Video Coursework Support
There are a variety of resources available online to support your development of the video.
One of the most important things you can do is plan out and prepare the story of your video, both in words and images.
Key considerations
Making a video is different from writing and re-drafting an essay in some important ways.
- Preparation is key. The more you plan the content of the video — through storyboarding and recording & gathering all of your audio and video clips, images and text — the more efficient you will be in creating the video.
- A video is more than just text – it is fundamentally a different medium. Whilst you are NOT being marked for how good you are at making/editing videos, you are being marked at how effectively you communicate your ideas. You should ensure that you pay attention to how you communicate visually as well as in words.
- A five to seven minute video, if scripted, does not equate to the kinds of word count to which you have become accustomed. The most accurate way of calculating how many words you can speak at a comfortable speed in the timeframe is to time yourself. As a rough guide, though, I can comfortably read around 500 words in five minutes.
- Reading aloud a script requires a different style of writing. Many of us write fairly long sentences, which are not easily read aloud. Try writing in concise sentences that have one clause. Read aloud your draft script, record it and listen back to make sure that it makes sense.
Video FAQs
Is the upper time limit of 7 minutes, or can we be a few seconds over?
Seven minutes is a ‘hard’ limit, like the word count policy. If you exceed that limit for the main content of your video there will be a penalty.
What is included in the time limit for the video?
The video time limit covers the beginning to the end of the narrative. It does NOT include the references.
Do I need to submit the script?
No. You do not need to submit a script for your video.
What should be in the submission?
You should include the full link/ URL/ web address (these all mean the same thing) of your video. For example, it will begin with ‘https://’ and it may be fairly long. If you use YouTube then you can press the ‘Share’ button and one of the options will be to copy the link to the video. You must have the text for the whole web address/ link/ URL visible in plain text in your submission.
How specific does a case study need to be?
You should try to select a case study that you can manageably discuss in 5 minutes. This means picking something fairly specific and something that is easy to explain, fairly quickly. In terms of ‘digital geographies’ – you may pick a particular thing, such as a specific platform, or you may pick a particular phenomenon, such as a specific thing we do with digital media. The distinction might be thought this way: internet dating is a particular phenomenon in the UK, people do it using various technologies; a specific dating platform might be tinder.
Are we supposed to have an argument in the video or should we make an informative video about a particular digital geography theme?
There should be an argument that demonstrates that you have explored and understood an aspect of digital geographies and can provide supporting evidence from academic and non-academic sources.
What software should we use to make the video?
I recommend using the free software available with your computer’s operating system. For Windows computers you may use Microsoft ClipChamp. For Macs you may use iMovie. There is more information available in the resources section lower down the page.
Can I use the first-person? Or should we speak in a neutral voice?
You can use any grammatical person or tense as long as it makes sense and is consistent. If you wish to make points from your own perspective it makes sense to use the first person. Otherwise you may wish to speak in a more passive voice or simply make the assertions directly, i.e. instead of saying ‘I think digital media is important for [example]’, you may say ‘digital media is important for [example]’.
Are the references part of the time limit?
No. The references are excluded from the 7-minute upper limit.
Should I reference all of the video clips I use in my video?
You need only reference video clips that you either:
- Integrate into your narrative, i.e. you use words spoken in a video clip to convey a part of your narrative
- Analyse or explicitly refer to the content of a video clip
If the video clip is not used for either of these purposes then you do not need to reference it.
If I use direct quotations in the narration should these to be on-screen as they are spoken or would a reference on-screen with a page number suffice?
If you are using an extended quote it would be helpful to see the text on-screen. If it is a short quote you can identify this as part of your script, e.g. by interesting something like” Smith suggests, quote: …” but as long as you are explicit and clearly attempting to attribute a quote I think it is fine.
Do I need to reference video content I have produced/recorded myself?
No. You do not need to reference your own content.
Should I reference pictures and/or photos I use in my video?
As above, if you explicitly refer to specific photos or pictures in your narrative then you should reference them. If they are part of the incidental content on-screen then you do not.
Will I lose marks for ‘low quality’ (e.g. pixelated) video footage?
No, as long as I can understand what is depicted on screen you will not lose marks for ‘low quality’ video content.
Am I allowed to use video content I have downloaded from YouTube or other platforms?
This is a bit complicated. The answer is a qualified ‘yes’, you can use clips taken from YouTube and other commercial sources. There will be no implications for your marks whether or not you use other people’s videos. The complication comes from the legal standpoint. It is technically against the Terms & Conditions of YouTube and potentially in breach of copyright to use videos downloaded from YouTube – however, you are not doing so for commercial benefit nor are you seeking to represent the material as your own. So, on that basis, without prejudice, I think it is possible to claim ‘fair use’ for educational purposes. This only applies to the coursework itself, if you choose to publish the video as ‘public’ there may be legal consequences.
Resources
How to make a storyboard
One of the most effective ways of preparing the audiovisual narrative of your video is a storyboard. A storyboard is a visual outline of your work. You can find a helpful video that explains how to create a storyboard in the ‘Resources’ section below.
In simple terms, a storyboard is a way of visually outlining and planning how your video will take shape. This will save you time in the long run. Trying to edit without a plan will likely result in you taking more time and becoming more stressed.
This video explains the storyboarding process in a fairly accessible way:
Sites with free content
You will likely want images and videos that will help you tell your story in your video but you may not know where to find them.
There are a few sites that have free to use ‘royalty free’ (no licensing) images and videos:
Pexels has both images and videos, I have used this site extensively for creating my teaching resources – https://pexels.com/
Pixabay is similar to Pexels, with a lot of free stock video footage and images, although, in my limited experience, there isn’t quite the same variety. More significantly, this is a valuable resource for free music that you can use as soundtracks – https://pixabay.com/
Unsplash is perhaps the biggest ‘free’ picture service on the net and has a wide variety and large number of high quality, high resolution images that you can download and use for free – https://unsplash.com/
Bensound is a good source of free to use (with attribution) music. You should definitely check the licensing page for the limitations – https://www.bensound.com/
“The best free software for video editing beginners”
The film editor Jonny Elwyn has compiled a really helpful resource outlining some of the best options for free software for beginner film/video editors. It is worth looking at the linked resource because Elwyn provides an overview of what the software is and how it can be used. However, the shortlist of software he recommends is below.
The Best Free Video Editing Software for Beginners:
- HitFilm from FXHome
- DaVinci Resolve Free
- Runway Video Editing (In-browser)
- Filmora from Wondershare
- Lightworks
The ‘Free’ software you already have…
An intro to Microsoft Video Editor
It may not be immediately obvious but Microsoft Windows (10 or 11) has a video editor that allows you to edit videos in a fairly easy way. Here’s a tutorial explaining how:
An intro to Microsoft ClipChamp
Microsoft Windows 11 also includes ‘ClipChamp’ for free and allows you to edit videos in a fairly easy way. Here’s another video tutorial that provides a basic introduction:
An intro to iMovie
There are literally hundreds of tutorial videos on iMovie available on YouTube, I’ve picked out a fairly accessible one that covers most of the basics here: