A guide for production professionals on making and recording an instructional program
There's no denying it: the creation of online courses involves an enormous amount of effort and can be a frustratingly long procedure, especially when you make a huge amount of videos for instruction.
A way to help you simplify the course creation and design procedure? Storytelling
Elise London, our resident expert on video who films all our internal and marketing classes The key to creating engaging online courses is using stories to organize and present details.
Finding the narrative in the challenge your course is solving and structuring your content with the technique of storytelling using hero's journey is a game changer. Here's everything you need to accomplish to design, structure, and produce an effective online course that includes all the necessary tools.
Jump ahead:
- The perfect topic for an online class
- Planning and designing an online class
- Shooting your course video content
- Are you ready to create your online course?
Select the best subject to use for your online training
You don't have to create the idea from scratch right out of the bag to design your online class.
Select a subject highly sought-after. An in-depth understanding of the mission of your company as well as its intended audience can aid. Here's how:
Find out what's already resonated
Utilize data measurement tools such as Google Analytics to find high-performing books. Find an ebook that covers a specific topic that did very well? Consider expanding it into a detailed video course.
You can also survey your mailing list for topics your audience wants for a virtual class on. The same survey can be sent out on social media (if you've got an engaged crowd on those platforms) in addition to your communities that you're affiliated with.
The goal is to identify subjects that an public is interested in.
Do it deep and not wide.
What's the solution? Review the emotional reactions that your viewers are experiencing when it comes to a topic.
Do you ask you:
- What issues are our readers facing as they attempt to solve the problem?
- How can we handle anxiety? we can help them overcome?
In the case of live streaming for instance, the answers could be anxiety as you attempt to create your debut live stream. The course includes "How you can set up live streams so you aren't overwhelmed."
The best tip you can make for your course's title
If you're contemplating the names you'd like to use for your program consider what your target audience is feeling regarding the particular subject you're working on and then incorporate the topic into your name.
The process of planning as well as structuring the online course
Elise advises you to use the tale of a hero as a basis for the online training course. This includes:
- The challenge that target students are faced with. Find these by asking the students questions about your course's topic.
- Aiding people overcome obstacles and identifying ways to solve problems. This is where you divide the subject into modules and videos that answer a question.
- Then they will be able to experience the promised change. Offer additional resources, such as checklists and templates that assist students with applying the lessons they have learned.
Learn how to identify the participants' questions and objectives to structure and plan your training:
Learn about the questions that your target audience might have
Instead of pondering it, try these steps:
- Browse Reddit as well as Quora to create a list of questions that are frequently asked.
- Surveys and one-on-1 calls with learners for questions.
- listen to calls from customers by sales and support representatives to answer common queries.
- Look up bestsellers' Index pages of the bestsellers on Amazon to get a better understanding of the questions they answer in the area of education.
If you've hosted webinars on the subject, it's also possible to examine participants' questions for information to help in your research.
Divide the topic of the class into buckets
The next step is to take into consideration your audience's issues and questions for breaking your topic into components that build on each other and create the next step in the learning process of the student.
"Instead of saying that we're going to teach you in using Interactive Studio' (which is an expansive and hard to wrap my mind around) instead, say "We're training you in beginner, intermediate, and advanced abilities. So, all the subjects (for your online course) are in one of these three categories." Elise London, Senior content production manager
Simply put "disparate ideas and put them into buckets in order that as you view the course from a distance the course appears to be more attainable."
Pro tip on course structure
Be sure to outline the curriculum structure so that it meets the students at their respective points on their journey to learning. It's not uncommon to overload and make students feel overwhelmed due to the lure of knowledge (a cognitive bias that assumes your audience has the same knowledge as you do). Be sure to update the course's design to make it simpler.
Video lessons to be planned
- Make sure you address your students' challenges related to the problem a video lesson will answer.
- Answer the questions by providing answers to the issue they're trying to solve.
- The clip should be reviewed or provide other resources to aid them with their transformation.
Script on-demand video lessons
pro tip
Shooting your course video content
The tools you'll require
To get a good manufacturing tool kit and set up for an effective production system, you'll need these items:
- HTML1 Camera for a Microphone (two at most) and a 3 or 4-point illumination kit
- Learn Management System (LMS). It will host videos from the class, making it easily accessible to the students. Examples: Teachable, Podia, and Kajabi.
- . A video platform that is ad-free that lets you host, record edit and also incorporate interactivity in instructional videos. Upload your videos onto your LMS.
- Teleprompter. Display device that shows moving texts on the screen making it easier for users present on screen to capture video.
- Music pedal. It's a low-cost, foot-operated keyboard which allows you to change the direction of slides that appear on your screen.
Making the perfect video production set-up
Elise suggests:
1. Avoid using fluorescent overhead lights.
They can create harsh shadows on your face. Fluorescent lights also flicker sometimes and can cause a greenish shade and altering the quality of video's stability.
2. Record with no natural light
The natural light patterns shift throughout the day, and should you be recording for hours in a row and your lighting on your footage won't be uniform, Elise warns. Additionally, this might cause problems when you need to alter portions of your video between a single and a second one.
3. Set your cameras at different angles
A second camera isn't able to "just make it more interesting" editing (which can be helpful regardless of whether you are using a script as well, or even if manage to get everything perfect in one go) as well as to assist in breaking the monotony of viewers focusing on the instructor's face."
"More important, a different camera is utilized to cover the cuts" Elise adds. "So should you decide that what you're saying doesn't have the capacity to be covered in a single take and you want to cover it, the best way for covering the cut is to use B-roll or cut the footage into another camera."
4. Clean free of clutter background
Avoid bright colors like orange, magenta, and yellow, as these could create reflections in the colors and could be distracting viewers. Choose neutral backgrounds such as dark blue, grey, or soft white. They look stunning on the camera but also are easy on the eyes.
Recording your online video course
The recording process may be stressful. If you dedicate enough time in creating and planning your strategy recording shouldn't be a problem.
5. Always make use of the prompter on your phone.
Teleprompters prevent you from getting stuck on the screen while you struggle to determine which point you need to recall.
It simplifies recording and also reduces editing, however "it can also help you to remain in the camera while you're looking at the teleprompter screen," adds Elise.
6. Make use of a music pedal switch between slides
"Instead of using a keyboard or clicker, which is accessible to your fingers Try using a music pedal in order to change the slide you're playing. It's basically just the equivalent of an USB Bluetooth keyboard with a left and right. It doesn't require the speaker to touch the keyboard or mouse in order to progress it."
Editing the videos you have on demand
Make an effort to reduce the duration of your editing and make your edits memorable by using these expert tips:
7. Refine your edits ruthlessly
8. Include B-roll in your marketing plan to boost participation
A way to get rid of the monotony of talking head videos is to switch between camera at the same time.
It is also possible to include animations, graphics, slides, stock footage or custom recordings for an immersive learning experience.
9. Interactivity layer that is layered
- Enjoy a build-your-own-learning path
- Visit hotspots on the map for videos to explore more educational tools
- Jump between sections relevant to the sections (useful to create a video for onboarding in the business)
This means that interactive videos boost viewer participation, resulting in greater retention. Additionally, you can assess your students' understanding through conducting video quizzes through Interactive.
Ready to design your online course?
The process of creating a video course that you love and is adored by your audience is as simple as:
- It is important to identify the problem that you are seeking to solve
- Building the information into a coherent story
- The content must be arranged in such a manner that it's straightforward to understand and easy to digest.
Remember that if you use the correct equipment to reduce the strain the process creating videos of high quality and provide an engaging learning experience.
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