📹 Allow Recording/Uploading Video Essay after App Submission

You may find yourself wishing for a way to allow an applicant to record and upload a video essay to an application after the app has already been submitted. Here is one way to accomplish that.

Note that this method of video collection has limitations! See the last section of this article for details.

Step 1: Create an Application scoped form.

No special settings are required.

Add a Video Capture widget with whatever settings you desire.

Add any instructions or other items you want on the form.

Step 2: Determine a method for delivering the form link.

There is no one way to accomplish this.

A method we have used is to create an app-scoped bit field (e.g. video_allow_upload) and allow staff to set the field via an internal form/tab. Then, add the link to the applicant portal (or anywhere the applicant has access) and set it to conditionally show if the bit field = 1/Yes.

You could of also set up an mailing that triggers on the bit field or is manually sent. Do whatever works best for your processes.

(Optional) Step 3: Add a rule on the form.

If using the bit field suggestion from step 2, we suggest adding a form submission rule to the newly created form that sets the bit field to 0/No. Set the rule to active.

Step 4: Test

At this point, you should have all the basics in place for post-app-submission video essay uploading.

Using a test record with a submitted application, set the bit field to Yes, login or impersonate the record, and submit a test recording. You should now see a Video Essay material appear on the record's list of Materials.

Limitations

There are a few limitations to video essays collected via form. The most apparent is these video essays will not auto-populate in the Reader (whether the legacy Reader or a Workflow); you will have to create a Reader Portal for that. We have published instructions on building that Portal.

Additionally, the form-based video uploader widget does not capture as much metadata as does the Application. Notably absent are number of attempts and the start and stop time of recording.