Submission Guidelines
We invite you to present a favorite passage of yours from Dickens and say a few words about why you selected it for our new Dickens-to-Go series. Over the next fifty-two weeks, we hope these videos can bring us together as a community and help gratify in some small measure our desire to read and enjoy Dickens. “Please sir, I want some more!”
TIPS FOR RECORDING AND UPLOADING YOUR VIDEOS
- Record in landscape (widescreen) orientation.
- Please be mindful of the ambient lighting. We would like to see your face clearly with as few hard shadows as possible, so recording indoors with lights on, or outdoors facing into or perpendicular to the sun is preferred.
- Avoid filming in windy environments or areas with significant background noise.
- Submit in any format, though .MOV or .mp4 formats are recommended.
- Once you have recorded and saved your video file, you will need to share it with us. It will be too large to email, but you can share it via Google Drive or Dropbox. Please let us know if you would like further details on how to share the file.
VIDEO CONTENT
When you record your video, please use the following format:
- Introduce yourself. Say your name, where you’re speaking from, and mention the Dickens Project or Dickens-to-Go.
- Say where the passage comes from, what novel, what chapter (or other identifying information), and provide any relevant context that helps set up the reading for your audience.
- Read the passage aloud. The passage should be relatively short—a paragraph or two, something that can easily read aloud. The text will appear on the screen during this part.
- Please explain why you selected it, what you like about it, and what you find interesting or relevant.
- Sign off. Say goodbye. Invite your listeners to check back again for another installment of Dickens-to-Go.
TRANSCRIPTS, TEXT PASSAGE, AND ADDITIONAL MEDIA
When we upload your video to YouTube, we will also upload a transcript for closed captioning. If you are using a script to assist you during your recording, please send a copy so we can correctly capture your punctuation and phrasing.
Please also send the text of your selected passage to add it to your video. If you would prefer any visuals, film clips, music, or other media included in your video, please share these files along with a note of where you would like them to appear.
If you are comfortable with video editing, please feel free to add these items to your recording. Otherwise, we are happy to do it for you.
Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions. We look forward to learning more about your favorite passages!
