Video for use in learning

You don’t need to be personally doing the filming and editing for this article to be relevant. These are more about issues to be considered in the make up and format of the video. If you are using an outside agency or member of staff then all these points are worth considering before you communicate with them.

If you are going to use a video production house, try to use a company that is used to working on training programs as the right experience will make a big difference to the speed and cost of the project.

1. Get the Script and storyboard right - Spend maximum time here. Don’t transcribe from the manual. It needs to be short, succinct and written in the same language understood by your audience. Just because it is a video doesn’t mean you don’t need instructional design. Think about what you are presenting and who you are presenting it to and then apply good instructional design to a story board much like you would do for e-learning development
2. Keep them interested– Shots don’t have to be wild and whacky but try to vary the shots being used. Mix in graphics and titles, a variety of shots, voiceover and animation.
3. Tracking – Decide if you need to know if the audience have viewed the video. Does it need tracking or is it informal learning
4. Content – Make sure you have considered all the material you need and get plenty of extra video shots (cut away shots) done as they may help at the production stage.
5. Work out your style – Are you going to use actors or staff to act? Do you need a narrator to talk through what is happening on screen or use an on-screen presenter? What addition images, charts & graphs etc are required.
6. Location – Where should the video be shot – studio, your offices, outdoors, on location?
7. Highlight Important Messages- The vision and the audio need to be telling the same story. The audience will lose the message if the vision doesn’t match what the voiceover is saying. Titles can be added at the post production stage that coincides with the narration. Particularly, information such as statistics and names of certain procedures.
8. Do as I say, not as I do – Try not to be tempted to show the wrong way to do something. Sadly people will remember the wrong way (Think NLP). I feel the best method of training is to show the right way to do something and that’s it.
9. Format – Can the video be incorporated within e-learning, can it be streamed from a server or Learning Management System or does it need to be served on disc such as a DVD?
10. Test their knowledge – Give consideration to ways in which you can test the viewers knowledge after the video if necessary. Easier to achieve if the video is incorporated within e-learning.

Suffice to say there are a lot of other more detailed considerations but these are vital to do upfront before you go any where near the lens cap!