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EIT Food videos have a track record of offering great, insightful visual content for our audiences. They can create societal impact, inspire Changemakers, promote a specific course or activity, and encourage engagement with our community. The best working social media posts tend to include video content.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Top tips for creating your video
  • Audience
  • Subject and story
  • Formats
  • Social media
  • Interviews
• Making the best video from your phone
• What branding do I need to use on videos?

Top tips for creating your video

Audience

• Think who the video audience is before deciding what tone and language to use, what music (if any) to use, the length, editing aesthetics, visual content and messaging. EIT Food’s audience includes entrepreneurs, founders, farmers, policymakers, students, researchers, lecturers and journalists.
• If you’re targeting consumers or the general public with your video, you can contact FoodUnfolded's Programme Manager, Marieke van Schoonhoven, for a tailored collaboration with our public-facing media platform FoodUnfolded.com. 

Subject and story

• Consider the value and impact your video will deliver for the target audience through its narrative and content.
• Always follow EIT Food’s storytelling framework - present the challenge, justification, solution, and use a quote from a Changemaker for extra credibility.
• The best working videos show the biggest food sector challenges and then present the solutions our community is already providing and developing.
• Think what the main overarching message is that you want the video to convey before creating it, and keep this in mind during production.
• The video should inspire the audience to join the EIT Food mission, by focusing on real people and real results. 
• Most stories have five components: characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. An example of how this can be used for EIT Food is: the character is the agrifood system, the setting is southern Europe, the plot is what happens or what needs to happen, the conflict is increasing droughts, and the solution is regenerative agriculture. 
• The video should explore impact outcomes, illustrated with real examples and footage. Get inspired by these videos about Enough's Solution for a Sustainable Diet, Alternative Proteins and A Day in the Life of a Chef.
• Dialogue must be clear with little or no background noise, and people must be identified with their relevant titles. 
• Any on-screen text must be grammatically correct and free of spelling mistakes - it is often the case that subtitles are not an exact direct depiction of what is being said (e.g. non-native speakers)!  

Formats

• The footage should be filmed in landscape, not horizontal. This is a much more visually appealing style of video and is optimised for both mobile and desktop. 
• The exported file format should be MP4 and ideally HD.
• The video should be exported in:
  • Landscape aspect ratio 1920 x 1080 (16:9) 
  • Square aspect ratio 600 x 600 (1:1) ideally in HD
• EIT Food subtitles should be in British English and they need to make sense and be grammatically correct.
• Music and footage must be free of copyright. If you are unsure about this, do not use it.
• Consider content that ties in with the themes in EIT Food’s content calendar to maximise reach.

Social media

• The audience’s attention will need to be captured in the first 3 seconds if the video is to be shown on social media. 
• If you want the video to be shown on Twitter, the maximum length is 2 minutes 20 seconds, so the video will need to be created with this length in mind, or you can create a version of this length and then a longer edit for other platforms.
• We recommend short, 30 second videos for social media.
• Always include subtitles, as it will be more accessible, and more people will be likely to watch the video on social media. 
• Sprout Social has an always-up-to-date guide to video formatting for use on social media platforms.  
• For more about best practice for social media posts, read our social media articles.

Interviews

If you’re including an interview in your video, try to answer these questions:

• Why is the person featured in the video fighting for the future of food?
• How is the technology, product, research or innovation you are showcasing improving the future of food? 
• How does it work and what impact has it had already?
• How is the technology, product, research or innovation relevant to your audiences?
• What positive impact is the work you are showcasing having on society?
• What problems is it solving?
• What's at stake if innovations/technologies like these don't become the mainstream?

Making the best video from your phone

If you are creating a video from a mobile device, here are some tips to ensure the video is as good as it can be:

• Prepare your content – write a script to ensure the filming process goes smoothly.
• Find a suitable location for filming – remove all background noise and sounds. Use a banner or poster of EIT Food if you have one. Try to not film yourself just in front of a wall. Depth of field will give your image a nicer look.
• Make sure that the room has enough light. Phones aren’t great in low light, but this can be edited later or you can use a desk lamp.
• The front facing camera is easier to shoot because you can see yourself and what’s going on around you, however this is typically a lower quality than the back of your device. 
• Clean your camera lens – this can make a big difference in the video you will create.
• Set up your shot – do you have a tripod or a selfie stick? You need to set up the height slightly below eye level. If you don’t have a tripod but someone will be recording you, the key is for them to use both hands, and lock their elbows against their body for extra stability. Filming yourself whilst holding your camera is the least favourable option.
• Audio – do you have an additional microphone? If not, the built in microphone will produce good results.
• Enable flight mode or do not disturb mode - this will block off all of your calls and prevent interruptions while recording.
• Use a free online teleprompter such as: https://cueprompter.com/ – you can copy your text here and read it like a news anchor. If not, place your notes very close to your phone to avoid looking away.
• Be yourself: don’t use jargon, acronyms or words you would normally never use.

What branding do I need to use on videos?

All videos representing EIT Food activities must include the official intro and outro with the EIT Food logo and appropriate EU flag. You can download them from the branding section on the EIT Food website.

This article was last reviewed in December 2023 and will be reviewed again in December 2024.
If you have feedback on this article, do let us know. You can drop us a note via our contact form.