Nonprofit video maker

The person, then the problem in their words

Open on one named person rather than an aggregate. Then have the problem told by them rather than narrated over them, which is what the sector's own image codes require: those whose situation is represented should have the opportunity to communicate their stories themselves, in immediate and wider context. Then the intervention shown concretely, then one statistic at most, then the change on the same named person, then the ask, then a thank you that attributes the change to the donor.

The cost handle creates a restricted fund

This is the trap, and it is the most persuasive line in the film. Saying a sum buys a specific thing is a regulated claim: you must not claim a donation will be used for a restricted purpose if it may be used for another, you must state what happens if you raise more or less than the target, and you must hold appropriate evidence for the cost before you make the claim. Guidance for charities is the same: appeal funds become restricted and must be spent on what the appeal said. Derive the figure with finance, not in the edit.

Consent cannot be perpetual

Sector guidance is explicit that an expiry on consent must be provided and shared with contributors, because consent in perpetuity is not supported by data protection law, and that without evidence of informed consent images should not be used for fundraising at all. Informed means a conversation: the contributor understands why you are filming, what the output is and where it will be shown, with forms translated and an interpreter present if the crew does not speak the language.

Children, and the shock rule

For anyone under eighteen, get parent or caregiver consent as standard, involve the child in the conversation from around seven or eight, appoint a safeguarding contact for the shoot, never leave a crew member alone with a child, and never publish a surname or an exact location, which means stripping location metadata from photographs. Separately, fundraising rules prohibit using claims or images people may find shocking merely to attract attention, which rules out the lingering suffering shot as an opener.

How it works, in three steps

1. Step 1

   Get the cost figure from finance first

   Before the script. If the sum cannot be evidenced and honoured as restricted spending, use a different line entirely.

2. Step 2

   Open on the person

   Upload their photograph first and name them in the brief. The statistic goes after them, and one is the maximum that helps.

3. Step 3

   Record the consent with its expiry

   Written, understood, translated where needed, with a date it runs out. Diarise that date, because nothing here tracks it for you.

The full walkthrough with screenshots is in the guide Make a promo video with AI voiceover.

Limits worth knowing

• Photographs are used as uploaded. Nothing strips location metadata, blurs a face or anonymises an image for you.
• A cost figure written into the brief is fixed text in the export, so a change means rebuilding and reissuing.
• Consent, safeguarding and restricted fund obligations are entirely outside the tool. It will print whatever you write.
• There is no filmed interview, so a contributor telling their own story has to be uploaded as a clip or carried as a quote scene.

Questions people ask

Related pages