Film reelCreating a video may seem like a daunting task requiring a lot of expensive equipment and software, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Short, simple videos that focus on the people behind your organisation’s work can be a great way to encourage people to donate.

What you’ll need to create your video

  • A camcorder or a smartphone with a good camera.
  • Willing volunteers
  • Basic video editing software (available free in YouTube or take advantage of Animoto’s free access for Charities)
  • A plan of what you want the video to be about. If you’re filming staff, volunteers or the people you work with be clear about what question you want them to answer.

What should your video be about?

Your video could be about almost anything, but try to keep the focus on people – either your staff, your volunteers or the people you work with – and what they think. Think about what you want people to do after they watch the video – do you want them to donate? To Volunteer? Tailor the video accordingly. For example, if you want viewers to volunteer you could ask people ‘what does volunteering mean to you?’.

Always make sure that the call to action is clearly displayed at the end of the video, as well as making clear the next steps for people to get involved.

Creating your video

Keep your video short and aim for it to answer a single question – for example, what does your organisation mean to your interviewees?

Create a short introduction and a call to action for the end of the video. This could be something simple like having a staff member hold up a piece of paper with the question which the video is answering or a call to donate (and method to donate) for the end of the video. Using handwritten signs is a personal touch which has been used with great success by Cancer Research UK during the #NoMakeUpSelfie trend:

harpal-no-make-up-selfie

Gather your interviews. Make it clear to people where and how the recordings will be used and let them have a couple of goes to get comfortable in front of the camera. Be clear about what you want them to answer and how long they have for their response. A participant release form is available on The Loop.

Once you’ve got all your recordings it’s really easy to create a longer video using YouTube Video Editor – as this video from Westernhowtovideos shows.

Just upload your videos or photos into YouTube and use the video editor to create a longer video.

Where to use your video

You can place your video on your website using the insert media button but also share it widely on social media.