Tips for Your Video

Pick a topic. There are three global topics to choose from! This year’s topics are City Planning, Fresh Water Use, and Severe Weather. Pick the one that you are the most interested in and read the Background Reading to start your research for that topic.

Do your research. The best videos use strong facts/statistics as supporting evidence from a variety of sources. The Video Project Organizer will help guide you and make sure you stay on track.

Less is more. Sixty seconds goes by fast. Think about what information will have the most impact and where you should present it in your video.

Use context. Stating “an estimated 140,000 species go extinct each year” is more impactful when adding “this number is greater than the number of people living in some U.S. state capitals, including Hartford, Connecticut, and Topeka, Kansas!”

Develop a solution. Make sure that your solution solves the problem you identified in your video. You want viewers to be empowered by a video that shows a realistic way to solve a global challenge that is impacted by human population growth.

Be creative. You can use video, skits, pictures, voice-over, music, flip-books – the sky is the limit! Check out some short-form film examples for inspiration!

Use copyright-free images and music. Check out these 13 Websites for Finding Copyright/Royalty Free Images and Music to get started.

Film in landscape. Use the highest video quality you can film in and be consistent with the filming style. There are many apps that make the filming and editing process easier.

Speak clearly and slowly. You may be tempted to speak more quickly to include more information, but resist that impulse!

Most people speak at a pace of 125 to 200 words a minute, and you should aim to be in this range. Writing your script out beforehand and using the word count tool in Microsoft Word or Google Documents can help you keep your video on target. Feel free to add subtitles if you’re worried about the audio – just be sure to watch out for spelling errors!

Follow the Rules and Guidelines.  Keep your video to sixty seconds, and follow the content and copyright rules. It is especially important to keep an organized list of all of your sources.

Avoid common mistakes. Watch this video of the 7 Most Common Mistakes that result in videos not becoming a finalist.

Review the Judging Rubric. Everyone’s video is judged using the same rubric, so make sure to review it. We also recommend using the rubric to evaluate your video to see if you should make any changes before submitting.

Have fun! This is a great opportunity to learn more about pressing global challenges regarding world population, and it should be a fun project for you and your friends.