All video content must be appropriate for young children.
- Kids being filmed should wear bold, solid colors if possible, but avoid solid yellow and solid white. Busy patterns, especially large ones with high contrast (stripes, swirls, etc.), can cause issues. Clothing with small, tone-on-tone color patterns is okay. Avoid wearing clothing with large brands/logos on them, as we will need to remove those (or may not be able to use your photography legally).
- A simple, tidy background is best. Avoid cluttered or busy backgrounds.
- Clean your lens to remove dust and streaks.
- Put your phone/tablet on airplane/flight mode to avoid vibrations or interruptions from texts, calls, and notifications.
- Record with your device positioned HORIZONTALLY.
- Use a TRIPOD if you have one. If you don’t, do one of the following:
- Find a stable surface on which to prop up your device. Keep the camera flat and at eye level. Don’t obstruct the camera lens/viewfinder in any way.
- The person recording should use both hands to keep the phone steady and rest their elbows on a stable surface to eliminate shakiness.
- Lighting is important. If you can, select a room with a window and a lot of indoor lighting. If it’s daytime, have the person to be filmed face the window to use natural light along with indoor lighting. If needed, use additional lights (not viewable by the camera) to supplement the lighting. Just be sure lighting is as even as possible throughout the entire area being filmed. Avoid glares, reflections, shadows, dim areas, etc. (If needed, we can add some light to your entire video later, but adding light to only certain areas in a frame after video footage has been taken is difficult.)
- Individuals should not be too close to the camera nor too far. Try to create a comfortable distance between individual(s) and camera to give the illusion that the audience is interacting with the individual(s) on camera.
- Before recording, on the phone’s/tablet’s screen, TAP on the point you want to focus on. If you have an iPhone, hold your finger in place to lock focus. Android devices will lock focus once you tap.
- Don’t cover the microphone, which is at the bottom of a phone. Microphones should be tested for adequate volume levels before production. If available, use 3 devices. One device to play a Kid Power video (paused on the screen), a second device to film the video footage, and a third device to record audio as a voice memo. The third device should be placed closer to the person speaking in the video (but not visible to the camera). Start recording on both the second and third devices and then clap before you begin speaking to enable production team to cleanly and easily align audio. Speech should be clear and well-paced. Speak clearly, take pauses, and maintain an upbeat and energetic tone.