Submit Multimedia
The Office of Communications accepts submissions of video, audio and slideshows that relate to and depict academic or campus life and that are produced by Princeton students, faculty members, staff members or approved campus organizations.
Submitted multimedia will be considered for presentation on the University home page, the Multimedia pages, in news stories, the University's YouTube channel or in other publications, and are subject to the guidelines and procedures that follow.
Scheduling
Campus video producers should notify Evelyn Tu of a planned video submission as early as possible, with an expected delivery date and the date of any related events, so that we can include your project in our schedule.
Each video production should be submitted to Evelyn Tu at least one week before its intended debut date.
Submission guidelines
We ask that videos be informative and/or entertaining but not be promotional in tone. However, you can mention the date/time and location of an event with a slate of text at the end of the video. We also can hotlink to an event announcement or other additional information in the supplemental text that appears next to the video.
Keep videos to a maximum of 3 minutes in length. Shorter is better, as viewers tend to watch briefer videos more completely. If your video exceeds 3 minutes, please submit a trailer or the segment of it that you want shown and, if possible, provide a link to the full version, as we rarely will show videos that are longer than 3 minutes.
When using text to show the title of an individual, you must include appropriate proper names and should not use slang or abbreviations.
An audio transcript of the submitted video, including dialog and names of speakers, must accompany all submissions.
Copyright and intellectual property
For videos and multimedia to be considered for University websites, you must have created and/or have permission to use all content, including video and still imagery, words and music. You also will need to gain permission if your video shows sets, props, lighting and/or costumes designed by individuals who are not part of the campus community.
The University discourages video and multimedia producers from adding background music that they did not compose themselves. The exception is using music for which you have obtained explicit permission from all copyright holders, including holders of lyrics, composition, performance and recording rights.
Brief instances of incidental background music in a scene may be acceptable, according to generally agreed-upon fair-use guidelines. Examples of incidental music include a recording made during a performance or sporting event, from which the video producer could not remove the background music.
Alternatives to using copyrighted sound recordings for background music include:
- ambient noise,
- audio that is shared via a Creative Commons license,
- compositions and recordings by friends who grant you permission,
- music you create yourself,
- free audio loops included with software such as GarageBand and FinalCut Pro.
Appearance releases
Princeton students and faculty and staff members do not need to sign an appearance release form if they appear in a video on a University website.
The University requires that signed release forms accompany all videos considered for posting on the Web if the video includes someone in the following two categories:
- any person younger than 18 who is clearly recognizable and/or speaks in the video. A parent or legal guardian must sign the child/ward release form.
- any person 18 or older who speaks in a video and who is NOT a current student or faculty or staff member at Princeton. Each such individual must sign the recording release form.
Copies of all signed forms must be submitted with your video submission.
Audio recommendations
We strongly recommend renting an external microphone so that you'll capture better audio of people speaking directly to the camera. Starting with higher-quality audio saves editing time and makes the final product easier to hear. Student videomakers can rent microphones at Media Services.
The audio levels should generally "peak" at -8db to -6db so that they are not too loud or too soft for the viewers. You can adjust these levels in FinalCut Pro or other video editing software.
Other technical services are available to Princeton faculty, students and staff through the New Media Center and Broadcast Center.
File formats and transfers
The easiest ways for members of the University community to share video files are:
- the largest Quicktime (.mov) or Windows Media Player (.avi) file that you can fit on a DVD, delivered to the Office of Communications, 22 Chambers St., first floor.
- an uncompressed Quicktime (.mov) or Windows Media Player (.avi) file that you can transfer using the Office of Information Technology's WebSpace. After uploading the file, please be sure to check the items you are sending and then use the E-mail button to send notification to Evelyn Tu (etu@princeton.edu).