Video Guidelines

Putting together a video can be an excellent way of promoting your paper. Authors who make a video that we can share on the blog and social media often find that their papers are downloaded more and often reach a wider audience. Videos can also be embedded in your published article.

If you decide to create a video about your research, it should aim to describe:

The context of the work
The method and how to use it
Why the work is novel

Videos can be particularly useful for readers of Application or Practical Tools articles: you can use the video to demonstrate how to use your tool effectively.

Tips for making your own video

Please try to explain in way accessible to a lay person or first-year student. Videos are usually created by the author, but promoted by our journal, both on our website and YouTube channel, as well as our social media accounts.

However if you are interested in putting together a video but don’t have post production means feel free to contact the journal about collaborating on putting together a video.

Your video should be two to five minutes long and if possible should be designed to promote your work using captivating visuals, such as videos, images, and an engaging and informative voice over. Try and keep your messaging easy to understand and concise. It’s always good to think from the perspective of the viewer focusing on want the most important things to know about your articles. You can choose to appear on video or just narrate as a voice over.

It may be helpful to contact your institution’s Press Office about your video, as they may be able to help or have their own media production kit to help you create your video.

Your institution may also have a Media Studies course with recording equipment and students willing to help with the recording and/or post-production editing.

You should draft your voice over text in advance and make sure you speak clearly. It’s always worth checking your recording equipment first, so you can be sure that you’re not positioned too far from the microphone, that the camera gets all of you, etc.

You should also make sure that your video starts or finishes with a slide of your paper title and author list.

Video Styles

Interview-style format

Involve two authors in your video by having one interview the other about your article. See Fairly-Small-Yellow-Bird ask Mr Blueberry about the Diversitree application here!

Video with voice over

This is especially effective if you have nice video footage of your method being used.

Slide Presentation

If you don’t have any appropriate video footage and don’t want to star in your video, talking over a deck of slides or photos of your methods is another alternative.