How to Shoot Your Own Success Story Video

There are so many great stories behind Fundraising campaigns, and sharing your story through video is incredibly powerful and engaging. With video, you can capture the attention of others, raise awareness, and ultimately, raise more support for your cause.

People are scared by how much time and effort making a video takes, but today I’m going to walk you through how to quickly and easily shoot your own success story video using just your smartphone.

There are 4 key steps to shooting your own video:

1. Write your story
2. Setup for recording
3. Record
4. Edit and share

Write Your Story

The first thing you should do is write out your story in your own words.

Make sure you’ve included the five Ws:

• Who you are
• Where you’re located
• When you launched your campaign
• Why you started your Fundraiser
• What impact your Fundraiser had

Be sure to talk in detail about who or what you raised money for and your personal connection with them – this is what makes your story so powerful.

Setup for Recording

The first thing you need is a room that has lots of indirect light and no noise. Setting up next to a window that’s facing either north or south will create a very flattering light on your face.

It’s also best to be in a room that has many soft things, like padded chairs, pillows, and blankets. These soft objects will help to absorb noise as you speak so your voice echoes less.

When it comes to holding and positioning your phone, your best option is to use a tripod. If you want, you can get a tripod mount made specifically for holding phones, or you can make it work with some tape.

Another option, if you can’t get a tripod, is to stack some books to raise your phone, then hold it between two books at the top. It won’t look pretty, but it should get the job done.

With the room ready and camera setup, it’s time for you to get in front of the camera. You want to be as close to the camera as possible for the best audio recording, but far enough away that you feel and look comfortable on camera – around 2-3 feet away.

Have someone adjust the camera so that you’re in the center. They should also make sure that you don’t have too much space above your head. Some – but not too much.

Record

One last thing before you start recording – have your camera person press and hold down on your face on the screen. In virtually all current smartphones, this will lock the exposure and focus so that the look of your video stays consistent while recording.

Now you’re all set to record your story – just hit the big red button!

Edit and Share

After you’re finished recording, you should be able to trim the beginning and end of your videos. It’s a good idea to remove any extra, unnecessary parts – you only want to keep the good stuff!

Once your story is ready, it’s time to share it! Sharing your story can help you raise more awareness and connect with other people who also care about your cause.

You can upload your video directly to YouTube or Facebook from your phone. Once it’s uploaded, be sure to send share with us in the comments section below!

Now you can create your own great-looking success story video and share it with the world.