Recently it has become more and more popular in AEGEE to record high quality videos and make them go viral on the internet. Two antennae that are good in that matter are AEGEE-Napoli and AEGEE-Kyiv, and they are therefore both nominated for The AEGEEans Choice Awards 2013.
From AEGEE-Napoli’s video
The AEGEEan interviewed both antennae to get to know more about their love for video making.
The AEGEEan: Why do you create a lot of videos in your antennae?
Giovanni Cerullo (AEGEE-Napoli) In our antenna there are a lot of people that love movies and that are attracted by making short films. At the beginning it was a kind of game, we were just trying to do our best to see what we could do. Then we got addicted, and anytime is the perfect opportunity to make a new one. Furthermore video and YouTube in general are nowadays a very important way to make viral advertising. They give you the opportunity to reach hundreds of people by few clicks. So it’s an opportunity to catch!
Anna Kotovych (AEGEE-Kyiv): It is a great chance to capture moments. Video is something more “alive” than pictures; on video you can see more emotions, actions, smiles. Video is something you keep hold online, and there is less possibility for it to get lost. Very often people are too lazy to watch albums on Facebook, Picasa or any other photo servers or social networks. Videos are more dynamic, and more attractive. And we just have people that like to do this.
What is the golden recipe for a good video?
Giovanni: If you want to make an advertisement, I think it should be short, clear and funny. If it’s too long people will not watch it and if it’s boring people will not share it.
Anna: The main recipe most probably is the mood of the video. If people are enjoying the time spending together, on video you can easily see this. Also the idea is a point. If there is a creative idea, and you know approx. how it should look like in the end, half of the work is already done!
What is the best advice you can give to other antennae that find it difficult to make videos?
Giovanni: They just have to try. When we started recording videos in October we did not know at all how to do it. Then we found it was so funny to be a director or an actor, and also our members realized that. Now we have a lot of people that want to participate in our videos, especially the new members. So therefore with a good video you can make a great advertisement, and you can also let your members enjoy!
Anna: First if all, don’t be afraid! It is much easier than you think. Just think about the video in advance. You don’t need to have a professional scriptwriter or a director with huge experience. Just a person that enjoys to do this and can hold a camera in their hands and presses button “rec” two times: start and stop.
Use any user-friendly video editors, and, voilà – you have a nice or even great video, that you, your local, friends, family and the whole Network can enjoy while watching, and smiling.
AEGEE-Napoli during their roll call in Budapest
Besides being nominated for best video AEGEE-Napoli is also honoured for their creative mindset when it comes to rollcalls. When asked about how they came up with the idea the answer was: “We really wanted to make something original, but funny. So we decided to sing that Napolitan rap song that talks about a hefty boy, you know people that go to the gym every day and that eat only proteins. If you have ever met us, you would know that we are not like that at all. That’s why we found really funny to sing that song and to sing it in that way.” AEGEE-Napoli use it because they value the creativity and how it will make people remember your antenna. It gets people talking and it is therefore a different kind of advertising for the antenna.
There is no doubt that AEGEE-Kyiv and AEGEE-Napoli are not the only creative antennae in the Network but they do set a good example and hopefully more will follow them in the future.
Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København