How to create a Video Story

Web Council // April 6, 2023
Tiffany Sevareid and Teri Shelton // Front end developers
Web Strategy Team // University Marketing and Communications

Follow along to learn all the details of video story creation using the Storytelling Modules plugin.

Hero video

REQUIRED: MP4 video for background
REQUIRED: poster image
Recommended: Link to popup (modal) video, if there is a longer video
Recommended: Mobile image (portrait orientation)
Decide on settings
- Header and intro text styles
- Header height – full or half height
- Overlay?

General technical considerations for video in STM

Video quality
Video size (file and aspect ratio)
<20MB for uploaded video into media library if we host. YMMV. Keep in mind you might have a fast internet connection, but others don’t, especially on mobile!
Best way to compress is during export. If that’s not available, use a compressor tool, but make sure the quality stays high

Flexible media block with background video + text overlay.

This video is subtle and slow, which makes it good for a background video. Optional: text overlay. Required: the pause button, and a poster image.

Ode to a library

by AI Poetry generator

My library, you inspire me to write.
I love the way you enrich and invite,
Invading my mind day and through the night,
Always dreaming about the calm moonlight.

Accessibility best practices

Captions – we recommend YouTube for easy captions – or you must provide transcript. Best practice is to always provide both.
Pause button is required
Auto play off strongly recommended
Use accessible videos – consider motion and flashing (avoid causing seizures) – spec is to avoid anything that flashes more than 3 times in any one second period. Use Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT) to test. Note: This is a Windows only tool.