Vertical Video
Voters first meet you on a screen. Here's how to show up there as yourself.
Key Terms
Four terms to know
DTC
Short for "direct to camera," a video where you're speaking straight into the lens, from a script or off the cuff.
B-Roll
Supplemental footage, like shaking hands, walking a district, listening at a doorstep, that shows you in action rather than talking.
The Hook
Your first one to three seconds. On vertical platforms it decides whether someone keeps watching or scrolls past.
Vertical Crop
1080 × 1920px, filmed or reframed to fill a phone screen is the standard for Reels, TikTok, and Shorts.
On Camera
What actually matters when the camera is on
You don't need to be a video producer. You need a handful of things that make you look and sound like yourself.
Tone
Match your setting to your message. A desk reads serious, a walk-and-talk reads on-the-go.
Focus
Face your light source and keep your eyes on the lens or the teleprompter directly behind it.
Ease
A stumble isn't a failed take. Keep rolling. You can clip around it or use the stumbles.
Before You Start Rolling
- Know your key points cold. You don't need the script word for word.
- Check that you're centered and your light is in front of you, not behind you.
- If you're wearing a mic, forget it's there the moment it's clipped on.
- Ask your team what tone they're after, so your energy matches the edit.
Don't Worry About
- Stumbling over a line: footage from between takes often becomes the best content.
- Camera gear: a phone in a steady hand or on a $10 stand is enough.
- Sounding polished on a street DTC: casual and off-the-cuff is the point.
Ask Before You Film
Get a clear yes before anyone else ends up in your footage: supporters at an event, staff in the background, and especially kids, patients, or anyone at their home or workplace. A verbal okay on camera is enough for most events; a signed release is worth it for anything you might cut into paid media. If someone says no, film around them.
Video Types
Four kinds of video you'll be asked to shoot
Open any one for what it asks of you on the day.
Scripted DTC
Policy explainers and official statements. The camera stays still, you stay centered, and a teleprompter keeps you on message.
- Sit or stand square to the lens, since the prompter sits directly behind it, never off to the side.
- Read for meaning, not speed. Your team can trim the gaps between sentences.
- Film indoors where you control the light and the noise.
Unscripted DTC
Storytelling, and letting your real voice come through. Your team preps talking points, not a script.
- Know two or three key points cold, and don't memorize sentences.
- Your team won't pre-brief every question, so the answers stay conversational.
- Say it a second and third time. The third take is usually the one.
On the Street
Filmed at events or while canvassing, with the day happening around you.
- Wear a mini mic. A phone won't pick you up over a crowd.
- Expect some shake. It reads as real.
- Let a staffer watch your surroundings so you can stay in the moment.
B-Roll
Short clips of you in action: shaking hands, listening, engaging with the room.
- You don’t perform B-roll. Your team captures it around you.
- Ten seconds of one clear action beats a minute of wandering.
- Ask before you film anyone else: a quick verbal okay at an event, a signed release for anything headed into paid media.
- Say yes when someone asks to film a moment you weren’t planning.
From story to script: a walkthrough
Example: Aliyah is running for City Council. Here's her community-center story from the Story Banking module, turned into a 45-second unscripted DTC.
Roster Examples
What's Working
Two or three sentences on why this one lands: the hook, the eye contact, the specific detail that only this candidate could say. Write it in your own words and credit the candidate.
What's Working
Two or three sentences on why this one lands: the hook, the eye contact, the specific detail that only this candidate could say. Write it in your own words and credit the candidate.
In Editing
Get help editing
Your team will edit the footage in a tool like CapCut or Edits, built for exactly this kind of vertical content. Knowing the basics helps you understand why a take got used, cut, or asked for again. This is a great role for a campaign intern, fellow, or volunteer if your budget is limited.
The Format
1080 × 1920px, under 90 seconds. That limit is exactly why every second, and every pause, matters.
Captions, Always
Most viewers watch with sound off. If your captions don't carry the message, it doesn't land.
Zoom on the Punch Line
Don't be surprised if your editor pushes in on a line. It's a deliberate way to draw the eye to your strongest moment.
Simple Beats Flashy
Understated transitions and light music read as credible. Overproduced effects read as staged.
On Your Own
Put one story on camera
You don't need all the answers yet. Pick one story, film it badly, and film it again.
Before Your Next Shoot
- What tone am I going for: serious, conversational, or on-the-go?
- What's my hook, in the first three seconds?
- Is my light in front of me, not behind me?
- Do I know my two or three key points without reading them?
Turn a Banked Story Into a Script
- Pull one story from your story bank.
- Cut it to a 3-second hook plus a 30–60 second body.
- Decide: scripted DTC, unscripted DTC, or on the street?
- Say it out loud, but don't memorize it word for word.
Worksheet · Enrolled Candidates
The Script Builder template, with hook, body, ask, plus a shot-type checklist, opens once you're in a cohort. The Academy is free and nonpartisan.
Filming and editing guidance adapted from New Politics Academy's internal video production playbook.
Posting
Getting it in front of people
A good video that sits in your drafts folder does nothing. Posting is a habit, not an event, and the campaigns that build the habit early are the ones voters recognize by November.
Post often
Aim for three to five posts a week, and treat one of them as a DTC. Frequency beats polish: the algorithm rewards accounts that show up, and voters trust a face they've seen more than once.
Be responsive
When something breaks in your district, whether a closure, a vote, or a storm, a phone video filmed that day beats a produced one filmed next week. Speed is the whole advantage of this format.
Write Captions People Can Find
- Put the real message in the first line. Most viewers never read past it.
- Use the words people actually search: your city, county, or district, and the office you're running for.
- Name the issue plainly, like "property taxes" or "the hospital closure," rather than campaign shorthand.
- Say the same keywords out loud on camera. Auto-captions feed search and recommendations.
Where to Post It
In order. For most down-ballot races, Meta is where your voters already are, so cross-post every cut to Instagram and Facebook the day you shoot it.
Instagram Reels
Your home base. Post the DTC here first, then keep the Story going with behind-the-scenes clips the same day.
Where most local voters still are, especially in community and neighborhood groups. Cross-post the same vertical cut and share it into the groups you belong to.
YouTube Shorts
Costs nothing and gives the video a searchable home long after the news cycle moves on.
TikTok
Last, and optional. A strong hook can travel past your followers here, but reaching your actual voters is the goal, not going viral.
Keep going
Public Narrative
Build the story of self, us, and now that turns your service into a case for change.
Book a 1:1
Sit down with someone on our team for a free call to work through your video plan for the next month.