Video Hosting

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. We think a video is worth a 1000 pictures.

Over the years we have shot, edited and embedded many different types of video in schools websites. We have also received a lot of video from our schools to add to their websites. This ranges from welcome messages through to school adverts and recently lots and lots of online learning.

A nice example of a school advert was shot by the teachers at Normanby Primary and added to their video page

Normanby Primary School (ironstoneacademy.org.uk)

Teachers are inspirational and some of the most creative people we work with. The limit to what you can produce if down to your imagination. We can help with pointers and the technical skills.

We always say that your school website is a window into your school. Whilst static pictures and sliders are great content it is so easy to elevate your website and generate much more engagement. And you do not need tons of equipment and lots of photography knowledge to produce exceptional videos. Here are a few examples of videos created by our schools.

Above is a great example video by Ryhope Primary school that shows what can be achieved with a few simple edits, titles and professional video hosting. It is a good way to foster a level of community engagement. We have seen all sorts so far from Easter crafts, heartfelt messages from teachers and all sorts of challenges to keep kids entertained.

At iTCHYROBOT we offer free training sessions on how to make the most out of your website. This includes everything from image editing to video production to how best to display your creations. We also offer our clients you shoot we edit services to help enhance your creativity and aid in the production.

One of the services we offer is professional video hosting. This is £5 per month and you may wonder why this is important.

The first video shown above is from one of our clients and is shown on their home page at Ryhope Infant School Academy

Side by side on the page is a video the school uploaded from YouTube and beside that a video we assist with that is on our professional hosting. What is the difference?

Watch to the end for one and you will see that the YouTube video display advertising as chosen by Google! On our video hosting we have complete control over whether or not to display other videos to watch and what those videos might be.

On the randomly selected advertising from YouTube we get an Oriental Choir and a UN political message. On the right we have control of the intro and outro screens. These can be as simple as graphics, or scenes selected from the video itself. Additionally, on the outro screens we have the ability to add calls to actions. This could be a survey or a link to a page on your website.

You could be running a recruitment campaign for new starters and have produced an EYFS welcome video for parents and new starts to introduce the classroom and the teachers. At the end of the video you could have a link to a page on your website with a register your interest in a place or book a visit. The options are endless and we are here to help you make the most of the platforms available.

Next, YouTube is closer linked with the Google Advertising ecosystem. What you watch from YouTube is being tracked. Using our service for video hosting puts you in control. With Vimeo we also have control of security we can set whether the video can be seen or not and even set the domain in which the video can be seen on locking it to your school domain.

Top Tips for Creating Video

Below are some of our top tips when creating videos.

1. Choose your orientation! If you are filming purely for social media then portrait is perfect if it will be going on your website then landscape is the better option as it will fill the screen.
2. Check your sound before recording. We have seen many videos where it isn’t up to standard but if you have filmed for 10 minutes the chances are you won’t fancy starting again. Run some test videos first to make sure you can be seen and heard clearly.
3. Let people know you are filming! The worst thing that can happen is someone random walks through the shot or the hoover gets fired up midway through a video.
4. Make sure your device is secure. If you have a mount then perfect this will hold it steady during filming if not a set of books can nicely hold it in place.
5. Have a plan! Know what you will be saying ahead of time and have everything you need ready.

If you have any questions about video filming get in touch we will be happy to answer any questions and we can even help with video editing to cut out the umms and the pauses.

Hosting your Videos

When it comes to getting your videos online you may not be able to directly upload to your website as file size will be prohibitive from there you have two main options both are completely free to get started.

1. YouTube, this is the biggest name out there for video and provides the perfect platform if you want to get your videos seen.
2. Vimeo is seen as more of a professional platform videos can still be seen by many but they have some privacy settings to hide them.

iTCHYROBOT have a Vimeo Pro account this allows us full control on the access to videos going as far as being able to completely hide them from vimeo listings and lock the video down to only being played on your school domain. Also we can disable the share and download options. This makes it a perfect option for schools to keep the videos purely for schools eyes only we can go further and password protect any pages that contain videos to give additional layers of security.

If you have any questions on videos or hosting or any services we provide feel free to get in touch with me at scott@itchyrobot.co.uk I’m happy to answer any questions.

Most of the video we receive from schools is shot on an iPhone, iPad or SLR camera. These are great and shoot high quality video that can then be edited together into something professional. A couple of additional things to consider to up your video game before you start.

1. Buy a tripod – There is nothing worse than wobbly camera work. Whilst we can smooth out some camera shake it is easier and better to not have it in the source footage to start with
2. Lighting – If you are shooting people inside consider investing in some cheap lighting. Dark shadowy figures might be great in horror movies but we generally want bright well lit scenes. Amazon have some very cheap lighting system using natural light bulbs on tripods with reflective brollies to create nice diffused subtle lighting. Even a simple ring light can make a difference
3. Invest in an external microphone. Again Amazon have these for about £30 and it really does make a difference.
4. Green Screen. An invaluable investment and since lockdown these have flooded the market and become really cheap and affordable. Again Amazon have a raft of these in size and scale from simple online meeting backgrounds through to full scale backdrops that need a fair amount of space like a school hall. These can be used for everything from school performances to creating kids on space or undersea environments.

We look forward to hearing your ideas and seeing how we can help you produce you first or improve on your next video project.