Quick Start Guide to WordCamp Videos

TL;DR: Don’t Panic!
Capturing great videos of your WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They’re one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. presentations should be one of your higher priorities. Video is how your event’s message will live on and be shared with the world.
It’s also easier than you think so don’t panic; read below for resources on how to record quality video of your WordCamp.

Planning: Getting Gear and wrangling volunteers

Get help — Start publicizing your call for volunteers to be in charge of video as soon as you’ve nailed down your venue.
Need equipment? — If you’re in the US, Europe or Canada, please fill in the form here to request a camera kit for your WordCamp. If you’re outside North America and Western Europe, try talking to your local university’s film school or find community volunteers who can help.
Don’t hire your help — Hiring a firm (and adding to your budget) to capture video should be a last resort. Give your local community the chance to contribute to WordCamp by donating these services instead.
No logos/sponsors in video — Pease read the guide here for more information and clarity regarding the use of logos in WordCamp videos..

Learn more about video planning for your WordCamp

Setup: What to do before the Camp starts

Camera placement — Scope the room for a place to set up. Avoid setting up in the back of the room, and place your camera about 30 feet (10 meters) from the speaker. Ask if the venue has a riser or other platform that will allow you to shoot over attendees’ heads. Make sure you film in landscape mode – videos filmed in portrait mode will not be accepted on WordPress.tv.
Sound check — Ask if you can patch into the venue’s sound board, or set up the provided wireless microphone, and test to make sure that you are getting good sound.
Frame the presenter in your shot — Frame your camera so you can see the presenter from the waist up. Don’t try to get both the presenter and the projection screen in your shot; it will only give you the worst of both!
Erase memory cards — Get your memory cards cleared out before the event, so that you have plenty of space available for filming
Find a power source — The camera battery doesn’t provide enough power for a full day of shooting, so be sure you locate an available power source at the venue and get plugged in.
Clear disk space — Be sure that you have extra space on your computer to transfer files from your card when it is full, in case you need to empty the card and use it again. Plan on about 2GB of space per hour of video.
Do a trial run — Have another volunteer get on-stage, and do a quick trial run. Play back the video to be sure that you have no issues with the sound or picture.

Learn how to set up your camera for recording

Music and Copyright Considerations

To comply with global copyright laws, when organizing a WordPress event, please only use royalty-free, public domain, or Creative Commons-licensed music in the live event space, in recorded video, and in live streams. You can find public domain and CCO music on Openverse.

✅ Music Compliance Checklist

Before your event, confirm the following:

Will music be played in the event space, live streams, or recordings?
If yes, confirm that it is royalty-free, public domain, or Creative Commons-licensed music.
Are vendors or production teams using music?
If yes, verify that it is royalty-free, public domain, or Creative Commons-licensed music.
Have you reviewed applicable copyright guidelines?
Copyright laws can vary by location. For further guidance, visit the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) music copyright resource.

By following these steps, you can prevent disruptions to your live streams, maintain control over event content, and ensure compliance with copyright laws. Please note that this is not legal advice, and it remains the responsibility of organizers, vendors, contributors, and others to ensure compliance with applicable laws.

During the event: Keeping things running smoothly

Press “Pause” between presentations — Because of the way the camera stores video on the memory card, pressing the “pause” button on the video camera between each presentation helps make sure they are stored as separate clips, rather than together in one large file. Please do not skip this important step!
Monitor the sound during recordings — Use headphones to listen to the sound as it is being recorded to the camera. This allows you to monitor any problems so you can clear them up early in the event.
Swap memory cards often — The 32 GB memory cards that are supplied with your kit . Make sure you have enough available space on your card for the talk(s) you are recording, or even swap them out early if you can, to make sure you have no issues.
Check your video as you go — When the first card comes out of the camera, take a minute to play it back on your laptop as a final check to make sure everything sounds and looks good.

After the event: Many hands make light work

Involve the community — If your WordCamp has a Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/., this is a great opportunity to invite non-coders (or anyone who loves video) to help with processing, trimming, naming, and uploading files to wordpress.tv. Mention it in your opening/closing remarks!
Call in the Mod Squad — The video moderator squad at WordPress.tv can also help with post-production to get your videos online. You can ask about that in the #wptv channel in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/..
Label all your files — Before you upload your files to wordpress.tv, make sure that each file name includes the name of your WordCamp, and the name of the presenter for that talk, so nothing gets lost when it is uploaded to WordPress.tv.
Get links to slides — Slides are an important part of making sure that videos get on to wordpress.tv. Make sure to get links to slides from all the presenters, so that you can include them with your videos when you upload them.

Learn more about getting your videos ready to publish online