One thing as an Instructional Designer that has interested me is video development in training. It seems so easy to do, but there is actually a lot involved in creating an effective video. After speaking to co-workers, it seems that a lot of our early ventures into video development followed the following storyline:
After conducting a needs analysis and you came to the conclusion that, indeed, there is a skills gap. You decide that due to the audience make up, perhaps video is the way you should go. You proceed to schedule a meeting with the Subject Matter Expert to create a plan and identify learning objectives. So, you acquire a camera and start taping a few days later. After some editing in some video editing software, you are done. You have a video, and it is an hour straight of the SME talking to the camera. 60 minutes of pure lecture. In addition, the SME looks like they are in pain, the environment is dark and the camera is set too far away.
I can tell you this: for a learner that has to sit through a training video that has not been filmed correctly can be frusterating. You are wasting their time and they may feel a bit angry about this. If the learner is distracted by elements in the video, how are they going to be able to learn what they need to do their job?
This type of ill-thought out video training can be found in many fields. You do not have to be a professional to make well-crafted videos, but it’s important to know the basics of video development. Here are a few things you can consider, at a high level, about video development.
Know How Adults Learn
This is a given. I know. But, one of the biggest mistakes that have unfortunately impacted training, is the expectation that adults learn best by watching and listening to someone talking. The lecturer becomes the “Sage on the Stage” and the learner the passive recipient or “empty vessel”. The "Sage of the Stage” isn’t the best way instruct learners. We, as learning developers and designers, need to remember not to cut corners - even when tempted to - and apply the correct instructional techniques to all our instructional content technical training videos.
What is the Best Process?
A suggested practice is the following:
- Visuals (aka Images)
- Storyboard
- Script
- Sound Effects/Music
Let's look at these now:
- Visuals are imporant as we learn best by seeing. We humans are visual, so you should sure to make your video heavy with images and examples that connect to the learning objective. Now, for technical training, in my experience, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), prior to having access to a learning developer, created their own training video. These SMEs may not know how they can improve their video training classes with effective visuals. The learning designer should work alongside the SME, introduce new methods, and show them how these techniques can make their video more effective. They can choose to have animation, mix animation with live-action, or just create a video that is pure live action.
- Storyboarding helps set the story. The preference is up to the individual as to which comes first, but developing the storyboard first can help you envision what will make the most impactful visuals for your video training. One should ask questions such as: What will happen in video? What will the SME do in the shot? What actions or activities will be included?
- The script. For technical training, we are trying to teach a skill that needs to be performed on the job. Make sure each word you say in your video is precise, doesn’t go off target, and that everything you tell them will contribute to the message of the training. Think about what they need to know to do their job and how to do it well. Then create the message from there.
- Adding Sound Effects and Music. The correct music sets the mood of the training. For an example, you would not have - typically - classical music playing when developing a video about welding techniques – unless of course that is your intent. Otherwise, there will be some definite mood dissonance going on!
Know Basic Camera Work
To get started, knowing the rule of thirds is very helpful to know if one is a novice to videography. Further, knowing how to set up the camera (manual exposure, white balance, etc.), is crucial to shooting live action.
- Camera Angle can give the end-user a different perspective or create a mood – one can make the person in the video look dominant or weak all in relation to the scenery or subject. There are many types of camera angles that can be used. One that should be use for training is the eye level camera angle. This is an angle where the camera is placed at the same height as the SME. These are neutral shots and a good start for a beginner to use for technical training.
- Camera Shots are all about how close you are to the subject you are videotaping. You, as the videographer and learning developer, need know what you want the learner to focus on. In some cases, a close-up would be better, especially if you need them to focus on a robot teach pendant, or perhaps the interface of an HMI unit. Or perhaps you will need the learner to focus more on the environment for training. In this latter case, a wide-shot may be beneficial for the learner.
Note that you also need to make sure the background isn’t busy. If there are distractions – people walking, TVs on, loud music, too many posters or other visual problems - the learners may focus on that and not the lesson or speaker. Look for a neutral background with minimal distractions, which will allow the learner to focus.
Be Creative with Your Approach
Be careful to avoid “talking head syndrome” and change the up the view every 8-13 seconds; this will help keep the viewer engaged. Try to include different shots –close ups, wide shots, over the shoulder – where it fits. Take different shots with various camera angles of the SME, or a close up of the PLC interface, ladder logic on the PC. Change the view up it up to keep people engaged and add visual interest.
You may want to try these too:
Micro-Learning Approaches: Break the video up into related/connected segments. Remember to have one objective to each video so learners can focus on the content better.
Acting it Out: If you have creative SMEs, perhaps design your script to be an actual script.
Use eLearning Software: Use your preferred eLearning software to create an interactive experience by importing your video into the software and assigning actions or triggers at specific instances within the video.
Interactive Video: Using your preferred video software, create an interactive video using the timeline to insert proper audio, buttons, to create a unique learner experience.
Again, these are just some pointers based on my experience that I wanted to share, at a high level. Please feel free to add your own. I love video for training and hope that some of these points will help new instructional designer and developers in the field to be brave and try new things with their technical course development.
