Handy Hints For Newspaper Video

Blogger Andy Dickinson has looked at the online video offerings from the UK broadsheets and drawn up a list of his top tips for improvement.



So from his perusal of the Guardian, Times, Telegraph and FT websites, here’s some of the highlights from Dickinson’s recommendations.

* Embed Video With Articles

“This should be high on your list of things to get right. Getting mixed media on a page, when the story allows, is like adding nitrous to your news section.”

* Video Must Tie In With Text

“The problem is that without the article that content becomes just another talking head or blurry splodge.”

He adds: “So if you remove the video from the context it fails.”

* Pass On Pre-Rolls

“For me a pre-roll ad in embedded video is like those banner ads that break up an article page after the first couple of pars.”



* Take Time Over Poster Frames

“If you have an embedded video player on the page then it should display a meaningful poster frame (the image it shows until the user presses play).

“You should apply the same editorial consideration to selecting these images as you would a photograph.”

See the full article with its 11 top tips for newspaper video at andydickinson.net.