You do not need expensive equipment to make a good video. Use what you got. A good smartphone is more than enough. If you do not ave any equipment fo shoot a video, you can always contact us and we wil see what we can do.
It is super important that you hold your smartphone horizontal when filming. This is the landscape mode’. If you want to make the images mare stable, you can always use a tripod. You don’t have a tripod? No problem! You can easily make one from a stack of books. If you keep your smartphone in your hand when filming, try to move as little as possible.
Try not to interview more than two children at the same time. Let them look straight in the lens when they are talking.
Be sure to put the children close enough to your smartphone. This way you get better audio quality. Find a quiet spot and ask everybody to be completely silent when you start filming.
De video’s that we make at Equator are divided in three parts: the intro, the middle and the outro
In the intro you introduce yourself and you quickly explain the topic you will discuss in the video. For example: “Hi, we are Jack and Rose from Oaktree elementary in Paddington. Today we will talk about sustainable gardening.”
Now make a second video. In this video you will explain the story. This clip can last around two minutes. It is crucial that you reflect on the topic before filming. You do not have know what you are about to say by heart. It is best to be as spontaneous as possible. The children have to tell their on story.
In the last piece of the video we want to ask children across the earth to respond to this video. Fort example: “How do you tackle gender equality in your country? We are curious to know! Pleas send us a video in response!”
It is necessary to make short clips that fit the theme of your video. If you talk about waste, make sure to include clips of the subject. In this case the waste. It is even better when you film your class recycle the waste.
A finished video of two minutes requires around 20 extra short clips to get a good result. So make sure to make enough video’s.
If you ask children a question they are likely to give a short answer. For example, if you ask them what their favourite dish is they might respond with: “Brussels sprouts”. But that’s way too short to be used in a video. That’s why it is important for them to speak in complete sentences. Children will respond easier in full sentences when you ask them an open question.
“What is your favourite dish and why?” “My favourite dish is Brussels sprouts because I cultivate the with my parents in our garden. They taste so much better when they come from our own garden because we don’t use pesticides and that’s better for me and for our garden!”
Look at that, that’s an answer we can use! Make sure to comfort the children during the interview. Ask them a lot of questions around the same theme. And remember: the answers are more important then the questions. We only use the answers when we edit these video’s. That’s why you don’t interrupt their answers. The children should be able to say what they want.
If you used your smartphone to film, you can send them to us via Whatsapp. It is also possible to use Wetransfer and mail us the link. And then it is our turn!
When we receive the video’s you’ve made, we will edit these to a video for Equator. We have a bunch of volunteers to do the editing. When we are done with the editing we will subtitle it five languages and post it on our platform.
If you register for our platform, you will be able to see all the video’s on our platform.
Do you have a question for us? Please mail to hello@myequator.net.