How to Make an Effective Stormwater Outreach Video

For the sixth year, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) hosted the StormTV Project. This year the competition changed in scope where judges sought to identify the best elements and practices that appear in the submissions. The intention of the project has evolved to highlight the work of stormwater professionals utilizing video presentations to communicate and educate. The competition seeks to...

To make a good video, it is essential to begin with a very clear focus on what the viewer should learn. Simple messages make the strongest videos because they can be stated upfront and repeated throughout. Careful word selection can make a message clear to a lay person, and the complexity of the message depends on the audience.

Video lets the creator take the greatest advantage of visual techniques to provide the viewer with a lot of information quickly. The trick is to use these techniques judiciously without overwhelming the viewer.

Audio can make or break a video. Audio, more than visuals, helps set the tone and feel for a video. For the beginner, the best advice is to keep things simple.

As stormwater professionals, the judges commented most actively on the technical accuracy of the entries. The highest praise received was one judge’s comment that a video “explained the topic in just enough detail to make it accessible to an audience of water professionals without excluding the general public.” This should be the aim for all public-facing videos.

Almost all social media resources agree that video messages retain users for far longer than photos or text. However, even with video, viewers drop off with time. Good message clarity, visual appeal, and audio quality will help retain viewers, but some decline will happen nonetheless.

StormTV 2017 Playlist