This guide will provide resources for creating great video content, whether you're at Harvard or developing content at another law library.
There is no need for fancy recording software to create great videos. Use what you have. Did you know you can record video to your computer in Zoom? To learn more about recording in Zoom check out:
You may decide to record on a phone for a number of reasons, including wanting to shoot footage on the go, or wanting to show how a resource appears on a small mobile screen. Here are some resources for recording:
For Mac:
For Android:
The materials you need to step up your editing game will depend largely on what platform you use to edit. There are suggestions for materials in common platforms below.
If your platform is not listed, or you are trying to do something beyond the bounds of the material provided there are additional options. One of the best ways to learn new tricks on an editing platform is to run a google search that includes the task you are trying to complete and the platform you are editing on. YouTube videos are often a great place to learn discrete editing tricks in your editing application of choice.
If you don't have access to a paid editing platform, options are still available:
Here are a few recommendations to make your videos as long lasting as possible. By observing the following your videos will be useful for longer and easier to edit as things change.
Why? Departments reorg and job titles change. The section you're teaching this semester may not be the same section you're teaching next time around. By keeping your introduction general it allows for the greatest amount of change.
Why? When platforms undergo updates we may need to reshoot the screencast and those numbers will almost certainly have changed when we rerun the searches. By using terms like "more" and "less," instead we can get across the same idea, and may be able to update the webcast without reshooting the audio track.
Why? As above, platforms change and we may need to reshoot the webcast. What's result number one today may be result number four tomorrow. It may also help to keep in mind that users following along may see their results in a different order depending on their settings. Being general helps to avoid confusion.
Why? If updates need to be made to a video this allows the work to be spread around. Just like we tell our students, why reinvent the wheel when we've got great material to use as a foundation already. Not only that, but maybe a short clip from the video you created could be useful to another content creator. By making your content easily accessible, we all open up a world of remixing possibilities.
To learn more about how to locate public domain and Creative Commons content, please see our guide:
You can learn more about the Fair Use Exception to Copyright from the following resources:
Harvard Affiliates may contact Copyright First Responders with copyright questions:
A few quick tips we learned at the library while using the filming studios at Cabot:
For Scheduling Cabot Recording Rooms: Ron Lacey <rlacey@fas.harvard.edu>
For Help in the Cabot Recording Rooms:
For Help with Filming, Editing, or Promotion: Emily Coolidge-Toker <emily_coolidgetoker@harvard.edu>
This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
You may reproduce any part of it for noncommercial purposes as long as credit is included and it is shared in the same manner.