Tuesday, November 26, 2019

How to Make a Video for World AIDS Day (December 1st)

How to Make a Video for World AIDS Day (December 1st)

Sunday December 1st is World AIDS Day. This takes place every first of December and is an opportunity to create awareness and show support for those living with HIV, as well as to commemorate those who have died from AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).

Essential Information About HIV and AIDS

HIV is the virus that causes the infection, and AIDS is the last, advanced stage of that infection, when the body can no longer fight off other illnesses due to the loss of cells called CD4, which make up a vital part of the immune system.

HIV can be transmitted to others through bodily fluids such as semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood and breast milk, but not through sweat, urine or saliva. The most common ways of contracting HIV are through unprotected sex, or sharing a needle with someone who is infected.

Worldwide, there are over 35 million people who have the virus, and over 100,000 of those are in the UK. Since HIV was identified in 1984, over 35 million have died from HIV or AIDS. We now know so much more about it than we did, and if detected early HIV can now be manageable and those infected can go on to live longer and healthier lives.

How to Get Tested

If you think you might be at risk of having HIV, then you should get tested as soon as possible. You’ll need to check how you can do that in your own country, but here in the UK, there are a number of options. You can go to:

  • sexual health or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics 
  • clinics run by charities
  • some general practitioners' surgeries
  • some contraception and young people's clinics
  • local drug dependency services
  • an antenatal clinic, if you're pregnant
  • a private clinic (this will incur charges)

Source: NHS

Testing involves collecting a small sample of blood or saliva, with blood being the most accurate test.

What Can You do to Raise Awareness?

Many people still aren’t aware of how to protect themselves against HIV, how to get tested if they think they might have been at risk, or what treatment is available if they have contracted HIV.

Video is a great tool to raise awareness because it’s so accessible and more easily consumed by people than ever before. Here are some ideas of HIV/AIDS awareness videos that you could create:

  • A fundraiser—many HIV charities are desperately underfunded.
  • Fight prejudice—many living with HIV are still subjected to stigma and prejudgement, help to change perceptions.
  • Educate—help people learn more about HIV, whether that’s prevention, testing, or treatment.

How Create an HIV-AIDS Awareness Video Using a Template and Stock Footage

As a demonstration, I created a quick example video: a short public service announcement slideshow like one you might find on a display screen at a health clinic or hospital.

 

I made this video in Adobe After Effects using information from this article and resources from Envato Elements. I've made an intro (which also doubles as an outro), and three informational slides: what HIV and AIDS are, how you can become infected, and where to get tested (in the UK). Here's what I used:

Slideshow Template

Stock Footage and Motion Graphics

Music

If you prefer to pay as you go, there are also resources available via Envato Market.

Step 1: Load up Your Template

On opening the slideshow template, you'll see the timeline is broken down into folders (composites) and layers, so it's easy to see which section corresponds to which slide in your timeline. 

timeline

Double-click on each composite in order to open up that particular slide and you'll see the text, graphic elements, colours and so on, so that you can make changes. Here, I've changed the introduction slide to say World AIDS Day and the date, and also made the previously white box, red, to reflect WAD's colours.

This is a breakdown of the layers when you go into the introduction slide—it's simple to then double-click the relevant layer and make adjustments.

closeup of layers

Step 2: Add Footage

The introduction slide was lacking in engagement, so I added some stock footage inspired by World AIDS Day, to help it look more interesting. To add your footage, just drag and drop it into the project and into the relevant slide's folder, so in this case, the Title Intro slide.

title intro with footage

Step 3: Edit Your First Informative Slide

When you're happy with the intro, it's time to move on to your first slide.

first slide before

This is how the slide looks before any changes. I added in some more stock footage, to make the background more interesting and relevant, changed the title, and put in information about what HIV and AIDS are.

information slide after

Step 4: Repeat!

Continue along the timeline, editing the existing slides in the same way, or duplicating the ones already done if you'd like to keep the same style, layout and animation.

second slide

This is the second slide, where I've added information on how HIV is transmitted, and added stock footage as a background

The third slide is information on where to get tested for HIV in the UK, with stock footage of an HIV blood test in the background.

Step 5: Add an Outro

Once you're happy with your slideshow, it shouldn't just end, so as a neat way to wrap everything up, you can duplicate your first intro slide, to use as your outro.

Step 6: Finishing Touches and Render

You might decide your video would be better with some music or narration, so once your video is complete, you can add audio. When you're finished, render and save. It's worth adding that I've included far more text on short-duration slides than I'd recommend—either spread lots of information across multiple slides, extend your timings for each slide, or best of all, be concise!

If you'd like to know more about World AIDS Day, how you can help raise awareness or fundraise, or more information on prevention, infection, and treatment, then you can visit World AIDS Day.org, powered by the National AIDS Trust.




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