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VIDEO STYLE GUIDE

06/01/2012

Table of Contents
Video Content Guidelines ........................3 Web Videos Video Safe Area .................................................4 Aspect Ratio .........................................................4 Length .......................................................................4 Formats.....................................................................4 Lower Third Title ..............................................5 Lower Third ...........................................................6 Bug ...............................................................................7
The purpose of these guidelines is to help you create video footage that is of a standard that reflects the style of the University. To help maintain a consistent quality standard of video footage displayed on our websites, we have produced a number of graphics available for you to use. Please do not alter any of these graphics. If a special graphic is requested, please submit a design work order (http://www.lewisu.edu/pdf/ DESIGN_WORKORDER.pdf) and someone in the Marketing & Communications department will be able to assist you. The Office of Marketing and Communications will work with you before the start of any video that will be used on the University Web site to ensure that the message and branding are consistent with University Standards. A media release form must be used when producing a video for the Web site and can be found at www.lewisu.edu/ xxxxxxxxx. Marketing and Communications should pre-approve a script and talk through the purpose and audience of the video before beginning production. All videos must be approved by Marketing and Communications before posting to the University Web site. Contact: Kathrynne Skonicki, ext. 5711

Classroom-Based Videos
The Center for Academic Technology Solutions will provide multimedia support for faculty who need classroom-based support for their courses. These videos will be accessible within Blackboard to enhance the students learning experience. The Center for Academic Technology Solutions will assist through the production and uploading of academic videos. A more detailed guideline on production of videos for educational purposes is available at the following: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/43695933/Video/ VideoGuidelines_Grasen.pdf Contact: Graesen Arnoff, ext. 5025

TV Quality and High End Videos

The Broadcast Production Studio in the Department of Communications provides high end, TV quality video production for commercial use and videos that are produced for major donor eventsThey also provide B-roll of most of the campus buildings, aerial footage, and other things that can be a resource for other video uses on campus.

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Contact: John Kilpatrick, ext. 5636

Video Content Guidelines

All communication should be consistent with The Lewis University Graphic Standards Manual and Editorial Style Guide and the Mission of Lewis University. Communicate efficiently. eep sentences short and to the point. The average K sound bite is seven seconds long. ey messages of the video should be easily K identifiable and minimal. A video with too many messages can become confusing. No more than one key message should be presented for every minute of the video. In most cases, the length of the video should be no more than three minutes. udible pauses, such as like, um, and you know A should be edited out of the video in order to present a more credible message. ye contact should be consistent throughout the E video. Decide ahead of time if the subject is going to look at the camera directly or off camera. Maintain good posture during the video. e aware of body language during video. It should B be appropriate for video. For example, talking hands should emphasize points of discussion, but not too much. isuals, such as photographs, artwork and graphics V usually enhance the visual effect of the video. Use them appropriately. Photos should not be copywrite protected.

Attire
Ensure that the subjects attire is appropriate for the video and Lewis University. If the message is serious, then dress seriously. If the message is more informal and light-hearted, dress accordingly. Solid dark colors, beige and light pastels are best colors for clothing. Avoid small stripes or checks patterns, plaids, wild patterns and distracting jewelry. Also bright colors, like red and white, can become overpowering for the viewers. Hats should not be worn unless important to the message. If they are worn, then make sure the brim doesnt block the subjects eyes. If the subject normally wears glasses, he or she should wear them for the video. The best approach is to be yourself and look as you normally do.

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Video Safe Area

When creating a video, keep in consideration the different areas of a screen when incorporating certain text and graphics. The title safe area is the standard area within the video frame where all text and graphics should be contained.

Title Safe
Area where text and graphics are clearly visible. (White Area)

Action Safe
Considered the margin of a video screen and keeps elements away from the ege of the screen. (Gray Area)

Overscan Area
Keep Text within this Boundary Keep Graphics within this Boundary

Usually not visible on the video screen. (Black Area)

Aspect Ratio
We strongly suggest everything to be shot in 16:9 widescreen. For online videos, a typical dimension would be 640x360 pixels, however if a video is shot in High Definition the encoder should scale accordingly for YouTube, Vimeo, etc. Everything should be shot if possible in 720p/1080p High Definition (Progressive) as this provides more flexibility to compress for lower bandwidth. Its better to capture videos at the best quality, rather than trying to scale from standard definition.

Length
Videos should ideally be kept between 2-3 minutes long and no more than 5 minutes. Keeping videos short also keeps the file size small, which uses less bandwidth and loads faster.

Formats
Videos should be saved using a H.264 codec and as a mpeg4 format to ensure the best picture quality and smallest file size. Other formats to consider for the web ar .mpeg4 (HTML 5), .mov (Quicktime), and .flv (Flash).

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Lower Third Title

The lower third title segment should be placed at the beginning of any video project to brand it as a Lewis University video. Please do not alter any of these graphics. If a special graphic is requested, please submit a design work order and someone in the Marketing & Communications department will be able to assist you.

Lower Third Title

Duration: 6 seconds

Download File
Lewis_LT_Title
(Click Below)

MOV

FLV

AEP

Preview
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/43695933/Video/Lewis_LT_Title.m4v

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Lowerthird
Lower thirds are used to identify speakers and can be used to convey information such as websites and locations. Download the artwrok below. The selected font Myriad Pro should be used.

Name
Myriad Pro Semibold

Title
Myriad Pro Italic

Sample

OTF

OTF

Download File
Lewis_LT
(Click below)

MOV

FLV

AEP

Preview
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/43695933/Video/Lewis_LT_Text.m4v

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Bug
The bug identifies videos created by Lewis. This graphic is placed in the lower-right corner of the image-safe area of the video and should remain on the screen during the entire video, unless a lower third is active.

Bug Area
The bug should be used in the designated area and the graphic below should not be replaced with the Universitys bell tower logo. The bug should not be displayed when the lower third is exposed.

Download File
Lewis_1080p_Bug
(Click Below)

PSD

TIF

PNG

Sample

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