Community and Sponsor AV Content Guidelines
Introduction
Hey Homegrowers! To put it simply, we love seeing the plants grown by members of our Homegrown community, here at Homegrown Cannabis Co. We feel like a sense of community is important among growers, to see other growers plants and growing operations can be a source of inspiration to many looking to do similar things.
We would like to utilise this great community that you are part of and start collecting submissions of photo and video content that we can use in our educational content. This way you will be a key part in helping us to grow the community and keep our educational content, free, fresh and authentic.
Whether you want to focus solely on your plants, the methods you use to grow your plants or a little bit of both, we are sure that there are some excellent growers out there with a lot of expertise to share. Whether you wish to teach and help other growers or simply show off your plants, we believe this is a great way to connect with other cannabis growers which will lead to future benefits in terms of trading tips or just having general conversation.
We have a DIY ethos, we believe that everyone who wishes should be able to grow cannabis in their own homes (the law permitting) and have full control over the marijuana they are consuming. We aim to build a positive, free-flowing community online where growers can share their ideas, give tips, discuss their methods, ask questions or just chat with each other.
Contents
Photo and Video Guidelines.
We want your plants to look as good as they possibly can, given that most indoor grows are in dark spaces with grow lights - it can be quite tricky to get good footage of your plants. We would rather you showcase your marijuana plants in all their glory as clearly as possible - marijuana is a beautiful thing to consume and also to look at so, to that end, we have some suggested guidelines on how to present your plants in the best ways possible.
Please follow the guidelines as best you can, the better the quality of the footage the more higher the chance of being featured. We want it to be natural and organic but still usable.
Setting up your Phone or Camera
Clean your lens - Make sure the images are clear and in focus
Clean your camera lens, it is best to use an alcohol wipe or microfiber wipe but don’t worry if you don’t have these to hand. Ensure there are no smears, dust or particles present on the camera lens.
Storage
Ensure you have enough storage space on your device. If you shoot in 4K or high quality image settings this can soon fill up your storage. The last thing you want is to run out of space halfway through recording a killer shot.
Capture in the Highest Resolution Possible
A lot of recent models of modern smartphones have the option to shoot in 4K. However this will eat up storage on your phone. If 4K isn’t an option please make sure you shoot in 1080p or the highest quality your device allows.
For photography ensure you have the highest quality and resolution selected.
Shoot In RAW
*For photography
If your camera or phone allows it, make sure you shoot in your device’s RAW format. This is a very large file type that enables us to do more image processing with the extra data.
Enable IS
Check your phone camera settings to see if there is an option for image stabilization, this will help smooth out shakes in your footage as a result of shooting handheld.
Frame Rate
If you have the option to shoot in 60fps please do so. Or get creative and shoot a selection of shots using your slow-motion setting.
Lighting
Please try and shoot using as much natural light as possible or white lights (not coloured), we want to see as much detail in the plants and grow area. Avoid grow lights with a strong yellow or purple hue. Blurple lights for example and other coloured lights don’t work with the camera’s sensor. They generally look unappealing due to the lack of detail and unnatural look.
However in the circumstance where you need to take an image that is explaining the light setup or the hue of the light (for example to show what a blurple light looks like) this is acceptable.
Flash
Do not use a camera or phone flash.
Avoid back lighting such as a window or light source behind your subject as this will cause the subjects to become silhouettes. If you need to bring in an extra light source (such as a lamp or someone else’s flash) place it to the side above or in front of the plants. Experiment with different light angles and distances. Soft light is more appealing than hard light. Phone flashes and camera flashes tend to blow out parts of the image and create an unappealing look.
Orientation
Please video landscape (sideways) primarily, however, we would also love a secondary option of a vertical portrait video. With photography we would like majority landscapes but we do use vertical for some social media usages. We understand that there is a tendency to shoot vertically to fit the whole subject in, for example if you want to show the size of a full plant in a tent it is sometimes difficult to achieve with landscape but stand back and fit the subject in landscape. If you can get a both, GREAT! A good rule is 60% landscape photos and 40% vertical.
Locking Focus and Exposure
Tap your phone screen in the area where you would like to focus, ensure it is sharp and not soft or blurry. Make sure there is sufficient light and the image is exposed correctly (not too dark or too bright) as, in low light, your phone will hunt for focus and may end up focusing on the wrong point.
Stabilize
Use two hands at all times to ensure the phone is stabilized as much as possible. Try 3 points of contact by placing your elbows into your body as this will reduce shake further.
NO ZOOM!
Don’t use zoom! Get physically closer to your subject if you want a close up shot as this will not lessen the quality of the image whereas using your phone’s digital zoom will reduce quality significantly.
Don’t move around with your phone, keep steady to ensure a smooth shot. If you want to show off multiple points of interest do these in separate shots and avoid doing it all in one take. Shoot one angle, if you want to get closer stop the recording, move, frame your shot and start the recording again.
Duration
Ideally keep your videos as short and sweet as possible, 10-15 seconds in length is ideal however keep your narration or comments to 6 seconds, just a sentence or two.
However if you want to go into more detail, please feel free to do so but in a separate clip.
Submitting your assets
This part is the MOST important part
Naming and Storage is a key part of the process. Organisation and clear file naming is key for us, we need to know what the image or video is about from the name and where it is stored for contect.
We will provide a Google Drive Storage folder for you to upload your assets to. Only you and the HMG team will have access.
We will supply the link to your drive folder.
Management, storing and names of the files:
-
You should save the images with a proper and understandable name.
-
Gelato Autoflower Folder
- File name example: your_name_gelato_auto_day45_flowering.jpg
-
Fan_indoor_tent_wide.mp4 or Fan_indoor_tent_close_up.mp4
-
your_name_gelato_auto_day45_flowering_macro.mp4
What kind of content do we require?
We require a range of content to help us keep our educational content fresh and authentic. We want to showcase real Homegrown gardens and plants on our socials too. You will be credited on socials so let us know your prefered social handles.
We don’t need selfies.
Growing Assets
Grow Diaries
Many of you may already be signed up and populating a HMG Diary. If not sign up here and track your grow. https://homegrowndiary.com/
Upload, name and store your original diary images to your G Drive Storage folder.
Grow Diary Indoor, Outdoor and Greenhouse
- x5 different pictures - Day by day
- Tools and Process photos- if you use a ph tester or measure nutrients etc.
- Step by steps - Process photos, defoliation or HST etc.
- Before and After- So we can compare the results of techniques training or flushing/nutrients etc.
Watering
- Toolkit pictures (ie: ph tester)
- Step by step guide pictures on every stage (germination, vegetative & flowering)
- before and after (dry & wet)
Nutrients - *If you have access to the following.
- Toolkit - Measuring, testing ph etc.
- HMG nutrients
- Mixing and Measuring
- Step by step guide pictures on every stage (germination, vegetative & flowering)
- before and after
Harvesting, curing, drying
- Toolkit pictures
- trimmers, mason jars, moisture meters.
- Drying tents and lines
- Step by step guide pictures
Growing Pains (Growing Issues): Make sure you label your files and store them correctly for this.
- Diseases
- Deficiencies
- Mould
- Pests
- Anything that affects your grow
- Before and After remedies
Specific Indoor requirements:
- Different types of Lights
- Leds
- Cfl
- Hps
- MH
- T5
- Fans
- Tents - setup photos if possible
- Pots - different types and sizes
- Soil
- Nutrients
- Ratchet straps
- Co2
- Dehumidifiers
- Ventilation
- Air conditioning
- Drying Tents - Line - Setups
- Growing mediums
- Hydroponics etc.
Specific outdoor requirements:
- Sunlight on the plants
- Plants during the night
- Pots
- Soil
- Nutrients
- Protecton
- Tools
- Trellis
Techniques (toolkit + step by step guide pictures):
- Sog
- Scrog
- Supercropping
- Vertical hydroponic
- Defoliation
- Topping
- Cloning - cutting step by step
- LST/HST
- Trimming
- Ph levels
- Light deprivation
- Mainlining
- Fimming
- Schwazzing
Generic pictures:
- Plants
- Plantation
- Garden
- Specific Detail photos
- Hands working
- People working
- Appearance of plants at different stages of seedling, vegetative, flowering and harvest (specific)
- Identifying sex of plants
- Plant anatomy
- Closeup images of different plant parts
- Full setup images
- Curing jars of bud
- Bud images
