January 27, 2014, by Liam Ross
Campus Cam: A history
This blog post was written by Matt Pitt, the Graduate Trainee who worked in the university’s Digital Communications Team earlier in 2013. It was initially for a different blog but I’ve commandeered it as it gives a history of Campus Cam as we know it today!
“As a Graduate Trainee I’ve spent 5 months working in the university’s Digital Communications Team on a number of projects including creating video content. This blog post focuses on the setting up of a new style of video content: Campus Cam.
When I joined the Digital Communications Team earlier this year the team were exploring how iPad minis could be used to create content for social media. The team already produces, and supports the production of, a large number of high-quality videos. The appeal of iPad minis is that they are simple to use, quick to edit with and produce better quality videos than you might expect.
Brand
These videos were never going to be as high-quality as many of the other videos the university produces. In the long term, we also wanted students to be able to create these videos. So the question was, how do we brand these videos? We want to show that these videos are university content – without confusing iPad videos with higher-end content.
The branding we decided on was ‘Campus Cam’. The videos use similar nameplates to other university videos, with some slight changes in colour etc. The videos are generally kept short and fast paced. If you take a look at the videos, you can see that Campus Cam has a distinctive look and feel that I think works really well.
Capture
The first video I recorded was at the Sutton Bonington Farmers’ Market. You can watch it here. Although iPads are generally easy to use there are a few things to watch out for. The microphone is not very obvious and it’s easy to block when holding the camera. Likewise, it’s easy to block part of the lens when you’re concentrating on asking good questions of your interviewee.
The real challenges are not technical but are about creating a story in the video. Each video should have a clear purpose and it’s important when recording that every effort is made to ask good questions and procure interesting, thought-provoking answers.
Who is Campus Cam?
Although the majority of Campus Cam videos to date have been made by me, I have worked with other members of staff and students on my videos and helped them create their own.
The Digital Communications Team has recently been joined by Liam Ross who, having previously worked with us as a student, will be managing a student video team. The team will produce a variety of video content focusing on the student experience. I believe that these videos will be the best of Campus Cam – students documenting the student experience.
Final thoughts
I’ve really enjoyed taking on this creative role. It’s been great to try new ideas and develop a style of video that will hopefully be used to capture the student experience in many more videos in the coming months. Working with the digital team has given me all the technical support I’ve needed (and lots of good ideas for videos!). I’m glad that Campus Cam is being taken forward, and I look forward to watching them.”
Thanks Matt!
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