Hi everyone! It’s Areej again, a games software engineering student from Egypt. This time I am going to talk about my experience making vlogs as a BU Student Ambassador, as well as giving you some tips for filming and editing them.

My Personal Experience: First Time Vlogging

I have filmed and edited 3 vlogs for Bournemouth University so far. I am a shy person, and I still suffer from some sort of stage-fright even when filming myself in my dorm room. I wanted to try vlogging as a means of getting over that fear and to make some extra money, so I took one of the blogs I’d written and turned it into a script for a vlog. I had no video editing or filming experience before I started vlogging as a BU Student Ambassador, so it was a little bit of a struggle at first. Initially, my vlog didn’t get approved, but I was sent tips about some edits I could make. After making these changes, it was approved right away.

Filming Tips:

There isn’t much to say when it comes to filming tips. Vlogs aren’t expected to be a 2-minute high quality movie. Just use your phone if it has a decent enough camera (I’m using an S8+), choose a good lighting spot (my room lights were sufficient) and most importantly, be yourself. I personally prefer to write a script before I start filming as I tend to start ranting about one particular topic and then forget the rest of the points I want to make. Even if you don’t have that problem, I would still recommend that you write down the key points you want to make before filming, especially if it’s more of an informative vlog. In addition, I was advised to dress appropriately to respect different cultures and their customs (a t-shirt is fine.)

Some people prefer to film the entire vlog in one take. I wish I could do that, but I can’t, so I end up filming a couple of sentences at a time and then take a short break.

Editing Tips

• Cut out all the “umms” and “ahhs,” and all the silent parts of your vlogs.
• Use transitions.
• If you can, insert pictures and videos of things you are talking about.
• If you use background music (I use it because silence is awkward,) make sure that it doesn’t drown you out, and that it isn’t copyrighted. There are plenty of copyright-free songs available online.
• Include a title card with your name, your course and the topic of the vlog. Personally, I like to include title cards for the different points I’m making throughout the video too.

In conclusion: Is it worth it?

How much you’ll enjoy creating vlogs will all depend on who you are. It can be quite time-consuming. If you’re an editing god, or someone who isn’t too shy to be on camera etc., it could take you as little as two hours to make a vlog and edit it. It took me a total of three to four hours to make and edit mine which is the amount of time that we are paid for. From a monetary perspective, I’d say it is totally worth it! You are paid for four hours of work per vlog, as opposed to two hours per blog. If you like, you can easily turn a blog into a script for a vlog and ask to submit it as a vlog instead. It’s a totally worthwhile experience if you enjoy editing. I personally enjoyed learning about editing techniques while experimenting with my vlogs.