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12 months ago

How to make your submission video great

There is still plenty of time in Graph for All Challenge. But we recommend getting started early. Submissions are due April 20th before 11:45pm EDT. 

Here are some tips to prepare your video 

We know as devs and innovators, your expertise normally lies behind the scenes, however, the submission video needs time too! It's often the first (and sometimes only!) thing that judges review.

Your video tells the story behind your submission. Here are some quick tips to help you prepare your required 3-minute video:: 

  1. Establish your elevator pitch. In the first few seconds of your video, explain how your solution meets the requirements and what tools you used to do it.
    Within 60 seconds, viewers tend to lose interest, so use this time wisely to keep them engaged!
  2. Show, don't tell. Providing real life context and showing users firsthand how your app benefits users will help judges and voters understand and appreciate your solution.
  3. Keep it simple. Your video shouldn't be longer than three minutes.
  4. Get organized. Write out a script of what you’ll say and demonstrate in your video and rehearse it before recording.  Essentially a good script should talk about:
    • The problem statement that you chose
    • Explain the features and functionality during your project demo
    • Explain the project's strength in each of the four judging criteria

Pro Tip: Don't wait until the last minute to upload your video. Due to file size, format, and your Internet connection, uploading a video to Facebook Video, YouTube, Vimeo, or Youku could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.  We cannot stress this enough!  There have been many times a submission becomes ineligible due to errors with video rendering and uploading.

We can’t wait to see your project and how you showcase it in your video.