A better handoff starts before you press record.

Confirm patient consent

If a patient could be identified, get the clinic’s required consent before recording. Make sure the permission covers the intended social or marketing use, and keep the record with your clinic’s normal documentation.

• Check that consent is clear, current, and connected to this type of content.
• Do not rely on a patient appearing comfortable on camera as permission to share.
• If consent is uncertain, leave the clip out of the handoff.

Protect health information

Treat identifiable patient footage and clinical details as sensitive health information. Look beyond the subject: names, forms, screens, appointment books, voices, locations, and treatment details can identify someone too.

• Frame away from records, monitors, labels, and other patients.
• Ask the clinic team to review the background before recording.
• Keep footage on approved clinic devices and accounts while it is being prepared.

Agree who is accountable

Choose a staff member to coordinate the shoot, check consent, and make the final call on what leaves the clinic. Discuss the clinic’s privacy process with anyone filming, including what may and may not be shared from personal devices or accounts.

Choose soft, controlled light

Use a window or soft daylight where possible. Avoid harsh midday sun and strong overhead shadows. If the room is dim, place a small ring light or LED panel in front of the subject and slightly above eye level.

Stabilise the shot

Use a tripod for a talking-head or static shot. Handheld? Hold the phone with both hands, tuck your elbows in, brace against a wall when useful, and walk heel-to-toe for moving shots. A phone gimbal can help with smooth movement, but it is optional.

Lock focus and exposure

Tap and hold on the subject to lock focus and exposure if your phone supports it. This helps prevent distracting brightness and focus changes while someone speaks or the camera moves.

Clean the lens and check the case

Wipe the lens before the first take. If a thick or loose phone case interferes with a mount or stabiliser, remove it for the recording and make sure the phone is secure.

Pick a useful frame rate

Use a frame rate your phone handles reliably. 60 fps can give an editor more frames for stabilisation or gentle slow motion; 30 fps is a sensible everyday choice when storage, light, or phone performance is limited. Keep the original files at the highest practical resolution.

Make the audio easy to hear

In a quiet room, the built-in microphone may be enough for casual clips. For direct-to-camera explanations, a wired lavalier or wireless microphone is a useful upgrade. Move away from suction noise, loud machinery, music, and busy reception areas when you can.

A simple clinic sequence

Use this as a starting point and adapt it to your clinic, your people, and the permissions you have in place.

• Wide: the entry, reception, treatment room, or another welcoming sense of place.
• Medium: a team member greeting someone, preparing a room, or explaining a simple step.
• Close: a safe detail such as hands preparing equipment or a non-identifying clinic texture.
• Useful answer: one short response to a common patient question, recorded in a quiet spot.
• Human moment: a smile, introduction, or behind-the-scenes detail that feels true to the practice.
• Room tone: a few seconds of clean ambient audio before or after the main take.

Leave room around the action

Record vertical when the intended destination is Reels, TikTok, or Shorts. Keep the subject clear of the very top and bottom of the frame so captions and platform controls have space. Hold each clip for roughly a few seconds before moving on rather than stopping mid-action.

Record a second take

If the message matters, repeat it once with a slightly different pace or framing. A second usable take is more helpful than trying to rescue one rushed clip.

Review what you are sending

Remove clips without the required permission, clips that expose identifiable records or unrelated people, and takes with private conversations in the background. Keep the original raw files in the clinic’s approved storage until the handoff is complete.

Share the story behind the clips

Include a short written note with the context an editor cannot see from the files alone.

• What is the clinic hoping to communicate or invite patients to understand?
• Which clip or person should lead, and is there anything that must not be used?
• What tone, music feel, caption style, brand cues, or platform is preferred?
• Are there pronunciation notes, names, terminology, or a call to action to preserve?
• Which files belong together, and what order or moment matters most?

Use the agreed MolarMettle handoff

When the footage is ready, email MolarMettle at molarmettle-8@polsia.app to confirm or use the handoff method agreed with your clinic. Do not send patient-identifiable raw footage until the handoff details and permissions are clear.

• There is no clinic upload portal or self-serve upload dashboard in this process.
• If the agreed file-sharing method changes, confirm the new details before sending clips.
• Keep a copy of your consent and handoff notes with the clinic’s records.