Brand Guidelines

Brand Guidelines

Brand Videography

Mood and Tone

Our cinematographic style aligns seamlessly with our photography, our mantra of Beyond and our unconventional approach to storytelling.

Our creative vision for moving images is shaped by our core marketing themes:

  • Active Innovation
  • Global Mindset
  • People-Powered

This section of the Brand Portal provides valuable direction and insights to help you approach videography in a way that authentically reflects our University of Warwick.

Tier Systems

It is crucial to define the purpose of your video content before creating it:

Is it a ‘Hero’ tier video - a large-scale campaign that embraces conceptual and abstract imagery?

or

Is it an ‘Everyday’ tier video - a smaller, functional campaign that highlights the University’s environment and communities?

Hero Tier

A premium-quality video designed for corporate, external-facing, and strategic use across multiple platforms including websites and advertising.

This type of content typically involves extensive production planning and leans towards the Beyond theme with elements of conceptual and abstract imagery.

If you need a high-production video, first consult your department marketing team.

Style: Cinematic Unconventionalism

We want to convey the unconventional spirit of Warwick through our video content by using abstract footage (whether that be live production or stock), innovative camera angles and creative lighting.

A digital collage of nine visually striking images arranged in a grid. The images include: abstract pink polygonal textures; a portrait of a woman with layered exposures; a modern architectural ceiling; a silhouette of a child reaching toward floating lights at sunset; reflections of faces in glass; a man with a double exposure effect; a person standing in a room filled with cascading vertical lights; a smiling woman blowing shimmering particles toward the camera; and a geometric building structure with a sloped roof. The overall mood is artistic, emotional, and atmospheric.

Everyday Tier

Functional Day-to-Day Videos
  • Created by experienced staff and typically include lectures, events, and talking head videos.
  • These videos incorporate essential branding elements such as intros, lower-thirds, dividers and outros.
A young woman sitting by a classroom window with sunlight streaming in. She’s smiling gently, resting her chin on one hand, while her other hand rests on her tights.
A group of people seated on a stage in an amphitheatre setting, with their backs to the camera. One woman is speaking into a microphone, while some of the other speakers turn to look at her as she addresses the audience.
A middle-aged man with a gentle smile looking toward the camera from a distance. He stands on a platform with his lower body hidden behind a wall, inside a room with electronic equipment.
Quick Response Videos
  • Designed for reactive, fast-turnaround content with minimal planning for storyboarding or scripting.
  • Varies in length and quality, primarily produced for social media platforms like Facebook Live or Instagram Stories.
  • Uses only the standard branding elements (intro, lower-thirds, dividers, and outro).
A group of four young people, two women and two men, sitting on indoor steps or in a public amphitheatre space. They are chatting and laughing together, appearing relaxed and engaged in conversation.
Two young men sitting inside the Faculty of Arts Building (FAB) at the University of Warwick, smiling and chatting with each other.
A young man indoors, centered in the frame, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.
Social Media Videos
  • High-quality videos intended for websites and social media, requiring less production time than Hero tier content.
  • Typically includes a basic script, talking heads, cutaways, and some graphics.
  • Must adhere to branding elements (intro, lower-thirds, dividers, and outro).
  • For Instagram and TikTok, content should be recorded in portrait mode, and can be filmed using a mobile phone or tablet.
  • Additional guidance on capturing and publishing social media content is available via SharePoint.
Four young people, three women and one man, sitting together in a bright, modern café. The space is filled with natural light and surrounded by greenery and potted plants. The group appears cheerful and engaged in conversation, smiling and relaxed.
A woman looking directly at the camera while removing her sunglasses. The camera focuses on her face, and the sunglasses are halfway down her nose, as if she’s intentionally pausing mid-gesture.
A young man holding a cue, preparing to take a shot at an orange snooker table. He is focused, leaning forward with the cue positioned, ready to play.
Style: Cinematic Realism
  • Disarming yet understated ‘active’ and functional imagery of University people and events without overly ‘staging’ scenes.
  • An interpretation of Warwick as practical and unassuming but also proactive and enterprising.

Colour Correction

Colour correction and grading are critical processes for achieving visual authenticity and tonal consistency. These adjustments should be performed exclusively by skilled professionals to ensure precise colour accuracy and aesthetic cohesion. Final videos should be graded to maintain natural colour fidelity, preserving true-to-life moments and accurate skin tones.

Black-and-white grading can be used when it suits the subject matter and narrative tone, but it should always be a purposeful and justifiable stylistic decision.

Slide to reveal the difference between log/raw footage and graded footage.

Log/raw footage showing a young girl resting her arm on a young boy’s shoulder, while he has his arm around her lower back. They are standing close together and looking down toward the camera, which is positioned below them.
Graded footage showing the upper half of a young boy, cropped to one side, standing against a bright blue sky. He’s looking down at the camera below, with a faint white trail from a distant airplane visible in the sky.
Low log footage taken from above, showing an outdoor staircase leading down to the floor below.
Photo taken from above of an outdoor white and orange striped wall, with sunlight streaming in. The shaded end of a stairwell is visible on the floor below.

Colour Correction - What Not To Do

Avoid making the footage overly saturated or too faded.

Keep a balanced colour grade to ensure a natural, visually appealing look. Avoid excessive colour manipulation that overly favours one colour range, as this can make the footage look unnatural or excessively stylised (unless intentionally done for artistic reasons).

Strive for a colour balance that complements the storytelling without distracting from the content.

A photo of a young girl outdoors, positioned on the left side of the picture, looking to the right through a wall with many small honeycomb-shaped holes. Light filters softly through the holes, partially illuminating her face. She wears a thoughtful, dreamy expression.

Normal Saturation

A photo taken indoors from above. Below, there are two groups of people talking, all dressed smartly. In one group, a woman holds a laptop while a man stands with his hand behind his back. The other group has a woman and two men, with one man gesturing as the others listen. Their reflections can be seen on nearby glass surfaces.

Normal Saturation

An under-saturated photo of a young girl outdoors, positioned on the left side of the picture, looking to the right through a wall with many small honeycomb-shaped holes. Light filters softly through the holes, partially illuminating her face. She wears a thoughtful, dreamy expression.

Under Saturation

An under-saturated photo taken indoors from above. Below, there are two groups of people talking, all dressed smartly. In one group, a woman holds a laptop while a man stands with his hand behind his back. The other group has a woman and two men, with one man gesturing as the others listen. Their reflections can be seen on nearby glass surfaces.

Under Saturation

An oversaturated photo of a young girl outdoors, positioned on the left side of the picture, looking to the right through a wall with many small honeycomb-shaped holes. Light filters softly through the holes, partially illuminating her face. She wears a thoughtful, dreamy expression.

Over Saturation

An oversaturated photo taken indoors from above. Below, there are two groups of people talking, all dressed smartly. In one group, a woman holds a laptop while a man stands with his hand behind his back. The other group has a woman and two men, with one man gesturing as the others listen. Their reflections can be seen on nearby glass surfaces.

Over Saturation

Lower Thirds Graphic

Our lower third is a branded on-screen graphic designed to display information in a consistent and accessible way. It appears as a bar in any of our primary-palette colours along the bottom of the screen, providing space for the brand logo set, names, and titles to sit.

The Wordmark is always positioned on the left, while the Crest sits on the right.

The animation begins with the bar moving in from the left of the screen followed by the wordmark, subjects name and title, and crest. These revealed one by one until all are in position.

A side-profile silhouette of a woman against a pink-red gradient background. A branded lower third graphic bar appears at the bottom, featuring the University of Warwick logo on the left, the name ‘Michelle Tan’ with the title ‘School of Law Alumni’ in the centre, and the university crest on the right.

Lower Thirds Graphic

Resolutions

There are multiple video resolution options available, but 4K (3840px × 2160px) is widely recognised as the industry standard.

Platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo automatically compress videos to optimise playback based on their specifications. However, uploading the highest possible quality ensures that the final output retains as much detail as possible.

It is important to distinguish resolution from aspect ratio — while resolution refers to the number of pixels in a video, aspect ratio determines the shape of the frame. Aspect ratio plays a key role in formatting content for different platforms and deliverables.

Below are some common aspect ratios and how they affect resolution sizes:

  • TV and online hosting sites (Vimeo, YouTube, LinkedIn)
    • Aspect ratio: 16:9
    • Resolution: 3840px × 2160px
    • Frame: Landscape
  • Instagram posts
    • Aspect ratio: 4:5
    • Resolution: 1080px × 1350px
    • Frame: Rectangle
  • Instagram Stories
    • Aspect ratio: 9:16
    • Resolution: 2160px × 3840px
    • Frame: Portrait
  • Facebook videos and reels
    • Aspect ratio: 16:9
    • Resolution: 1920px × 1080px
    • Frame: Landscape
  • Facebook
    • Aspect ratio: 9:16
    • Resolution: 1080px × 1920px
    • Frame: Portrait
  • TikTok videos
    • Aspect ratio: 9:16
    • Resolution: 1080px × 1920px
    • Frame: Portrait

Framing Interviews

Best Practices

For a professional and visually appealing interview setup, we recommend using the rule of thirds. This widely accepted technique enhances composition by positioning the interviewee at either the top-left or top-right intersection of the imaginary grid.

To achieve the best framing:

  • Keep the camera at eye level to maintain a natural perspective.
  • Avoid extreme angles, such as high or low shots, which can distort the subject’s appearance.
  • The interviewee can be placed on either the left or right side of the frame, ensuring a balanced and engaging composition.

Subtitles

If using subtitles, consider the caption placement on videos and refer to our brand typeface & colour sections for styling. Always ensure there is enough contrast for subtitles to be legible.

A young man, smiling warmly, positioned on the right side of the picture. He appears to be the interviewee, seated opposite the interviewer. The camera is at eye level to maintain a natural perspective. A grid overlay illustrates proper framing techniques, with plenty of light filling the room.

Framing Interviews

A young girl sits in the centre of the frame, visible from the abdomen up, against a white wall with her shadow cast behind her. A grid overlay shows her head near the top, neck in the middle, and torso towards the bottom, illustrating proper framing.

Framing Interviews

Framing Interviews - What Not To Do

Here are some examples of what should be avoided when framing interviews:

  1. Do not leave too much room above the subject.
  2. Do not position the subject too far to the left or right of the frame.
  3. Do not use really low contrast, otherwise the video will appear flat.
  4. Do not use overly dramatic or high-contrast lighting that is poorly judged, as this can take away focus from the interviewee.
A young man smiling, visible from the head and neck, positioned on the far right side of the frame with too much empty space above his head. He appears to be looking slightly upward, suggesting the camera or interviewer is positioned above his eye level.

1. Too much room above subject.

A young girl sitting upright with legs crossed against a white wall in a well-lit room. She is positioned too far to the right in the frame, illustrating poor composition.

2. Subject too far right in frame.

A mature woman seated on a sofa with legs crossed, one elbow resting on the sofa arm and the other hand on her tights. She’s centered in the frame, looking directly at the camera with a gentle smile. The image is in grey tones with low contrast.

3. Low contrast video.

A young woman with a neutral expression looking directly at the camera. She’s centered in the frame, visible from the neck up, but her features are obscured due to high-contrast lighting.

4. Excessive high-contrast lighting.