Drupal Cloud

Ambient Video Guidelines

Ambient Video Guidelines

Ambient video is a visually immersive, looped video without sound that enhances the user experience without overwhelming the content of the page. At Brown, ambient video is generally used only on homepages or prominent landing pages.

Ambient video is used as a background element, creating mood or atmosphere, and showing a diverse set of scenes that couldn’t be captured in a single photo or image. Subtle in motion and muted in color, ambient video is designed to complement the site’s design and content rather than distract from it.

The Office of University Communications (OUC) reviews, approves and uploads video to Drupal Cloud websites.

Requirements for Ambient Video

Length of Video

The video should be approximately 20 seconds. We recommend four or five distinct clips that are four or five seconds each. The allowable length is short because:

  • Long videos increase page load times, which reduces user engagement.
  • Viewers are unlikely to watch beyond 20 seconds of a video that appears in a banner area. (As a result, any content that appears later in the clip is likely to go unseen.)

If you have a significant amount of footage available, consider creating multiple ambient videos to rotate throughout the year, adding variety to your page.

Footage Speed and Movement

Video content should be a smooth, continuous loop that creates an uninterrupted background experience.

  • Slower panning/camera movement is best. Choose video content with natural, subtle movements without noticeable jumps or jarring breaks. 
  • Avoid bright, fast-moving, or high-contrast visuals that can be distracting and reduce the desired ambient effect.

Approval and Final Steps

OUC approves ambient video on Drupal Cloud webpages. If approved, we upload the video to the University’s enterprise Vimeo account.

Submit finalized videos of approximately 20 seconds for our review by emailing web@brown.edu.

Accompanying Assets Needed

After ambient video is approved, the following assets are needed for the upload:

  • The first-frame image of the video, minimally sized at 1440x810 pixels.
  • A mobile image, minimally sized at 740x740 pixels. (Note: The ambient video won't play on mobile devices; this image is displayed for mobile users and should encapsulate or highlight the video's essence.)
  • If you choose to use multiple versions, you will need to provide first-frame and mobile images for each version.