VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Creating effective video content is a time-consuming and rewarding process. It involves the
careful planning and execution of a script, shoot schedules, set planning, editing, and more.
Have EPCC-TV produce a professional quality video for your department. Contact EPCC-TV at
831-6560 or email EPCC-TV to request a video production consultation.
However, if you wish to record a video on your own, this resource has been created to help you
with that process. To produce your own video and have it uploaded onto any EPCC’s Official
social media pages, these guidelines must be met.
Considerations Before You Make a Video
Is Video the Best Medium?
Consider if the information would be more effective presented in a different format, such as a
webpage, a graphic, or another visual medium.
Do You Have Time for a Video?
It takes a lot of hours to plan, shoot, and edit a quality video, many times spread over several
weeks. Start thinking about your video project two or three months ahead.
Know the Stats
77% of viewers stopped a video due to poor quality.
85% of people expect TV-like quality for every video they see online.
62% of viewers develop a negative perception of your brand if you publish a poor-quality video.
Source: Content Marketing Institute
Sometimes no video is better than poor quality video. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with
all of video standards, requirements, guidelines, and best practices. Understanding technical
and production requirements will help you to best plan the logistics for your video project.
Table of Contents
Page 2 …………….. Planning Your Video
Page 3 …………….. Branding and Visual Identity – Guidelines and Best Practices
Page 4 …………….. Branding and Visual Identity – Guidelines and Best Practices (continued)
Page 5 …………….. Copyright and Permissions
Page 6 …………….. Quality Standards
Page 7 …………….. Interview Guidelines and Best Practices
Page 8 …………….. Uploading Your Video to EPCC’s YouTube Channel
Page 8 …………….. Contact EPCC-TV
VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Planning Your Video
The goal, target audience, script, and dissemination plan can impact what deliverables you
need to create, as well as the level of standards your video must adhere to.
What is the goal for your video?
• Market a program or reach prospective students?
• Provide tips or how-to?
• Supplement an event or experience?
• Instructional?
What story are you trying to tell?
• Create a storyboard to think about a script and visuals. Creating one will save you time.
• What messaging or key points do you need to convey?
• Will you need to shoot interviews, b-roll or use archive footage?
Who is the target audience of the video?
• For current students?
• For prospective students and their families?
• For faculty or staff?
Where do you plan to share the video?
• EPCC’s Official YouTube channel or other social media pages?
o Contact the Marketing Department to have video posted on EPCC’s Facebook page.
For more information or for help in promoting your organization please contact the
Marketing Department.
• Are you planning on embedding it on an EPCC.edu site?
o Contact EPCC-TV to upload your finished edited video onto EPCC’s Official YouTube
channel and contact IT Web Development in order to embed the video on the your
department site.
VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Branding and Visual Identity – Guidelines and Best Practices
In order to foster lifelong patrons, organizations need to build trust through brand consistency.
The more consistent your brand is, the more recognizable it is to consumers, providing a feeling
of reliability. This helps your patrons get to know your brand on a more personal level.
• Adhere to EPCC’s Logo Standards Manual
o Use official College colors (EPCC Teal and EPCC Purple) and avoid color combos
that are used by other schools, i.e. blue and orange.
o Include the appropriate EPCC logo at either the beginning or the end of the
video. Logo must not appear altered or distorted. Contact the Marketing
Department to request the official College logos.
o Approved tag, “The Best Place to Start and Finish.” Contact the Marketing
Department to request the official tagline design.
• Use of External Logos
Videos may not contain any external logos or watermarks, including commercial logos
without prior approval and no offensive wording. This includes, but is not limited to, any
of the following cases:
▪ Logos on people's clothing.
▪ Logos in the background of a shot.
VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Branding & Visual Identity – Guidelines and Best Practices (Cont.)
• Typography
o Don't use more than two fonts.
o Avoid decorative fonts.
• Graphics
o Any graphical elements such as photographs or logos must be crisp, clear and
high resolution.
• Writing Style
o All titles and text added to the video must be proofread for accuracy, proper
spelling and grammar.
*Any video not adhering to these visual guidelines will not be posted on any EPCC social
media page. Corrections must be made by the creator of the video.
VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Copyright and Permissions
Rights and Permissions
• If the video was produced or created with the intention of promoting or disseminating
information about EPCC and it is uploaded to EPCC’s YouTube channel, EPCC holds
ownership of the video.
• Ensure EPCC holds all rights to the video and to all the content included in the video,
such as talent, music and pictures.
• Some material used in an educational setting may not be copyright-free in a marketing
setting, so be sure you are adhering to all terms of the content's license.
• Any permissions or licenses received need to be documented. This is the responsibility
of the department producing the video.
Music
• There are various sources to copyright free music you may find online, or you can seek
legal, documented permission from an individual artist.
• Videos uploaded to YouTube with copyrighted music used without permission will be
blocked by YouTube and original artist may pursue penalties against the College.
Talent Release Forms
• Retain signed talent release forms for everyone who appears in the video, even current
faculty and staff. It's best to get these the day of shooting.
Formatting and Credits
• These are usually included on the last screen of a video.
o Format copyright information as follows: (© 2021 El Paso County Community
College District).
o Include a production credit formatted as follows: (Produced by the Department
of ______).
VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Quality Standards
Video Quality
• Must be shot with video equipment capable of recording at a minimum of full
HD 1920 x 1080, 30 frames per second (fps) resolution.
• Video output should be an .mp4 or .mov.
• Video from web cams, such as Zoom meetings, video shot on older cell phones, or
video that is a screen captured recording of people will likely not meet minimum
quality standards.
• Video must be well-shot: in-focus, steady, well-framed and with proper exposure
and lighting.
• Lighting
o Colors should be bright and have adequate contrast. Avoid dull or low-contrast
imagery.
o Fixing an underexposed subject in editing can cause issues such as image noise
and loss of detail.
o Use a location with available light or use lighting equipment along with camera
settings to help correctly expose your subject.
• Backgrounds
o Avoid cluttered backgrounds. Cluttered backgrounds are distracting.
o Avoid having the subject directly against the wall or in a location that has no
relationship to the content.
• Composition
o Vary shot types, camera angle, focal length, and compositions for a more visually
appealing segment.
o All shots should be clearly focused and well-framed using the whole screen.
Use a tripod or stabilizing equipment such as a gimbal for long steady shots or
panning shots. Blurry and shaky video should be edited out.
o Distance and relevance between the subject and background creates a more
engaging shot.
Audio Quality
• Audio must be crisp and clear. Use an external microphone, such as a lavalier or cardioid
mic. Avoid using a built-in camera microphone.
• Ensure foreground and background noises are well-balanced.
Length of Video
• Promotional videos should be between 2-3 minutes long at most. 60-90 seconds is
recommended, especially on social media. For other type of videos contact EPCC-TV.
VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Interview Guidelines and Best Practices
• Retain signed talent release forms and provide a copy to EPCC-TV for everyone who
appears in the video, even current faculty and staff. It's best to get these the day of
shooting.
• Before the day of the shoot, give your interviewee the questions in advance so they
have time to prepare their answers. Encourage them to think about short answers or
"sound bites."
• Give your interviewee some suggestions on how to dress for the interview, i.e. wear a
shirt with the College logo.
• Do a run-through before you hit record so the interviewee can feel comfortable in front
of a camera before the real take.
• Consider shooting the interview segment more than once (at least two or three times)
and select the best take.
• Use a tripod.
• Have the interviewee look at the person asking the questions, even if the interviewer is
off camera.
• Avoid having your interviewee look directly at the lens unless they are directly
addressing viewers.
• When interviewing a subject, stand beside the camera and ask questions at eye level
(the interviewee should not be looking distractingly up, down, or to the side.)
• Make sure the person is staying still – avoid swivel chairs or having them stand.
• Edit out any filler words – ums, wells, etc.
• Make sure there is no background noise.
• Avoid the subject’s eyes from visibly moving from left to right while reading. Keep
practicing and allow the subject more time to get comfortable with the material before
you call the final take.
VIDEO STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES
SELF-MADE VIDEOS ON EPCC-TV AND EPCC’S SOCIAL MEDIA
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Uploading Your Video to EPCC’s Social Media Pages
Please be sure to familiarize yourself with all of video standards, requirements, guidelines, and
best practices. Understanding technical and production requirements will help you to best plan
the logistics for your video project.
*Any video not adhering to these visual guidelines will not be posted on any EPCC social
media page. Corrections must be made by the creator of the video.
Once your completed edited video is ready to be uploaded to the College’s YouTube channel,
contact EPCC-TV for assistance. Contact the Marketing Department to have the video posted on
EPCC’s Facebook page.
• Send the video in .mp4 or .mov formant. We do not accept links to the video.
• Send a description of your video so we may also include in on YouTube. If you included
music in your video, include the artist’s name, name of the song, and the web address in
where you downloaded it from. Include any copyright music credit documentation you
may have.
*Any video not adhering to these visual guidelines will not be posted on any EPCC social
media page. Corrections must be made by the creator of the video.
*Guidelines are subject to change.
Contact EPCC-TV
From planning to execution, video production is a time-consuming process that involves careful
thought and attention to detail to create an effective video for your audience. Have EPCC-TV
produce good quality videos. Email EPCC-TV to request a video production consultation or call
(915) 831-6560.
