How to make a political campaign video with photos and phone clips

Choose one message for your video

A video that tries to say five things says none of them well. Pick the one point a voter should walk away with. Who you are, one issue, one reason to vote for you. That is the whole job of the message. Write it before you touch a photo, because the material will follow the message, not the other way around. The message is the spine. Everything else hangs on it.

Write it down as a single sentence before you gather anything else. "I am Maria Torres, an ER nurse for 15 years, and I will fix our streets." If you cannot fit it in one sentence, the video will not fit it in any length. Keep it plain. Voters are not reading a platform; they are watching a face and hearing a promise in their own neighborhood's voice. No clever wordplay, no slogan you will have to explain later.

Gather your photos and phone clips

You probably already have everything. Look through your camera roll and the ones friends sent you. Photos alone are enough, and phone photos and clips are the raw material for a finished ad. Nobody needs a film crew or a shoot day. What helps: daylight, phone held steady, original files rather than screenshots. A clip filmed upright suits a vertical video. A clear photo of the candidate's face is the one thing I always need, because the video has to look like you, not like a stock image. If a photo is blurry or sideways, skip it; a good one beats ten mediocre ones. You do not need professional gear. A phone camera from the last five years is fine.

• A clear photo of your face, looking at the camera
• Photos of you with people: at doors, at events, at work
• A photo of the place you are running in
• A short phone clip of you saying why you are running
• Your campaign logo or sign, if you have one

Write a short script—or send your notes

The words need to hold three things: who you are, the one message, and the ask. About 30 to 35 words fills 15 seconds, 65 to 75 fills 30, 130 to 150 fills 60. If you have a script, send it and I will use it as written.

If you do not have a script, send me notes instead. Bullet points, half-formed thoughts, whatever you have on your phone. "ER nurse, 15 years. Fix our streets. Safer neighborhoods. Back small business. Vote Nov 3." That is enough. I write the video from your notes in my own words, and you get the finished thing back to review before it goes anywhere.

Should your video be 15, 30 or 60 seconds?

Choose from 15, 30 or 60 seconds. Fifteen is a quick hit for social: who you are, one point, done. Thirty is the usual choice, room for one message said without rushing. Sixty gives you a fuller story, a little context, a second beat. Most campaigns start with thirty. An order can hold up to five videos, each with its own brief, so you can cover different angles across a few posts.

Choose vertical or horizontal

You pick from vertical and horizontal formats. Vertical fills a phone screen, made for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. Horizontal suits YouTube or a website. Both shapes of the same video cost $19.99 more per video. If you only post to your own social pages, vertical is the one. If you want it on a campaign site too, order both shapes at the same time. You choose the shape on the order page.

Add captions and your supplied disclaimer

Every video comes with captions included. Many people watch with the sound off, so the words sit on screen whether or not the audio plays. The "Paid for by" line goes in too, in the exact wording your committee gives me. Rules differ by state and office, so I use whatever you supply and do not guess at the requirement. If your committee has a specific phrase, send it with your order. Music goes in as well, something that fits the tone you want.

From source photos to a finished campaign ad

The sample order shown on the site, "Showing Up", was made for a fictional candidate named Maria Torres running for city council in District 2. The order was a single 20-second vertical video in a classic campaign-spot style.

1. Material arrived.Three phone photos, one 8-second clip of her speaking to camera, and five short notes covering her job, her issues, and the vote date.
2. Script written.I turned those notes into a narrator's voice: "Our neighborhoods need someone who shows up." Her clip carried her name and "ER nurse · 15 years" on screen.
3. Photos set to narration.The three photos played with the narrator naming her promises, then the end card: "Vote November 3" and "Paid for by Friends of Maria Torres."

That is the whole process. You send your material, I cut the video, and it arrives by email within 48 hours.