If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is a video worth? The two-minute admissions video for Brown University’s application has the potential to elevate an applicant. Although it’s listed as an optional submission, those who want to craft the strongest application possible should not consider this video optional. 

Luckily, based on successful videos from past cycles, Brown isn’t expecting cinematic masterpieces. Instead, they want authentic insights in the form of a sub-two-minute visual narrative about key aspects of potential students’ personalities and strengths. Crafting such a narrative can be daunting even to those who dabble in digital media creation. However, following these pointers, originally posted in our Forbes article, will make it more doable, no matter your multimedia experience level.

Before Starting

Assemble Pictures And Videos

Before you click “New Project” in whatever recording and editing program you use, there are a few ways to get started. Two minutes may not seem like a long video, but transitioning between images every two to five seconds means you might need anywhere from 24 to 60 images.

Compiling a wide variety of photos and videos can be a great place to start since the more you have, the better quality you have to choose from. These images could be from your childhood through high school. Students who want to highlight extracurricular activities–or, perhaps even a tour of Brown University–should focus on gathering those pictures early. Cell phone quality images and videos will most likely be satisfactory for this project, assuming they are taken with a reasonably modern phone. 

Brainstorming Video And Script

As you assemble a quality sample of visuals for your project, start brainstorming how to put those visuals together. Regardless of whether you’re applying in November for Early Decision or in January for Regular Decision, the sooner you start coming up with the plan the better. 

Some approaches that have worked for students in the past include: 

• Focusing on a representative image or space to create a unified story about you. For example, the applicant started with the image of her messy desk and told stories about accomplishments, hobbies, and skills that were evidenced in that space.
• Focusing on a unique skill, experience or interest. For example, the student who talked about her summer work experience challenged her idea of stereotypes and revealed aspects of her beliefs and work ethic. 
• Focusing on a montage of relatively unrelated personal insights. For example, a student used an intentionally varied, steady stream of evocative claims about themselves. A statement like “During my volunteering at a nursing home, I learned that I both deeply respect elders and can deal with death” can be followed by “I eat only 90% dark chocolate, and I’m ok being persecuted for my culinary beliefs” to create a full tapestry of personality for an engaged audience.

Nearly countless other approaches could work in this type of video, but creating a quickly moving yet easy-to-follow flow is essential in whatever plan you brainstorm.

Crafting A Quality Video

Choosing Video Editing Software And Recording Hardware

While it’s beyond the scope of this article to explore in any depth the myriad types of software available to create your video, here are a few things to consider:

• Every piece of software you use will have many tutorials and instructions on how to use them.
• While editing together a video with free software is possible, it’s probably not likely to do so with only a single program. For example, you might have to use GIMP (a free equivalent of Photoshop) to edit together multiple images into a collage that you highlight using a screenshot program (like the Snipping tool on Windows or Quicktime on Mac) to capture a special transition effect on a free presentation website like Prezi.
• While photo and video quality from a solid smartphone is satisfactory, the audio quality for a narration should come from a higher-quality device. If this is not possible, try to record in a place without echo.
• Using a mixing program (even the free equivalents, like Audacity for Windows or Garageband for Mac) to control things like a noise gate and feedback, trim out errors, and add layers and music with precise timing can take your video to the next level. 

Learning how to use these programs effectively will take time. Factoring in time to master the necessary recording, editing, mixing, and exporting skills would probably be a good idea for those with limited or no experience with them, especially because problems will most likely come up that require re-researching, re-shooting, and re-working. 

Editing

A casual Google search for how long to expect to spend editing raw footage comes up with widely diverging statistics. One website might advocate for the three-to-one rule, where you spend three hours editing for every hour of footage. That might be all you need for a casual family video, but it’s probably more accurate to say that more polished and intricate projects like this will require significantly more effort and time. A two-minute video like this will probably take over a dozen hours to edit, not including brainstorming, scripting, recording, and publishing. Leaving yourself ample time for editing is probably a good idea. 

Exporting And Submitting The Video

Applying at the last minute to Brown University (or any college) is never a good idea. If any piece of your application is missing or wrong, you have limited time to fix any mistakes. The same is true for your video introduction essay. You have one week to submit the video after either the Early Decision or Regular Decision deadline, depending on your application plan. It is better to submit it two or three days before the deadline at a minimum. That way, you have time to troubleshoot if you have technical issues. 

Final Thoughts

While it may seem daunting to create a video, students who plan ahead can seek guidance from an admissions counselor to guide them in script writing and even video production. Numerous resources are available to assist on the technical side of video creation and editing as well. The key is to start early in case any hurdles are encountered. If you put in the time necessary to assemble quality visuals, brainstorm/develop a solid plan, learn to use suitable software/hardware, you can confidently submit a great personal video that increases your chances of acceptance.