Candidate guidance

Voters: this page is for people standing for election. For hustings listings, postcode search, and published videos, go to the hustings home.

This guidance details the process of how we conduct the video hustings, and acts as an agreement between all parties.

Approach

1. We will select 5-8 questions and publish them on this portal.
2. We will reach out and invite every candidate to take part.
3. Candidates will have at least 7 days notice to submit their video answers at their convenience.
4. We recommend candidates upload their answers directly to this portal for a straightforward audit trail. This also ensures immediate acknowledgment of video submission and early validation.
5. Order when published: placement is mixed on purpose. The first candidate to submit appears first in the lineup, the second appears last, and everyone else is randomised in between. Uploading early still matters for those two slots, but it does not fix where you appear if you are neither first nor second.
6. Following the receipt of all submissions or the passing of the deadline, the videos will be compiled and published.

Video Rules

• Maximum 30 second responses per question with an option to boost to 60 seconds on three answers. Breaking these rules may result in your video being trimmed without notice.
• Candidates must represent themselves.
• Candidates who choose not to take part will be highlighted to ensure they are fairly represented.
• These rules may change and adapt depending upon circumstance.

Video Guidance

To avoid reducing the quality of your presentation, we strongly recommend you:

• Stick to the timing rules! You may feel unfairly edited if you go over the exact time.
• Record in landscape (phone on its side).
• Use good lighting, it really helps the quality of the video. Natural well-lit rooms are best.
• Ensure your background is silent, outside is nice but birds can be louder than you think!
• Do a test recording and ask a friend to review it.
• Position yourself centrally on the video and remain still. Watching a moving phone can be hard for viewers to watch.
• Record each answer as separate video clips, ideally numbered.
• Do not repeat the question in your response. Focus on the response as though it was just asked to you.
• Trim the parts of the video where you’re reaching for your stop button.
• Uploading new videos will reset your submission date, and videos cannot be modified after the close date.

Video Upload

The fastest and most efficient way to get your videos to us is by uploading via our portal. This will provide some extra free immediate sanity checking for you. We will accept alternative methods but these are usually cumbersome. To upload your videos:

1. Sign up for an account with us and sign in.
2. Claim your candidate profile by searching for your listed profile and then click "claim" next to it.
3. Wait for a notification of approval from us; we review claims as soon as we can.
4. Visit our hustings home page and note there should be a splash screen indicating the profile you own, click on it.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to upload your profile photo and videos, and it will indicate what to do next.
6. Continue until you see at least two green thumbs up
7. If you encounter any issues or need any support at all, contact staging@eastleigh.online.

Closing statements

Following publication of the final video, each candidate may submit a single optional closing statement to clarify any points or signpost appropriate material. It is shown alongside the video.

Suggestions for Improvement

We're always open to suggestions for improvement on this process - please contact staging@eastleigh.online If you have any suggestions.

Good luck, and thanks for taking part! :)