WordPress.tv Needs You

If you’d like to submit a screencast, video presentation or WordCamp video to WordPress.tv, here are a few guidelines as to what we’re looking for. Our #1 objective is to share quality content that shows our visitors how to use WordPress and do awesome things with it.

WordPress Meetup and WordCamp Videos

If you have recorded some great WordPress Meetup or WordCamp content, we’d love to see it! Because this site also features official video from various WordCamps worldwide, we would like you to consider the following to help ensure high quality submissions:

• Video Quality – Consider using a tripod, monopod, gorillapod, or any other way of keeping your camera steady – shaky camerawork can make people feel seasick. Also give some thought to the position you’re going to be shooting from. Try to get close to the action. If the speaker is using presentation slides, try to get both the speaker and the sides in the frame together, as in this example.  If you plan to insert presentation slides in post-production (as shown here) try to focus on the speaker instead.
• Audio Quality – Please make sure audio is clear and easy to understand. If Q&A or audience interaction is a significant part of the content, can everyone be heard clearly? If not, is the speaker repeating their questions? Consider using a shotgun microphone at a minimum, and if possible to ask permission to source audio from the soundboard being used for the event’s PA. If you’re using a built-in mic, try to get as close to the action as possible and check that your input/gain levels are set appropriately (wearing headphones while recording is a big help.)
• Post-Production – Good post-production of the video is a great way to elevate the value of your submission with viewed. If possible, simply adding titles for the speakers name and the name of the presentation at the head and tail of your video is helpful. If the speaker uses slides in their presentation, editing the video to include still images of the slides along with a clear video of the presenter, is always a plus. Videos like this represent the kind of content we like to feature on WordPress.tv. Please don’t add sponsor or producer logos to the videos.
• Additional Resources – If the video you are uploading includes a slide presentation, a link to an online version of the of the presentation slides (Slideshare, Speaker Deck, PDF, etc.) is a good thing to include. Links to source code examples or code repos are also desirable if they are an important part of the information being discussed in the video.

Screencasts

We’d love to share your screencast tutorials. The most important things to think about here are:

• Be Concise – Shorter, focused videos are proven to give you a better chance of retaining viewer interest.
• Use Clear Narration – Is the narration easy to hear? Is it easy to read the text or see what’s happening?
• Stay on Track – Videos that stay on topic are preferred. Wandering instructions that are not on topic or contain unnecessary “ums and ahs” are rarely useful to viewers. Since we link back and credit all of our sources, we also feel it’s more useful to share videos that aren’t chock-full of personal promotion (aka video spam), rants, or your life history. Personality is good; boring or spamming people isn’t.
• Follow the Action – If your video shows the WordPress Admin interface (commonly referred to as the dashboard) or other user interface elements, be sure that viewers can follow the action on the screen. Using cursor highlighting or callouts (dedicated screen recording software can help) or on-screen text explanation also helps increase the value of your tutorial.
• Keep it Current – to avoid confusion, we’d rather share content from the most current version of WordPress.com or WordPress.org (3.5+) wherever possible. Videos that use a legacy version of WordPress might not be published.

Vodcasts and other video-based content

If you’ve put together a video podcast or other WordPress-focused video that does not fit into the above categories – let us know about it. Interviews, reviews, animation, and anything else you think might be useful for WordPress users are all things we’d love to check out. All of the quality guidelines above apply, and it goes without saying that we’d prefer to publish videos that are positive and constructive, rather than critical or defamatory.

About the Videos We Publish

WordPress TV is a moderated community and the videos we publish are for the benefit of all users of WordPress. As such, our content is meant to be a reflection of the values of the WordPress project; therefore, videos published to WordPress.tv must:

• respect the WordPress trademark,
• embrace the WordPress license,
• only promote WordPress-derivative works (themes, plugins, and other distros) that are suitable for promotion at wordpress.org,
• and be free of spam, incitement to violence, and discrimination of any kind.

Submissions

If you’re ready to submit, upload your video here. Our content is moderated by volunteers, and so it might take 4-6 weeks before your content is published. Make sure you include your email address in the submission so we can contact you with any questions.

Keep your eyes peeled for more hints and tips in the WordPress.tv blog.