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Talk about what is important to you, we need our videos to make an impact, and there is nothing more powerful than you being honest about how brain tumours have affected your life. Examples of topics could be treatment, losing your driving licence, mental health, being a carer, relationships or not being able to work.

When Vlogging; relax, take your time and speak from the heart, just act as though you are chatting to a friend, we don’t want anything to looked forced/scripted so don’t read from a sheet of paper. If you make a mistake, don’t worry, just start your sentence again, we can edit out any mistakes and uuum’s and aah’s.

In short, all you need is a smart phone. The camera and microphone on phones are of such high quality now that you have the perfect camera for Vlogging in your back pocket.

If you own a video camera/ DSLR camera and are comfortable and confident using it then please feel free to use that instead.

Keeping the camera steady is key to you filming a high quality Vlog. If you have a tripod then that is perfect, but failing that just balance your camera on a table or steady surface using a book or weighted item.

In terms of framing your shot, make sure you are centred in the middle of the frame, and that the camera isn’t at to low or to high an angle… a low angle doesn’t flatter anyone! Deliver your answers directly down the lens.

You also don’t want to stand/ sit to far or too close to the camera. If you are too far the audio won’t be as clear and if you are to close… well again… no one likes a close up.

Please also ensure that you are filming landscape; this will mean that we have more room to crop the shot when editing it and that all the Vlogs are consistent with one another.

If you want to add extra depth to your video please feel free to film “B- Roll”. B-Roll are extra cutaway shots that are relevant to what you are talking about in your video. For example if you are talking about treatment or medication you could film yourself opening a pack of chemotherapy pills OR if you are talking about how your friends and family have supported you, you could film yourself flicking through a photo album or you could even film them. Equally if you do not want to do this then that is absolutely fine.

Make sure you are as well-lit as possible, you don’t need any special lighting to do this, just ensure the room is bright either through sunlight or artificial light. If you are filming outside or are using a window as your light source please ensure that the light source is on your face and not behind you otherwise the surrounding will be well lit but you will look very dark.