Technical note for video presentations

This technical note is part of the Joint Call for Video Presentations to IAMCR Madrid 2019.

Kindly note that for a valid submission using video presentations, the presenter has to both submit - 1/ a document in the IAMCR paper submission database, and 2/ a video file transfer (e.g., via WeTransfer) to the relevant Section and Working Group. In absence of either of these submissions, the presentation cannot be a part of the final conference programme.

Further, as indicated in the call for video presentations, video presenters are themselves responsible for uploading their videos, and for providing a download link, before or on the regular IAMCR “full papers” submission deadline, which is 7 June 2019.

This technical note has to be read in conjuncture with the call for video presentations.

I. Instructions for Video Presentation Submission

To be a valid submission, the video download link (using e.g., WeTransfer, or your own server) must be:

  1. Copied into a document, together with the presentation title, author(s) and abstract, and correctly uploaded as a full paper in the IAMCR paper submission database (before the deadline), AND
  2. Emailed (before the deadline) to the contact person of the relevant Section and Working Group, which is:

Participatory Communication Research Section (PCR)
Siddharth Chadha at <pcr.secretariat [at] im.uu.se>

Community Communication and Alternative Media Section (CCAM)
Andrea Medrado at <andreamedrado [at] id.uff.br>

Popular Culture Working Group (POC)
Tonny Krijnen at <krijnen [at] eshcc.eur.nl>

Media and Sport Section (MES)
Alina Bernstein at <alinabernstein [at] gmail.com> AND Javier Ramon at <xavier.ramon [at] upf.edu>

Environment, Science and Risk Communication Working Group (ESR)
Pieter Maeseele at <pieter.maeseele [at] uantwerpen.be>

Other IAMCR sections and working groups are not participating in this call for video presentations, and you cannot submit video presentations to them, only to one of these 5 sections and working groups.

II. Technical Guidelines for the Production of the Video

1. Recording Equipment and Editing

Video: You can record this presentation with a DSR camera, a web-cam, a handy-cam or even with a smart phone. We recommend that you use the highest quality settings while recording the video.

Audio: It is highly recommended that you use an external microphone to record the audio voice over. Do ensure that you record the audio in a quiet space, with no background noises.

Editing: You may use any editing software, including iMovies, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Snagit or Camtasia (https://www.techsmith.com/ - there is a 30-day free trial period for the last two). You can also use Power Point Presentation or Keynote with a recorded voice over to create a QuickTime video. For audio editing, you can use Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/).

2. Technical Specifications for the Video

Please consider the following technical specifications for your video:
    • Mp4, H264, or .mov format
    • 720 p dimension (not HD)
    • 24 to 30 fps compression (either NTSC or PAL are ok)
    • The output file size should not exceed 2GB
    • The maximum duration of a video is 12 minutes.

3. Visual Style

    • We highly recommend that you avoid recording a video with only a “talking head”.
    • When recording yourself talking to the camera please frame above the shoulders and record with the camera aligned to the eyes.
    • The video could also include slides, graphics, photographs, film material, etc. to support your presentation.

4. Subtitling

Please consider subtitling your video in English or one of the other working languages of IAMCR (Spanish or French). Please note that subtitling is a request, and not compulsory.

5. Upload

We recommend using We Transfer (https://wetransfer.com/) for uploading your final video . You can then use the downloadable link to make the submission. But you can also upload the file, for instance, on your own server.
Please test the video file download before submitting the link (following the procedure describe in 1), if this is technically possible.

In case of serious problems, please contact your S&WG contact person (see the list of people and email addresses above), as early as possible. However, kindly note that the participating IAMCR sections and working groups do not have the ability to assist you with the actual production your video. It is entirely the authors’ responsibility to create, upload and submit the video as per the guidelines provided in this document.

III. Live Q&A at the conference

At least one of the authors is required to be available (live, on Skype or an alternative endorsed by the relevant S&WG) *immediately after* their video presentation screening, in order to answer questions from the audience.

Our objective to make the combination of the video screening and Q&A efficient and seamless for the audience. Hence, do follow the Q&A guidelines below for the after-screening discussion at the conference.

    a. Before the conference programme is announced: Please make sure to have one author available for the entire duration of the conference programme, as rescheduling presentation slots will be unlikely.

    b. When the conference programme is announced: Please make sure to have one author available online 20 minutes before the panel is scheduled.

    c. The presenting author should be connected to the Skype call before the panel begins to avoid mid-way disruptions during the panel. 

    d. For the Q&A, we suggest Skype VoiP as the first preference ‐ however, if Skype connections are not good enough, or they fail midway during the panel, the panel chair will then switch to chat (Skype or Google) as the back-up option.

    e. In case a connection completely fails due to technical problems, the panel chair will then close the connection, collect all questions from the audience and email them to the video presenter (and the section or working group contact person) after the panel is completed.