Friday Focus: Getting Started with Video Editing

This Friday we looked at Getting Started with Video Editing, our notes for the session are available here and the session is included below.

Here are our additional tips to consider when you start editing videos.
1. Storyboard
Some people just like to get stuck straight in and make it work, but if you've made a storyboard at first, you have a plan of where you are going which will make your life easier wen trying to piece together your clips.
2. The Right Tools
Linking back to storyboarding, if you know what you want from your video make sure you have the right tool to edit. If you know you need to create a video with text then make sure your editing software does text! This will save you time later, rather than end up putting your files through multiple software and wasting time exporting over and over again!
3. Know Your Limits
Video editing is a skill that will take time to grow! You also need to consider your computer limits, a basic computer isn't going to handle multiple 4K video files with multiple layers! Just start simple and grow from there. For most businesses a simple video with text and transition will be all you need!
4. Understand Exporting
This can seem complicated but having a basic understanding of your exporting options will help you in the long run. A video file for YouTube need's to be different to one you'd use on a TV. Luckily there are great explanations online if you want to know what settings you'd need for your purpose.
5. Experiment
So slight contradiction of the first point but have a play and an experiment! Video editing is a skill and takes time and practise to perfect. If you don't explore your software and try different techniques you'll never learn more! So experiment as you never know what you'll find.

Next week we will be looking at supporting staff with a VLE system! Something we help a lot of businesses sort so excited to share some knowledge with you. See you next week.

Friday Focus: Getting Started With Podcasting

This week on Friday Focus we took a look at some basics to get you and your business started on podcasting. It's a great way to add another layer to your online branding, and can be fun and easy to do! The notes for this  stream are available here and below is the catch up for the stream.

Feeling inspired to get stuck in, well then, here are some tips and advice for starting a podcast.
1. Know Your Topic.
Your podcast should be on something you are knowledgeable on and also enjoy. Those listening will be able to hear it in if you're not and that won't build the audience's trust and they probably won't return.
2. Get The Appropriate Gear.
To be clear, we are not suggesting go out and spend £100s on microphones and mixing desks, but have the right equipment for you. We looked at Anchor during the stream, maybe you want to invest in a better microphone to improve sound quality that the one you have in your phone. Sound quality and ease is important, therefore having the appropriate equipment is key. Maybe down the line you will want to invest in more advanced, expensive products but for now, just ensure you have appropriate, decent basic equipment.
3. Plan Your Format.
Your format needs to run between every podcast, think of it as another type of branding. Your listeners will expect to here A,B and C every week. Even the podcasts that seem like just a casual chat will have some form of planning behind them.
4. Consistency.
Similar to plan your format, but consistency is important particularly with time. Though there's no rule to how long a podcast should be, try keep your podcasts a similar length. If I know the episodes are normally 30 minutes long, then I can listen to that on my 35 minute commute. You suddenly post an episode 45 minutes then suddenly I don't have time to listen to the whole thing. This can cause annoyance to your listeners.
5. Have Fun.
If you are having it'll come across to your viewers. This is your podcast so have fun talking about a topic you're passionate about this could be anything from sports to sandwiches. Those listening what to hear about the topic so make sure you are passionate! There's no point doing a podcast based on what you think people want to hear on a topic, deliver the message you want people to hear. Have fun with whatever your subject is!

So these are some extra tips for your podcasting journey, do you think you'll get started after our stream? Let us know so we can listen in!

Next week's stream on the 29th will be Getting Started With Video Editting, another really great tool for your business to adapt. See you next week!

Friday Focus: Creating a Web Based App Without Code

This Friday we looked at creating a web based app using the program Glide. The useful perk of this platform is that requires no coding knowledge, just basic understanding of using a spreadsheet. You can read the notes for this session here and the catch up of the stream is below.

Now here are some of our top tips for using Glide to make an app for your business:
1. Utilise the templates. For some diving in head first may work, but if you want to have a play, Glide has some great pre built apps ready for you to populate.
2. Experiment. Unless you try you never know! Glide has a diverse rang of tools to use, you may end up using something you never thought of.
3. Test! Make sure you test as we go, although there is a lot less room for errors than coding a whole app, we all make mistakes. Luckily Glide does update in real time so if something does go wrong even when your app is live, it's quick fix.

We hope we will see you again next Friday where we will be looking at getting started with podcasts!

Friday Focus: Effective Digital Communication

Another Friday and another Friday Focus. This week we were focusing on Effective Digital Communication. If you didn't manage to watch our stream you can watch it below and here are the notes for this session.


As we used Discord as an example platform this week, our top tips are going to be focused around that. It's a really useful tool that is being utilised by work places and digital communities a like so a tool worth an explore. Here are our top tips for using Discord:

1) Active your Keybinds. We are all familar with keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+C for copy, but some tools, including Discord, allow you to set your own shortcuts. This can be used for really useful tools, such as a push to mute/talk key when in voice chat to quickly mute your mike in a chat.
2) In app audio settings. We aren't all blessed with a quality microphone, fortunately Discord has some tools that can improve your sound! The only negative is that you cannot hear your sound yourself so it'll be a team effort to get your sound right but a really great setting from the app.
3) Using the pager. This obviously is inspired by the now outdated pager, and as you'd expect it allows you send direct notifications to those in a chat or even to a direct user. Great for when you need to send out an important update or need a response.
4) Use typographical emphasis. Sometimes a word just needs to be bold to really drive home a point. Fortunately you can! Discord allows for bold, italics, underlined and strike through formatting of your text. You simply put * * around what you want to be bold and it's done. You can find a full list of options on the support page.
5) Control your notifications. Discord is used by so many communities and if you are in multiple servers, the notifications and become overwhelming. Particularly in larger groups, that can be a lot of messages! Fortunately you are able to mute servers so you aren't drowning in them every time you log in! Also great if you want to turn off notifications of a work chat when not working to be able to relax.

Will you be looking at Discord for your business? What other tools are you considering from our stream? We will see you next Friday for our Friday Focus which is going to explore Supporting and Training Others with Technology and specifically using Chrome Remote Desktop. See you Friday!

Friday Focus: Digitally Collaborating on Documents with Google Drive

Another Friday which means another Friday Focus. This week we were looking at ways to work collaboratively with your team whilst working remotely. A really valuable and practical tool to use both now and once we return to normal. Stream is below and if you would like the notes, here they are.



Now you're up to date, here's our 5 top tips for using Google Drive:

1. Google Drive has the capabilities of converting text from PDFs and images straight into a document file, so useful and time saving compared to retyping it all!
2. You can save time bu turning on email notifications when someone had edited a document. No more checking just in case someone has done some work.
3. If there are multiple people using a document at once, you can use the built in chat feature to discuss options. This is great for simple queries like does this make sense or what do you think of this font choice?
4. Google Drive allows for colour coding items, so to use our project as an example we could colour code each business we support for quick and easy access to each businesses files.
5. Take advantage of ownership levels. Sometimes a document doesn't need editing, just a second opinion. There are 4 levels of ownership on Google Drive: Owners, Editors, Commenters or Viewers. You can invite colleagues and give them as much editing abilities as you like.

So those are our 5 tips for Google Drive. Next week we will be focusing on digital communication. Definitely not one to be missed!

Friday Focus: Utilising Free Video Conference Tools

In case you missed our first exciting edition of "Friday Focus" please find it below, and here is the link to the notes.


It would be impossible for us to cover everything, and there's other platforms out there for your business to try but here are some top tips which you can apply to all video conferencing tools:

1. Consider your internet speed. We sadly are not all blessed with fibre internet and video conferencing needs a lot of your bandwidth. So, consider, do you need to show your face or will just voice work? You could also look at plugging in your laptop direct with a LAN cable. Disconnect other  devices from the wifi, you don't need to be on your phone checking Facebook when business calls!
2. Have an agenda for the call. As we covered in our stream, some platforms give you a limited amount of time in their free versions. With an agenda there's no excuse to get cut off! With everyone at home, surrounded by their own distractions, it's very easy to go on a tangent so stay on message to ensure the most effective use of everyone's time.
3. Elect a chair for the call. We don't mean find somewhere comfy! As it's so easy to get distracted have someone who chairs the call, the same way they would chair an actual meeting. This helps you stay on message, it also is a good way to police the call and help everyone be heard.
4. Have patience and don't interrupt. One of the key struggles people have is waiting their turn to speak, we all struggle with it so don't feel bad, but just be mindful and let everyone have their turn. Using the tip of having a chair above, hopefully everyone will have their turn to speak and time for questions and queries we be made. Don't be afraid to ask to return to a point so you can get your point across.
5. Location. We appreciate that whilst on lockdown the choices for locations are limited! However do your best to be in a room by yourself and as quiet as possible. Having your dog interrupt the call doing something cute is only tolerable so many times! Think about the potential background noises and distractions around you and do your best to isolate them. The less distractions the easier the call will go and the faster you can go back to doing your work!

If you are interested in our next stream, it'll be on Friday 3rd April at 1pm and we will be covering using Trello to Keep Track of Team Tasks. You can view it on www.digitalucs.co.uk/live or head to our Facebook page  to view direct. Give us a like to be notified when we are going live. You can also find the schedule for the upcoming streams on our website. What are your top tips for video conferencing?