Upstream recently launched FreeBC, a digital direct-to-consumer platform designed to help people learn about and access birth control. The platform is built around the perspectives of real users and their experiences, paired with guidance from clinicians. This meant the team needed hundreds of authentic and credible videos before launch.
The lean team at Upstream set a goal of 100 videos. Three months later, they had 350. Sophia Stone gets you behind the scenes on their process.
The challenge: Collecting hundreds of clips from real people with wildly different comfort levels on camera
Sophia Stone, Instructional Designer at Upstream, and her team evaluated a wide range of options before landing on Vocal Video.
"Before Vocal Video we didn't have a solution. We thought through a wide range of options. None of them really fit what we were looking for."
The requirements were specific. First, the submission process had to work for everyone — not just people who were already comfortable recording themselves like creators or influencers.
"We wanted a platform that would streamline the video submission process for a wide range of creators with different levels of tech savviness and on-camera comfort."
Second, the team had to be able to handle a high volume of video editing on a deadline.
We also wanted a tool that would make it easy for us to manage, edit, and review hundreds of video clips within a several month period.
There was a third, less obvious constraint: authenticity. The whole premise of the platform was real reviews from real people.
"It was really important to the project to gather really authentic reviews of birth control from real people, including the good, bad, and the ugly."
That ruled out anything heavily produced. The team needed a tool that could scale collection without sanding down the rawness that made the content worth publishing.
FreeBC video gallery
The solution: One workflow from request to publish
Vocal Video handled the entire process of collecting, editing and collaboration, and rendering.
Vocal Video made it really easy to manage the video collection process from start to finish, from requesting video submissions, signing consent forms, video editing, managing reviews, publishing.
Because Upstream wanted the videos to stay highly credible, the team deliberately used a light touch on production.
"We wanted our videos to feel as raw, as authentic as possible, with limited editing and polishing, so we didn't leverage every feature in Vocal Video — but we did appreciate the built-in options for branding, closed captioning, and some of the newer AI features."
The results: 350 videos live, against a goal of 100
The numbers speak for themselves:
- Goal: at least 100 video clips
- Delivered: 350 approved, high-quality videos
- Timeline: 3 months
- Result: 3.5x the original target
We had an initial goal of at least 100 video clips on our platform, and within 3 months, we exceeded that goal. We ended up with 350 approved and really high quality videos that are now live on our site.
But volume wasn't the point — coverage was. With 350 clips, Upstream could represent a genuinely wide range of people and experiences.
"It allowed us to showcase a really diverse range of people and perspectives on a wide range of birth control methods, which helps people find perspectives that they identify with and allows them ultimately to make more informed decisions about what's right for them."
Would you recommend Vocal Video?
Yes — with a clear picture of who it's for.
"If you're managing a project with a lot of video assets, if you want your video collection process to be as streamlined as possible, and you're looking for an editing tool that doesn't do everything under the sun, but is very easy to learn and to use, then Vocal Video is a great platform for you."
Need to collect hundreds of authentic videos on a deadline? Sign up free at vocalvideo.com