What to Expect When Being Part of Our Video Shoots

This page gives basic info on what to expect. To learn what you might be doing each hour, read our Example Schedule.

Professionalism On The Set

Friends and parents should not phone or text you during the shoot. You will be expected to completely turn off your cell phone (including vibration) when the camera is filming. Absolutely no texting during shoots allowed.

Only students being videotaped can attend shoots. You will be able to check in with parents via phone between filmings, but they cannot attend the shoot. In some cases, we can agree to allow a friend who has also played on a sports team, but this must be arranged two weeks in advance and your team-mate must also perform all the requirements that you met to attend the shoot.

This will NOT be a vacation. You will be working the entire weekend. Time flies by fast, shoots take longer than expected, technical problems occur and you will be faced with full schedule each day.

It is important that you understand how busy you will be before agreeing to participate. Surprisingly, there may not be time available to visit a gym, shop or hit the bars. Please review our example schedule

Excitement after the first day of shooting can lead students to want to blow off steam at a bar, but it is important to get ample sleep on your first night because you will be awoken at 7AM the next day.

You will be expected to filmed for 10 short videos per day. Each will be 1-2 minutes in length.

Indoors or Outdoors

Videos in which you speak are almost always filmed indoors due to background noise.

When shooting indoors. The photographer may want to schedule your shoot at certain times when the most sunlight fills a room. This is why you need to be available at specific hours.

When you shoot outdoors, no microphone is used and no sound is recorded. The schedule for the day is determined by available sunlight.

You will Be Part of a Script Review

For each video, we use the text from a published "Tip" as a script. A script review is where each "Tip" is printed from the site and you and a professional go through each Tip in the same room, reading the text out loud, line-by-line.

By practicing, you become familiar with the material and assure that sentences make sense and can be easily pronounced. Remember, the easier the dialogue is to say, the better the video will be.

The script review is the last chance to make improvements to dialogue and assure all props will be on hand and every aspect that needs attention is addressed before stepping in front of the camera.

Most people become tired after traveling. You will be reviewing your scripts within a few hours after arriving, so you will need to be sharp and not tired. This is why it is crucial that you get a lot of sleep the night before your shoot.

Food

Light snacks and juice will be available at the shoot to keep your energy levels high. If you have a special diet, please inform us beforehand. You will not have time available to visit a grocery store or GNC. Bring any special needs food or supplements you want.

Gyms

We will make an attempt to provide time for you to work out, but we cannot guarantee this due to scheduling.

Make-up

We use clear transluscent powder on men's faces and have them add clear mascara to eyelashes.

Videos that require more than one person

We tend to choose topics that only require one student. Exceptions are made for topics that require multiple people (such as wrestling, tackling). When multiple students are scheduled for a shoot, topics must be planned in advance. For details on bringing a partner to a shoot, please read our policy.