We’re Taking Root on TikTok

You can choose whether you’d like to perform either a piece that you’ve submitted earlier this year  or another original piece (of any genre/medium) as a part of Girls Write Now’s Taking Root on TikTok series. Mentors do not need to submit anything! Just support your mentee in creating and submitting their piece!

Your performance must be under 3 minutes in length. If your piece is longer, perform an excerpt! 

Examples:

1. Each Writing 360 and Publishing 360 Mentee will fill out this form, letting Girls Write Now know when they will submit their video performance. 
   • There are 35 spots available for each date on the form (Monday, April 4, Monday, April 18, Monday, May 2, Monday, May 16, Tuesday, May 31, Monday, June 13 or Monday, June 27). 
   • Once all of the spots have been filled for the week, that date will be removed from the form.
   • Once you’ve submitted the form, you’ll receive an email with a link to a Google Drive folder.
2. Record your video! You don’t need to do anything fancy (unless you’d like to!); recording on your phone is perfect. Please be sure to hold your phone vertically! Both .mp4 and .mov file formats will work well!
3. Upload your performance video to that folder with your first and last name as the title of the file!
4. Girls Write Now will upload your video to the @girlswritenow TikTok account.
   1. Up to five videos will be released each weekday at 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM, 4 PM and 6 PM.
5. Be sure to follow @girlswritenow and watch everyone’s performances!

• Remove distractions from the background. A blank wall will work, but don’t shy away from a view that lets a little of your personality shine through! Plants, flowers, a bookshelf, wall art, tapestries, candles, or any objects that give character to a space can look great if the light is good! If your piece has an environmental component, feel free to get creative in your production—but do avoid filming outdoors if it’s really noisy or a windy day. 
• You do not have to memorize your piece. You can print or pull up your piece on the screen and position it right beneath your camera, so that you can read while staying connected to the audience. However, try to spend 90% of your time looking right at the camera, and only 10% of your time looking back down at your written document. 
• Make sure your sound is clear and audible. Try to prevent objects from rubbing on the microphone and find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Consider asking anyone at home with you to please be quiet for a few minutes while you record to limit background noise.

Canva Video Editor

• If you would like to add stock video or images to your performance, Canva has a video editor; you can use it to create TikTok videos! This is completely optional! 
• To create a TikTok video in Canva, create a New Design, and search for the “TikTok Video” template. This will give you a vertical video template to create your piece.
• Use the “Videos” tab on the left side of the screen to find stock videos that you can pull into your design to use. 
• You can also Record Yourself in Canva and integrate your recording or record the audio of your piece as a separate .mp3 on your phone and upload that file to Canva. 
• When you’re finished, just click “Share” and “Download” to get an .mp4 or .mov file of your performance video!    

TikTok Video Editor

• You can also make a video in TikTok if you’d prefer!
• Feel free to use sounds or effects that you like that fit the mood of your piece.
• Just be sure to save and download the video rather than posting it, so that you can upload it to the Girls Write Now Google Drive folder!