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over 2 years ago

Four Weeks to Go: How to make your submission video great

There are just four weeks remaining in the In Code we Trust Hackathon. Submissions are due June 29th before 6:00pm. 

Start your submission now

Starting a submission is a good way to make sure that your app meets the requirements. There’s nothing worse than getting to the deadline, only to realize that you’re missing a key component. Remember: once you submit a project, you can keep editing it as needed at any time prior to the submission deadline. Need a primer on how the submission form works? Head over to our submission form tutorial. 

Prepare your video
We know as devs and innovators, your expertise normally lies behind the scenes, however, the submission video needs time too! It's often the first (and sometimes only!) thing that judges review.

Your video tells the story behind your submission, providing a clear to showcase your software and talent in a video: 

Establish your elevator pitch.
In the first few seconds of your video, explain how your solution meets the requirements and what tools you used to do it. Within 60 seconds, viewers tend to lose interest, so use this time wisely to keep them engaged! Show, don't tell. 

Providing real life context and showing users firsthand how your app benefits users will help judges and voters understand and appreciate your solution. Keep it simple. Your video shouldn't be longer than three minutes. Get organized. Write out a script of what you’ll say and demonstrate in your video and rehearse it before recording.  

Essentially a good script should talk about:

  • The problem that your potential customers face
  • Existing solutions to the problem
  • The solution that your project provides
  • How the app/platform provides it
  • Pro Tip: Don't wait until the last minute to upload your video. Due to file size, format, and your Internet connection, uploading a video to Facebook Video, YouTube, Vimeo, or Youku could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.  We cannot stress this enough!  There have been many times a submission becomes ineligible due to errors with video rendering and uploading.

We can’t wait to see your project and how you showcase it in your video.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Questions?

If you have any questions about the hackathon, please post on the discussion forum.