, pull your team together to critique the video. Does it deliver the message? Can you see what is happening? Can you hear everything? Do you get it? What could be better? If you are the director, listen to your team. You know the vision. The question is, do they? It is also good to show the finished video to parents or friends who know nothing about it. Their reactions will be more like the reaction of the public who sees the video online during the competition. Review your video with your manufacturing partner to ensure that the video does not divulge any trade or industry secrets and that the information portrayed is accurate.

  1. Submitting Your Work

Once you make any necessary changes and are happy with your final product, make sure you have followed all the rules and your video conforms to contest standards. Your entry should begin with a 10 second, full screen slate (or “title screen”) that includes your school name, team name and the title of your video.

Make sure that your video is in a Windows-based format. All video entry submissions should be emailed r mailed on a zip drive to EAMA, c/o EWIB, 108 New Park Avenue, Franklin, CT 06254 and must be received no later than noon on Friday, March 23, 2018. Entries must be accompanied by a video concept narrative which will provide judges with an explanation of the development of the video concept. Please submit Video Concept Narratives via email to when you submit the video. Mark your submission as EAMA Video Challenge & include your school/team name and the name of your manufacturing partner.

If you have questions, please contact Mary Fitzgerald at

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