Workshop for Reel/Shorts Making Competition

Under the aegis of the CAWACH Kendra initiative, the Cyber Club and Digital India Cell, MKBU conducted a live workshop on Cyber Security Awareness and Creative Campaign Development, aimed at guiding students in creating impactful short-form video content on cyber awareness themes. The workshop was conducted in hybrid mode and was primarily targeted at college and university students, particularly Gujarati and Hindi-speaking learners.

The session was guided by Dr. Dilip Barad, who introduced the objectives of the campaign and sensitized students about the importance of communicating cyber security messages creatively through social media platforms. The workshop was aligned with the statewide CAWACH reel-making competition hosted on the official portal (kavach.guj.edu.in), offering significant cash prizes and certificates across five themes:

• Cyber Safety and Digital Hygiene
  
  

• Online Scam Awareness
  
  

• Social Media Responsibility
  
  

• Cyber Safety for Women and Children
  
  

• Digital Well-being
  
  

Participants were encouraged to produce one-minute reels conveying clear, actionable cyber security messages. The competition featured a prize pool of approximately ₹8,00,000, including awards across themes and consolation prizes for selected entries.

Session Highlights:

A central focus of the workshop was understanding the psychology of short-form content. The session introduced the “Three Second Rule,” emphasizing that 75% of viewers decide within the first three seconds whether to continue watching a video. Students were trained to design strong hooks, concise scripts, and clear calls to action to maximize engagement.

The workshop presented a structured four-step production blueprint:

1. Script generation using generative AI tools.
   
   

2. Anchor-based scripting format: Hook, Context, Value, and Call to Action.
   
   

3. Efficient shooting within grouped locations.
   
   

4. Editing with attention to technical precision and safe caption placement.

Technical guidelines were explained in detail to ensure professional-quality output. Students were advised to record in 4K resolution but export in 1080x1920 (Full HD vertical), maintain 30 fps frame rate, and balance audio carefully—voiceover at full clarity with background music between 8–15% volume. The importance of using external microphones and maintaining production quality was strongly emphasized.

Creative Concepts and Strategy:

Six model video concepts were demonstrated, including classroom-based cyber fraud explanations, walk-and-talk digital detox discussions, computer lab analogies on password safety, silent text-based privacy warnings, podcast-style discussions on responsible posting (THINK principle), and green-screen simulations addressing deepfake and AI voice scams.

Students were encouraged to create saveable and shareable content—videos that provide practical tutorials or timely alerts—rather than focusing solely on virality. The session highlighted the need to combine creativity, technical excellence, and platform psychology to create meaningful digital impact.

Submission and Participation Guidelines:

Clear instructions were provided regarding registration, submission format (MP4/AVI), file size limit (20 MB), accurate entry details, and theme alignment to avoid disqualification. Students were guided to use generative AI tools for script drafting in English, Hindi, or Gujarati and were encouraged to produce multiple entries before the submission deadline.

Conclusion:

The workshop successfully equipped students with both the creative framework and technical expertise required to produce impactful cyber awareness content. By merging storytelling, digital precision, and behavioral understanding of social media platforms, the session reinforced CAWACH Kendra’s broader mission of fostering digitally responsible and cyber-aware citizens. E-certificates were provided to all the participants who actively engaged in the workshop and created reels/shorts.

Through this initiative, the Cyber Club and Digital India Cell, MKBU further strengthened its role as an institutional facilitator of cyber awareness, empowering students to become active creators and ambassadors of digital safety.

Click here to watch the recorded livestream of the workshop 

Glimpses of the Workshop: