Video

Guidelines for Website Video Proposals

• Examples of Good Content for Website Video
  • A student sharing their research, internship or fieldwork experience
  • Students reflecting on a meaningful event
  • A student’s perspective on club activities and how they foster connections
  • A mix of students and faculty talking about what makes a program special
• Elements of Good Website Video
  • Short with a strong start — viewers decide in 5–10 seconds if they will keep watching
  • Student centered — focus on what interests prospective students
  • Lively and engaging — use interesting topics, visuals and sound
  • Fresh — enhance the user experience with unique insights or stories that add value to the page’s written content 
  • Unscripted and honest — genuine experiences resonate best
  • Fully accessible — all audiences can access and enjoy the video through good captioning and an easy-to-read, descriptive transcript
• What Cannot be Included
  • Repetitive information — prospects have already read it, or are about to read it, and don’t want to hear it twice
  • Ad-style or promotional content — our other channels have already done this work to get people to the web pages — you have their attention, use it to show them something fresh and interesting.
  • Too many topics — one or two is best so the video doesn’t become an overwhelming mishmash of ideas and information
  • Pre-made or repurposed video — all website video must be produced by the Office of Strategic Communication and Marketing specifically for use on the website

• Website Video Request Form
• Project Review Criteria

  To ensure we are prioritizing website video production strategically for the most impact, we will:

  • Review video needs across divisions and academic departments to assess demand.
  • Prioritize requests based on factors such as website traffic, program enrollment, and alignment with institutional goals.
  • Determine feasibility based on available resources and production capacity.
  • Work with stakeholders to develop a realistic production plan, factoring in the time-intensive nature of scheduling, filming, editing, and approvals.

  All video requests must go through the review process. Not all requests can be approved, and priority will go to projects that have the greatest strategic impact.

Guidelines for Creating a Social Media Video Representing SUNY Plattsburgh

• Branding & Style Guidelines
  • DO include the SUNY Plattsburgh logo at the start and/or end of a video so it’s clear it’s an official video
  • DO use our color palette
  • DO use Arial for your font
  • DO use high-quality video and audio recordings
  • DO pay attention to what is happening in the background to avoid unintended messaging
  • DON’T edit our logo in any way

  Branding & Style Guidelines

• Music
  • DO use copyright-free music
  • DO carefully screen music for lyrics for offensive messages by listening to the entire track
  • DO research lyrics you are unfamiliar with to ensure you understand their full meaning
  • DON’T use copyrighted music, unless you have written permission from the artist.

  There are a number of sites offering free, non-copyrighted music. Two sites we use routinely are Bensound and Incompetech. YouTube and other services also offer royalty-free music.

• Media Releases

  DO obtain media releases. Anyone who appears in the video should sign the college’s media release form and send to Heather Haskins.

  Media Release Form

• Accessibility & Transcription
  • DO insert closed captioning. All videos and audio-only recordings must have closed captioning to meet accessibility guidelines.
  • If you are submitting the video to marketing for the college’s YouTube channel, please send a transcript to file to Felicia Krieg along with your video file so we can caption your video.
  • If your video will not be placed on our YouTube channel, please insert your own captions.
  • You can create an unlisted YouTube video version and add captions through the platform.

  How to Format Your Transcript File

  Type the text of what was said in your video and save it as a plain text file (.txt). You can convert other formats (like Microsoft Word, HTML) into a plain text file or you can use native programs on your computer like Notepad.

  To get the best results, use these formatting tips:

  • To force the start of a new caption, use a blank line
  • To designate background sounds, use square brackets. For example, [music] or [laughter].
  • Add >> to identify speakers or change of speaker.

  Here's an example of what your transcript file might look like:

  >> ALICE: Hi, may name is Alice Miller and this is John Brown

  >>JOHN: and we're the owners of Miller Bakery

  >>ALICE: Today we'll be teaching you how to make our famous chocolate chip cookies!

  [intro music]

  >>ALICE: Okay, so we have all the ingredients laid out here