Media, Branding & OutreachModule 6 of 8

Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting

The fastest way to get good at media and outreach is to stop making the same avoidable mistakes everyone else makes. This module catalogs the real pitfalls FRC media teams hit — blurry photos, copyright-struck videos, posting a minor's name against FIRST policy, missing the Impact Award character limits, and dead sponsor logos — and gives you a concrete debugging workflow and fix for each. Treat it as a pre-flight checklist before you shoot, post, or submit.

Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting is module 6 of 8 in the Media, Branding & Outreach guide. It picks up where Worked Examples & Mini-Projects left off and hands over to Advanced Techniques & Case Studies. Its 4 lessons are about 125 minutes of the guide's ~15 hours.

4 lessons~125 min29 lessons in this guide

Start with lesson 1 All of Media, Branding & Outreach

In this module

4 lessons

01Photo & Video Capture Failures and How to Diagnose ThemDiagnose the four most common reasons FRC media comes out unusable — blur, noise, bad color, and bad audio — and apply a settings-first fix for each.30 min read

02The Youth Protection & Consent Mistakes That Get Teams in TroubleAvoid the privacy and consent errors that can violate FIRST policy and parent trust — especially naming minors with photos and posting without media releases.30 min read

03Impact Award Submission Errors That Cost YouFix the avoidable technical and content mistakes that sink Impact Award submissions — blown character limits, wrong video specs, and submission-portal failures.35 min read

04Branding & Design Pitfalls: Logos, Color, and Sponsor RecognitionCatch the design mistakes that quietly damage your brand and your sponsor relationships — low-resolution logos, illegible color combos, and incorrect sponsor treatment.30 min read

Previous moduleWorked Examples & Mini-Projects

Next moduleAdvanced Techniques & Case Studies

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FRC terms used in Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting

Impact AwardFRC's most prestigious award (formerly the Chairman's Award), honoring the team that best embodies FIRST's mission and impact.

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This is the Media, Branding & Outreach one — 4 lessons, about 125 minutes. The departments below run a module by the same name over completely different material.

All 8 modules in Media, Branding & Outreach

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