Video is just one of many media formats available to trainers and instructional designers, however, unlike other “new media” formats it has stood the test of time as the most cost-effective way to share subject matter expertise and perspectives with a large audience across diverse delivery channels and “screens.” Used effectively, it builds an emotional connection with your audience that encourages buy-in and promotes knowledge retention. For training objectives that focus on human performance, a video may be the only way to realistically demonstrate human behavior.
The exciting opportunity for training and communication designers is that recent technology innovations have reduced the cost of equipment required for professional video production and deployment. For many years, video was excluded from eLearning and instructor-led training designs because the cost of production was prohibitive. While many larger companies maintain their own internal production capability, very often the internal video production studio is difficult or impractical for training developers to access. Internal studios generally cater to the Executive team and may “chargeback” for services at a rate similar to outsourcing video production.
Now, the “tools of production” like cameras and lighting are affordable even for small to medium-sized development teams to own. Often no “studio” is needed, just a small quiet space like a conference room is all that is needed to begin producing quality media. The challenge for instructional designers is adapting their current skill set and development workflow to exploit the new technology developments that make video more accessible and affordable. While technology has decreased the cost of producing video, it has not reduced the importance of establishing a clear vision, diligent planning and skillful production. As an eLearning designer and producer for almost 14 years, I have worked with dozens of software tools and used many styles of media to connect with learners and make the experience engaging or at least tolerable. However, only in the past 5 years have I really explored video as a staple media for my projects. I have experimented with video since the late nineties, but when I was a manager of a large corporate eLearning development team, I often found video production contractors difficult to work with and very expensive. I would often complain of the “Hollywood” mentality I encountered when video production was involved. I still remember asking a Producer to explain the budget item “craft services.” I nearly fell off my chair when they explained that this was video-speak for catering services for the crew. Much has changed since then including my perspective as an eLearning developer. I have come full circle from avoiding video to embracing video as my “go to” media for eLearning projects. Even in the past 2-3 years advances in compression and authoring tools have made video eLearning not just possible but relatively easy. The web and low-cost, high-quality video recording devices has demystified much of the production process and put the “tools of production” within reach of small departments and development shops. In fact, with the help of a little green screen magic, even novice producers can achieve good results and with practice, good can be transformed into excellent. In the posts that will follow in the weeks ahead, I will provide a roadmap for creating chromakey video interviews for eLearning. In later posts, I will discuss more detail about each step in the process.