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from the Instructional Design Blog

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The video above highlights how instructional videos can enhance student learning and engagement. An effective instructional video has a very specific purpose and audience. Consider these questions:

Is my intended audience all students in the course or a specific subset (e.g. students working on a particular project, students who need remediation)?

Is my intended audience students who are familiar with some of the content (e.g. already completed assigned reading) or who haven't had any exposure to it yet (e.g. a chapter introduction)?

Is my purpose to model a process (e.g. walking through a tutorial)?

Is my purpose to present facts about a topic (e.g. direct instruction)?

Is my purpose to present my ideas or personal experiences (e.g. narrative lectures, testimonials, etc.)

Here are a few types of videos that could meet the needs of different audiences and purposes:

Key Concept Videos ("just-in-time teaching"). Short screenrecordings, demonstrations, and explanations for particularly difficult concepts are a great study tool that students can re-watch as needed.

Online Lectures. Popular with flipped learning, lecture videos can engage students with direct instruction, saving class-time for application or discussion.

Introductory Videos. Short, informal, unscripted video introductions can add authenticity and teacher presence, particularly in hybrid and online classes.

Video Feedback. Recording video comments to provide feedback on student work can be effective. It conveys tone, adds teacher presence, and saves time from typing, but it's not a good option for long or multi-part feedback.

Make videos authentic.

Teacher Presence

Effective instructional videos capitalize on you, the instructor of the course. Videos that look and feel generic are less engaging and can detract from perceived relevance to the course. Here are some effective strategies for increasing teacher presence in your instructional videos:

Show your face, don't just be a disembodied voice. This can mean having your camera turned on in Zoom when showing PowerPoint slides, or talking directly to your webcam without screen recording.

Be conversational (even humorous). Sometimes if feels very formal to talk into a camera, but imagine that you're talking to your students in class and show your own personality.

Share personal anecdotes and experiences. This makes your content feel more relevant, and highlights your perspective on the concepts being discussed.

Diverse Perspectives

As previously mentioned, sharing your own experiences and perspective increases authenticity and relevance for students, but to enhance the learning experience even more, consider also adding perspectives that are different from your own. You can record 1:1 interviews in Zoom or with a smartphone in person. You can add video clips from YouTube or Films On Demand that show how your course content can be applied across cultures, identities, and contexts.

Make videos engaging.

Organized

Videos with clear organization (sequence, transitions, etc.) help students stay engaged and retain information. When planning out your video, identify key ideas/points and consider how to deliver them in a concise and engaging video. Many instructors prefer just using outlines as opposed to full scripts so that the actual phrasing can be more extemporaneous, while other instructors prefer to write out full scripts that they will read from/perform (this works best for narration only videos, so that it doesn't look like you are reading).

Chunked

Attention span is the biggest difference between instructional videos and face-to-face instruction. Chunking video content into brief segments improves student engagement. According to research done by Guo, Kim, & Rubin (2014), you should keep video clips under six minutes. A live lecture is inherently more interactive as students are receiving and giving nonverbal cues and/or asking questions. When students are more passively watching a screen, that engagement decreases without chunking and opportunities for response/reflection (discussed more below).

Provide options for student response and reflection.

Provide options for student response and reflection.

Providing options for students to interact with material increases the opportunity for deeper learning. When students have to do something with what they've just learned it strengthens their understanding and ability to synthesize the information.

Options could include some of the following

Self-grading or practice quiz

Guiding questions for reading or watching a video

Reflection activity using video/text/audio - does not have to be submitted/graded

Consider the 10/2 rule: for every 10 minutes of content, students should have 2 minutes of processing time. Chunking material into smaller sub-topics helps meet this goal. (Derbiszewska & Tucker-Smith, 2020)

Model ethical behavior.

By modeling appropriate strategies for making your video accessible and ensuring copyright compliance, you provide examples to your students and clearly demonstrate the importance of ethical behavior when producing your own content.

Digital Citizenship

Respecting copyright is the responsibility of all content producers, including educators. When you model adherence to copyright guidelines, you are leading by example. One easy way to do this is to use images that are freely available at sites like Pixabay and Unsplash for your presentations. Point out how you cited them (if required) so that students will have a clear understanding of what is expected in their own work.

Remember copyright applies to your work too. How do you want to share your video? Is it meant to be only for your class, or are you posting it to YouTube for a broader audience as well? If you choose to share it, consider using a Creative Commons license.

Another aspect to digital citizenship that you can model in your instructional videos is information validation. When we present information to students, there is an inherent trust that, as educators, we are sharing information from credible and accurate sources. Encourage students to think critically about where information comes from by describing your own information validation process, particularly on controversial topics.

Accessible to Diverse Learners

Captioning your videos ensures they are accessible to a variety of learners, for example, students who have difficulty processing audio information well, non-native English speakers, or those with cognitive processing issues. It's UDL in action! (UDL Checkpoint 1.2)

Uploading the video to Microsoft Stream or as "unlisted" to your YouTube channel so you can start with auto-captions will make this task less onerous. Or you could use webcaptioner.com, which is a free transcription tool.

Some Approaches to Instructional Videos

The video above provides a brief (1-2 min) overview of the approaches to creating instructional videos that we'll be discussing in this module. We compare those approaches in the table below:

Easy to adapt from F2F lecture materials

No advanced software/editing required

Some PPTs are overly wordy/ineffective

Doesn't usually show instructor's face (human element)

No built-in editing options

How to Export a Narrated PowerPoint as an MP4 Video

OR

Use Zoom to Create Videos for Students (PPT is an option)

Quick & easy

The speaker is on camera (human element, body language, etc.)

Boring to watch for long videos

No built-in editing options

How to Use: Windows 10 Camera App

OR
How to use QuickTime and your webcam to record a video

Low-tech (set up phone, doc cam, webcam)

Easy

Visually interesting

No face

Sometimes hard to set up (lighting, camera position, etc.)

No built-in video editing options

The Paperside Video - Rapid Video Creation for the Classroom - Dr. Lodge McCammon Evolved Paperslide Videos - Dr. Lodge McCammon

Lecture Record Space (quasi-One Button Studio PLUS Lightboard equipment)

Easy to set up: lighting, audio, camera, etc. already set up

Your face and body language is visible with your content (e.g. slides on a screen, writing on glass, etc.)

Equipment on campus, requires reservation

No built-in video editing options

Lastly, we highly recommend that you check out the video below from the University of Minnesota (though it is a bit long at ~7 min):

For more research on instructional videos, check out our annotated bibliography. For the nuts and bolts of video production, check out Create a Video from the ITS Blog.

References

Derbiszewska, K. M., & Tucker-Smith, T. N. (2020). Supercharge your professional learning: 40 concrete strategies that improve adult learning. Wakefield, MA: CAST Publishing.

Guo, P., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (2014). How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. Association for Computing Machinery. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2556325.2566239

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The video above highlights how instructional videos can enhance student learning and engagement. An effective instructional video has a very specific purpose and audience. Consider these questions: Is my intended audience all students in the course or a specific subset (e.g. students working on a particular project, students who need remediation)?

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YuJa makes it possible to do some basic video editing directly from the web. You can trim/cut videos, add text overlays, and more! Importantly, YuJa also automatically generates captions shortly after your video is uploaded, and you can edit those captions from the Video Editor to ensure that they are accurate.

Video Editor Overview: Written Instructions

Using the Video Editor: Video Tutorial

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6 Research-Backed Reasons to Record Important Lessons

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6 Research-Backed Reasons to Record Important Lessons

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After teaching high school math for years, Kareem Farah realized that lecturing in front of his students wasn't working particularly well-he was a bottleneck, he had come to realize, a talking head who was reaching, at best, a handful of students at any given time. Worse, pacing was a problem that a simple change of speed wouldn't solve: Slow it down and the lecture would bore most of the kids; go too fast and other students would fall behind.

Farah, a teacher at a Title I high school in Washington, D.C., also noticed that when his students missed a few classes, it set them up to fall behind for the rest of the year. In response, he began recording his lessons on video to give his students a way to access the material from anywhere.

Getting in front of the camera intimidated him at first, but Farah quickly realized that readily available tools made the process fairly painless and didn't require much tech savvy. He created his first instructional videos by using a mic and a screen-casting program-such as Explain Everything-to record his lecture over informative slides. He then uploaded his video to Edpuzzle, which allowed him to embed questions to check for understanding.

The strategy was so effective that he taught whole units this way. "Once the lecture bottleneck is removed," Farah says, teachers can "rethink many of the other rigid constraints that have defined most instructional delivery models." His students could even watch his lectures at home and proceed to the next lesson once they mastered a concept, allowing them to move at their own pace while freeing him up to roam the classroom and tailor instruction to students' individual needs.

Here are six research-backed reasons why you should consider recording (at least some of) your lessons.

SHORT VIDEOS ALIGN WITH KNOWN ATTENTIONAL LIMITS

Instructional videos allow you to break up a longer lesson into several smaller ones-increasing the likelihood that students will be able to sustain attention and commit what they're learning to memory. They also provide natural breaks during study time, which we've argued are dramatically underutilized in the classroom.

Think about where to break your lessons. "It is recommended that teachers should make the videos as short as possible, but one complete knowledge point should be contained in one video," the researchers in the 2022 study suggest.

VIDEO LIBRARIES ENABLE SELF-PACED LEARNING

The asynchronous, always-on nature of video libraries solves many of the sequencing issues that plague teachers: how to reincorporate students after absences, what to do with kids who need to revisit a foundational concept, or how to differentiate between students.

Accessing a library at different entry points-skipping ahead or revisiting previous lessons-is a built-in advantage of video learning, and it allows students to self-pace while freeing the teacher to circulate and troubleshoot with individual students. In a 2019 study, researchers concluded that students "learn better when multimedia instructions are presented in (meaningful and coherent) learner-paced segments, rather than as continuous units." That's because the ability to control the pace of videos provides more time for processing or reviewing information, allowing students to "adapt the presentation pace to their individual needs."

Being able to control a single video's playback in real time, meanwhile-by pausing and rewinding-allows "students to regulate their cognitive load, leading to better learning," researchers conclude in a 2021 study. "This ability to self-pace has been previously identified as a key feature contributing to the success of online learning, more generally."

VIDEOS SUPPORT RICH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT-ASYNCHRONOUSLY AND AT SCALE

Modern tools for video creation and distribution take advantage of built-in auditing systems that collect valuable data about what's working for your students, and what's not. Better, they can do it asynchronously, and they often provide ready-made charts and graphs that simplify formative assessment-like trying to determine a student's on-task behavior.

Other tools allow you to test for specific knowledge. "Embedding questions in your instructional video using programs like Edpuzzle can improve student interaction and provide you with invaluable formative assessment data," explain Farah and educational technology expert Robert Barnett.

VIDEOS SUPPORT FLEXIBLE REVIEW (AND RE-REVIEW)

That last point is a significant one. A 2011 study found that even when students were encouraged to ask questions, they frequently avoided raising their hands and interrupting the teacher, largely out of politeness and a desire to keep the classroom running smoothly.

A video library gives students "the ability to access the content when it is needed, such as when they are reviewing and preparing for exams," a time when the need for retrieval of information is particularly crucial, explains Nisha Malhotra, a professor of economics at the University of British Columbia. After creating a series of instructional videos based on his lectures, he surveyed his students and discovered that a majority of them watched the videos at least twice-a strong signal that a single lecture would not have sufficed.

VIDEOS ALLOW KIDS TO REPLAY 'THE MUDDIEST POINT'

"Sometimes it's helpful to see if students understand why something is incorrect or why a concept is hard," writes educator Laura Thomas. Asking students to explain "the muddiest points" is a common way to address "where things got confusing or particularly difficult."

In practice, though, students may not feel comfortable raising their hand to ask the teacher to go over the concept again during class time.

Failing to master a challenging but foundational concept, meanwhile, can wreak havoc on the rest of the quarter. When students watch videos at home, they can rewind as often as necessary, reviewing concepts they find confusing while jotting down questions to discuss with their peers or teacher. A 2022 study concluded that even a simple pause button helped students to "prevent cognitive overload," significantly easing the task "of paying continuous attention to a steady stream of new information that has to be integrated with existing knowledge structures."

VIDEOS DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE CONTENT CLARITY AND IMPACT

You think you're giving a brilliant, off-the-cuff example that ties everything together, but when you see yourself on video, you realize that the connections you made aren't as clear as you thought. Videos tend to improve lectures because they give you plenty of time to organize your thoughts and allow you to watch yourself and fix the inconsistencies and logical leaps that are often sprinkled through an in-person lecture.

While in-person lessons can be thrown off-track by digressions and distractions, videos are more time-efficient and allow teachers to "make content more coherent, and add design principles that they would not perfectly execute in class (e.g., timing key points with slides; highlighting important information)," researchers explain in a 2021 study. They discovered that teachers were more likely to "prioritize core content" when making videos, editing out irrelevant details that diverted students from the learning objectives.

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6 Research-Backed Reasons to Record Important Lessons

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After teaching high school math for years, Kareem Farah realized that lecturing in front of his students wasn't working particularly well-he was a bottleneck, he had come to realize, a talking head who was reaching, at best, a handful of students at any given time.

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Assembling (putting those clips together, including assembling audio )

Cutting/trimming

Overlays (text, images, etc. that are added on top of the footage)

Effects (transitions, filters, and other effects to alter your footage)

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Overview of Approaches to Instructional Videos

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Overview of Approaches to Instructional Videos

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Most video recording devices also record audio; your laptop and mobile devices likely all record audio while recording video.
Generally, laptop audio is pretty low quality, not ideal for recording videos. Cell phones are often better, but can be impacted a lot by background noises. Most likely, you'll want to invest in an actual microphone option such as the ones below.

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Examples:
Printing Noah’s Ark
Parable of the Lost Sheep
Pros:

Advanced editing capabilities

Record webcam and/or screen

Helpful visual effects

Cons:

Expensive

More complicated to use

Tutorials:
Camtasia Tutorials

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How To Make Your Online Courses More Effective with A Video Platform

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How To Make Your Online Courses More Effective with A Video Platform

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Video Suggestions That Will Help To Enhance Your Course

To increase student interaction and provide them with a more engaging learning experience, consider adding the following video content to your course.

Instructor And Course Introduction
For each course, post an introductory video to let your students get to know you and a little about your background. Explain the purpose and objectives of the course.

How To Navigate The Course
Create a video showing students where important things are located within the course menus. Demonstrate how to use the course tools.

Briefly Explain Important Items
Attach short videos to further clarify important documentation such as the syllabus, the schedule, and assignments when needed.

Cover the Main Topics
For each section, add a 5 to 15-minute video to summarize the main concepts of each lesson.

Weekly Announcements
Each week, include a video to provide important information, tips, or updates to help encourage and guide your students as the course progresses.

Videos For Feedback
Instead of using typed or written comments, provide a video of your feedback for assignments and projects when possible. This feels more like an "in-person" experience.

Videos from Students
Encourage students to submit videos of their own self-introduction. Students can submit videos to participate in group discussions, or as part of an assignment.

Tips to Increase Student Engagement

Implement these tools and features to help test your student's knowledge, keep track of their involvement, and monitor their development throughout the course.

Virtually Connect with Students
Using the videos throughout the course, get to know your students by name. Allow them to express their goals and interests. This will help them to feel more connected to their classmates.

Show Your Face
Allowing the students to see you while you are talking can help keep their attention. Configure the Video and Screen settings to capture both your face and the content you are presenting.

Use Visual Aids
Utilize instructional images, charts, or graphs while recording your screen. This will help students to quickly understand concepts that may be harder to grasp through text or a lecture alone.

Video Footage Recorded from A Mobile Device
Mobile devices provide a good way to record footage of events that occur away from the desk. This can help add variety to the types of video content used in your course.

Videos with Graded Quiz Questions
Embed videos with built-in, graded questions into your course. This helps ensure students are actively listening to the video content. Grades can be set to sync with the LMS gradebook automatically.

Hand-Written Notes
While presenting, writing the main concepts out by hand will provide students with a more personal learning experience. Writing notes out while going through a lesson will help students to focus on the content better than reading text on a screen.

Include Closed Captions
Captions are helpful for students with or without disabilities. Students may need to watch your video without any sound, or from a place that has too much noise going on to hear. Including closed captions will also ensure your videos are in compliance with ADA guidelines.

Review Analytics
Use Analytics to track and gather useful data such as what is being watched, who is watching, and video quiz grades.

Video Accessibility - Closed Captions and Transcripts

Use the following guidelines to help generate more accurate captions for your videos.

Record Quality Audio
Ensure your mic is picking up your audio input clearly. Record in a quiet place without the background noise that may interfere. Try using an external mic instead of the built-in mic for a higher quality audio input.

Use Clear Speech
Whether you are using the AI-generated auto-captions or sending the recording to be human captioned, speaking slowly and properly enunciating your words will improve the accuracy of the caption results.

Record Short, Focused Videos
Captioning is faster and easier with shorter videos. It is also easier to maintain the attention of your viewers if your videos are short and focused on only the main points.

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How To Make Your Online Courses More Effective with A Video Platform

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To increase student interaction and provide them with a more engaging learning experience, consider adding the following video content to your course. Instructor And Course Introduction For each course, post an introductory video to let your students get to know you and a little about your background.

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Examples:

EdTech Issues: Copyright

Wk4 Info Validation

Pros:

Easy to adapt from F2F lecture materials

No advanced software/editing required

Cons:

Some PPTs are overly wordy/ineffectiveDoesn’t usually show instructor’s face (human element)No built-in editing options

Tutorials

How to Export a Narrated PowerPoint as an MP4 Video

Use Zoom to Create Videos for Students (PPT is an option)

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Examples:

Create transcript with Google Docs

Rubric Evaluation

Pros:

Quick & easy

Lots of options (website, Word document, PowerPoint, Canvas, etc.)

You can choose whether or not to show your face via webcam

Cons:

Can be fuzzy if the detail on screen is really small

No built-in editing options

Tutorials

Use the YuJa Browser Capture Studio

Use the YuJa Software Capture Studio (PC)

Use the YuJa Software Capture Studio (Mac)

Screen and Webcam record on a Macbook

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Examples:

Meet Your Instructor: Rocky Allinger

Meet Your Instructor: Cindi Kerns

Pros:

Quick & easy

The speaker is on camera (human element, body language, etc.)

Cons:

Boring to watch for long videos

No built-in editing options

Tutorials:

How to Use: Windows 10 Camera App

How to use QuickTime and your webcam to record a video

Use the YuJa Browser Capture Studio

Using the YuJa Mobile App

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Examples:

Video above in thumbnail

Why Such Specific Learning Objectives?

Pros:

Quick and easy

Visually attractiveIf using their content, all copyright credits are taken care of for you

Cons:

Limited options for editing and formattingKeeps an “Adobe Spark” watermark

Tutorial: Tell a Story with Adobe Express Video

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(quasi-One Button Studio PLUS Lightboard equipment)
Example above in thumbnail of Lightboard option
Pros:

Easy to set up: lighting, audio, camera, etc. already set up

Your face and body language is visible with your content (e.g. slides on a screen, writing on glass, etc.) Resulting file is an MP4.

Lightboard option allows you to write on the glass and still be facing students as you talk.

Cons:

Equipment on campus, requires reservation (the link to a reservation form called ETS One-Button Studio Reservation is available in Falconlink)

No built-in video editing options

Tutorial Video

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Examples:

Video above in thumbnail

How to Analyze Literature (after first 20 seconds)

Wikis in Plain English

Pros:

Low-tech (set up phone, doc cam, webcam)

Easy

Visually interesting

Cons:

No face

Sometimes hard to set up (lighting, camera position, etc.)

No built-in video editing options

Tutorials:

The Paperside Video – Rapid Video Creation for the Classroom – Dr. Lodge McCammon

Evolved Paperslide Videos – Dr. Lodge McCammon

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Excerpt from Jered Borup's "Putting Your Best Self Forward: 6 Keys for Filming Quality Videos"

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Excerpt from Jered Borup's "Putting Your Best Self Forward: 6 Keys for Filming Quality Videos"

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Key #3: Frame and Maintain Eye Contact
Sit a little less than arm's length from the camera. From there your eyes should be about one-third of the distance from the top of the screen, as seen in figure 5. You should also position the camera so that it is at eye level (or slightly below). That will likely mean placing your laptop on something like a box or a stack of books.
Link to Full Article

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Quick 2 min video on rule of thirds

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Make sure that the available light in the area where you are recording is sufficient for your face to show clearly.

If you have too much light you'll be washed out and viewers will not be able to see you.

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The relative location of the lighting source can impact the quality of your video. You may need to move a lamp or turn on/off overhead lights.

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If you really want to go all out check out this video Mike Zigarelli put together to share his space.

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Tips for slide format, colors, font, etc.

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Tips for slide format, colors, font, etc.

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from the College of Continuing Education, University of Minnesota

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Teaching Tip: Designing Online Lectures and Recorded Presentations

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These methods can be from using the Lightboard studio (see "Different Approaches" column) OR from using a video editor that allows you to layer text or images on top of your webcam footage and/or screenrecording (e.g. iMovie, Camtasia).

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Dynamic Duo Annotated Bibliography on Instructional Videos

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Dynamic Duo Annotated Bibliography on Instructional Videos

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"Create a Video" page from the Tech Support Knowledge Base

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"Create a Video" page from the Tech Support Knowledge Base

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More nuts and bolts for the video production process.

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Note: This page covers the nuts and bolts of creating a video. If you're creating an instructional video, we recommend you start with our Instructional Videos from the Instructional Design Blog.
A well planned video project has three phases. Pre-production is where you brainstorm, script, and plan the video. Production includes the steps you'll take to record your video. Post-production is when you edit the pieces together and add the final touches that polish your video. If you are new to creating videos take the time to work though these stages. Your production will benefit from the extra effort.

Some Video Types/Examples

Some Video Types/Examples

Educational/Informational

Many videos on YouTube and elsewhere are focused on providing brief educational content centered around a common theme or perspective. These don't follow an overt plot line like is common in other stories, but they do have to create conflict and tension to keep the presentation engaging. They also include characters and setting choices (though sometimes these are more implied than direct). Here are a few examples:

Narrative Nonfiction, Personal

This approach is also common, and it refers to stories from someone's (or several people's) past. Here are a couple of examples:

Film/TV Analytical Video Essays

This approach involves analytical discussions/explorations of popular films and TV shows, which might not feel like storytelling in itself, but it's actually a very meta form of storytelling. They tell a story about a story that someone else has told. Here are a few of our favorite examples:

Retelling/Reinterpreting Classics

This is an approach that's popular in a lot of films, novels, and TV shows. The creators would take an existing story, usually one that's well known like a fairy tale, Bible story, or classic novel. This approach to a web video can be fun because it allows you to re-interpret existing stories with your own storytelling perspective. Here are a few examples:

Spoofs & Satires

Generally this format is a humorous imitation of an existing person, place, circumstance, stereotype, etc. Here are a couple of examples:

Pre-Production

Some level of planning and drafting is required for any video production, whether it's a video lecture or a dramatic short film.

Brainstorming

Purpose & Audience

The purpose and audience for your story will impact every aspect of pre-production, production, and post-production for video storytelling. Consider these questions:

Who -This is your Audience. Who do you want your video to appeal to?

What - What do you want your audience to experience or learn while watching your video? Also, consider what type of video you'll be creating (video types above).

Why - Why should your audience learn/experience the "what" of your video? And why use this medium (video) to communicate your story or message and not another medium (podcast, graphic, text, etc.)?

When and Where - When and where would you want them to watch your video? (What's the ideal context/circumstance?) Also, when and where will your video take place? What setting are you planning on?

Thesis

You should be able to express the main idea or point of your video story within one or two sentences, providing your topic and what your take is on that topic. This thesis should tell your audience what the production is about and will also help focus your narrative into a clear and concise project.

Outlining (story structure)

It's wise to start a production outline with your story arc: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

So you might be thinking, "Well, I'm not really doing a story. I'm making an informational or persuasive video." The truth is, it's all still storytelling. You still need to provide context/exposition, build tension, come to a twist or reveal, and wrap things up. Let's look at it in both genres:

Informational, Persuasive, or Commentary Types of Videos

Exposition: The context and background information needed for your message to make sense. It should prepare the audience for your information, argument, or commentary, often establishing the stakes or relevance of the issue/concept being discussed. Examples:

Case Study/Story - Before teaching about a solution or procedure, raise the question through how it impacts people in the real world. Or perhaps tell a personal story that led you to your position on an issue, which also shows how the issue impacts people in the real world.

Question/Dilemma - Pique interest and activate your audience's background knowledge by giving them a problem to solve or a question to answer. The rest of the video can then explore how to answer that question/dilemma, providing the new knowledge and/or skills required.

Climax: This should be your big reveal or the thesis of your argument/commentary. It should solve the problems or questions identified in the exposition and rising action. It should be the "Aha!" moment.

Falling Action & Resolution: This is the wrap-up of your video. This is the moment to guide your audience toward what they should do/think/understand differently from now on. What impact would you like your information, argument, or commentary to have? How can your audience use it "in the real world"?

More Dramatic Storytelling (e.g. what we traditionally consider to be a "story")

Scripting

This is the stage where you write out more specifically what will happen on the screen. A step above the outline it should have all dialogue and/or narration written out as well as basic descriptions of visual components such as settings, props, screens, actions, etc. Here is our sample script.

For that more dramatic storytelling, we recommend using the formal screenplay format. Unlike your outline, your script is designed to be an essential document to people other than yourself: actors, set designers, prop-masters, directors, etc., so it is far more detailed. You can find sample scripts for popular films at IMSDB.

Script Formatting

You've probably seen a script before and noticed that it has a very specific format. Learn some basics from Script Writing Help: Video Script Formatting Guidelines by Tom Hickmore and check out the screen grab below.

Scripts for informational, persuasive, or commentary videos might not have the same production elements; however, they should still be detailed. One way to format such a script would be to have two columns: one column containing the narration/dialogue, the other containing the visual descriptions like slides, video clips, images, animations, text overlays, etc.

Ethical Considerations at this Stage

It's important to consider privacy and copyright while writing your screenplay. Who and what will be in your video? Do you have the right to record those people and places? Make sure you ask for permissions as needed before you move forward with those people and places in your video.

In addition to respecting the copyright of others, you should start thinking about how you plan to license your own work. Choose a creative commons license for your video before publishing/sharing with others.

Storyboarding

Once you have your script, it's time to really get those visuals figured out with a storyboard ( here's our example). Consider your storyboard the exciting first phase of "seeing" your production come to life. Mostly, this is just doing quick drawings of your scenes as you envision them in the final production.

You'll be following your script closely. Your storyboard should also ideally include notes about the videography techniques that you plan to use including your shot size (e.g. close-up, wide shot), your camera angle if it's unique (up, down, or oblique/dutch), and your camera movements (pans, tilts, zooms, etc.) - check out videography techniques further in this article.

Lastly, don't freak out if your storyboarding process leads you to make changes in the script. Sometimes when you're drawing it out visually it helps you realize what will work and won't work on the screen. You can also get struck with inspiration to try something different.

Storyboard Design Methods/Tools

Now, there's more than one way to create a storyboard, and you don't necessarily need to have artistic talent. Here are some different approaches:

Pen & Paper: That's the easy one, but harder to share and collaborate with others, and also easy to mess up. You can do this with scrap paper, notebook paper, post-it notes, or more formal templates like this one that we've created.

Whiteboard: If you have access to a large whiteboard, this can be a great strategy for collaborative productions. Everyone can gather around as you sketch out your drawings and notes across a whiteboard. Don't forget to take a picture of your final storyboard before erasing!

Photos/Cutouts/Clipping/Prints: This collage-style approach can be really time consuming, but it doesn't require any drawing skills.

Digital (Online Resources): These can also be time consuming, but more collaborative and editable. The following tools could help you create a storyboard digitally:

Google Slides

Prezi

Canva

StoryboardThat

PowerPoint

But . . . I Can't Draw!

If you're still feeling nervous, check out the video below with tips on how you can make an effective storyboard with virtually no artistic abilities.

Production Planning

Jumping from your storyboard to holding a camera can be a big mistake. You can save yourself a tremendous amount of time, energy, stress, etc. if you create a detailed production plan for your filming. You can't afford the months of re-shooting that a big blockbuster can do. Instead, make the most out of the time that you do have. Here are things to remember:

Don't film your scenes in their actual order. Number One Rookie Mistake? Filming your shots in the order that you'll be putting them in for your final product. This is highly inefficient. Instead, film your shots based on location, and even more specifically, camera setup. Once you've got your camera set up in a particular location, film everything that uses that perspective. When you leave for your next camera setup, you shouldn't have to come back again

Jot down continuity notes. Since you won't be filming your scenes in order, take note of things that need to be continuous. This is usually related to your actors. What are they wearing? Will that jacket be zipped up? Did it get zipped or unzipped in a previous scene? What about hair? Was she wearing a ponytail or messy bun in that last scene? Was your actor carrying a prop? When did they pick it up? When will they put it down?

List actors and props by location. For every location that you film, make sure you've brought the right people and props with you. Running back and forth to track people or things down wastes valuable filming time.

To help you draft your production plan, consider using this production plan template. Here's an example of how we filled it out.

Production

Lights, Camera, Action! It's time to record that video. Don't forget to consider issues related to copyright and privacy when it comes to recording your footage. Avoid bold, visible logos, and be sure to get consent from anyone who appears in your video. If your video is going to be used in your work for Messiah, please use this video consent form.

Videography Techniques

Composition/Framing

Here are some key points in composition

Rule of Thirds

Close-Ups / POV /Medium Shots, etc.

High Angle / Low Angle / Dutch / etc.

The video below provides an excellent crash course on the rule of thirds, symmetry, head room, leading room, and depth.

This next video describes the frame sizes and angles of shots. You only need to watch until 2:50, where they switch to discussing items that were in the previous video.

Many people are familiar with the classic image of film directors arranging their hands to form a frame as means of composing their vision, which can seem a bit corny. However, it's truly one of the most helpful and easiest ways to learn composition. Additionally, by imagining a tic-tac-toe board within that frame, you can easily familiarize yourself with these principles.

Consider using our printable cheat sheet while planning and filming your video.

Camera Movement

Here are some key points in camera movement:

Panning: Moving camera horizontally from fixed point (rotating camera, not shifting its location)

Tilting: Moving camera vertically from fixed point (tilting camera, not shifting its location)

Tracking: Moving the whole camera to follow action (e.g. someone walking or something floating into the air)

" 7 Basic Camera Movements " by Storyblocks is a great primer on what these movements are and how they can impact your production.

Audio

Audio is essential to video and often has the biggest impact on whether or not your video sounds professional vs. amateur. Watch the video below for some key points on getting good audio in your video project.

Lighting

The biggest factors to consider in lighting include

Environment

Positioning

Color

Intensity

Read " Lighting Basics for Video Making" from Video Production Tips to learn more about lighting your shots. Mood and clarity are important factors to consider with narrative video, but simply knowing the temperature of light and how that impacts your camera will help lead you to a new level of production.

Videography Equipment

The Camera

The most essential piece of equipment for recording videos is the camera. From the Hollywood movie production cameras that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to the camera built into smart phones and laptops, there are many options. The increasing quality of cameras in cell phones have made videography much more accessible. For your own video production, take an inventory of the types of cameras you already have access to and decide whether or not you want to borrow equipment from Educational Technology Services.

Tripods & Support

Tripods help keep your visuals balanced, steady, smooth, and independent of you. You can borrow tripods from ETS, but you can also rig up a tripod-like setup with objects around you. The video below shows some handy tricks that you can do with a tripod to get different effects and movements for your shots.

Audio Equipment

Most video cameras also collect audio, but that might not get you the audio quality that you're looking for. Consider adding additional equipment like lapel mics or more traditional microphones to improve your quality.

Lighting

Lights that are especially designed for filming can be very expensive. Since you're likely working on a budget, you'll need to rely on the lighting already in your environment, whether natural light outdoors or artificial light indoors. It's good to experiment with lamps or work-lights that you have access to - move them around to see how it impacts the preview in your camera.

Post-Production

Now that you've finished recording, it's time to put the whole project together.

Organizing Your Footage

Now that you've recorded your footage, you need to organize that footage. That's where we'll start our Post-Production process. Here are some tips for organizing your footage effectively:

Use subfolders for your different video parts, making it easier to put them in their story arc order later.

Review all takes of a particular shot and choose your favorite

Rename favorite with a reference that fits your storyboard (e.g. 2A)

Move all the others to a folder that will serve as the cutting floor. Don't delete them in case you realize you need something later.

Keep a "bloopers" folder to collect funny mishaps that you might want to use in a post-credit bit.

Editing Techniques

Editing is a huge part of the video production process. The main types of edits are as follows:

Assembling (putting those clips together, including assembling audio )

Cutting/trimming

Overlays (text, images, etc. that are added on top of the footage)

Effects (transitions, filters, and other effects to alter your footage)

You can read " Better Video Editing Techniques" from Video School Online if you want more details on those types of edits.

The video below gives a quick example of how someone edits a scene:

Tips & Reminders

Be Concise. Just like writing a paper, your media should be concise and free of extraneous content. Sometimes that means cutting out things you really like, and sometimes that means having someone else review that content to make sure it makes sense.

Take Your Time. Editing takes awhile; don't rush your edit, and allow multiple revisions.

To Take it Up a Notch: 5 Second Rule. Attention spans are limited so it's often a good idea to change your shot, introduce a graphic or have some motion to distract your audience from a static image about every five seconds.

Editing Software

There are many video editing programs, like iMovie, Adobe Express, Camtasia, WeVideo, and OpenShot, but most of them operate in pretty much the same way. The main parts of video editors are

a bin/browser/file manager

a timeline/sequence

a canvas/viewer/preview

an effects window

Most commonly these parts are laid out with the bin/browser on the far left, the timeline/sequence along the bottom, an effects window on the far right or as an extension of the bin/browser on the left, and the canvas/preview above the timeline and to the right or center.

When choosing your video editor, here are some factors to keep in mind:

Accessibility: Is there a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for the application?

Security/Privacy: Can you control who accesses your files? What information does the application collect about you?

Terms of Use: What restrictions are placed on you for using the service?

Price: Does the service offer free or discounted prices for educators and students? Does your organization already have an account with the service?

Ease of Use: Is the software good for beginners? If it is more complex, can you at least figure out how to get it to do what you need?

Collaboration options: Can you work alongside others on the same project?

Export/Share options: Is there cloud sharing? What file types can the software read/create?

Interoperability/Platform Options: Can you easily move a project on this software to another?

Support: If you get stuck, where can you go for help?

Tutorials: Is there good documentation by the producers of the software? Are there good tutorials on sites like YouTube?

Exporting

Once you are finished editing your video, you'll need to export it from your editing software in a file format that can be played in a video player. For videos you plan to post online, the MP4 (or MPEG-4) is the ideal choice.

Publishing

Next, you need to make that file accessible to others. Since you're most likely sharing your video with others, you'll need to upload the video to a cloud-based location, e.g. YouTube, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. Video files are notoriously large and will almost definitely not be able to be sent via email attachment. Specifics on how to upload and share, depend on which location you choose. Look for tutorials online.

Captions/Transcripts

When it comes to making your video accessible, you should immediately think, "captions!" Adding captions is critical (or providing access to a text transcript if captions aren't an option). Check out the article Creating Accessible Videos from the University of Washington for an overview on captioning.

Does your video include music? If you use music with lyrics or if you have a section of video that is just playing music for five seconds or more, then you'll need to create music captions. Check out these two resources for info on that:

Note: Uploading videos to Canvas

Note: Uploading videos to Canvas

Videos can take up a lot of filespace in a Canvas course, which slows down functionality, so we recommend uploading videos via YuJa, YouTube, or OneDrive. This applies to both faculty and students.

More Details/Tutorials

YuJa

YouTube

OneDrive

Access your Messiah OneDrive by going to Falconlink, and selecting the "Microsoft Applications" card

OneDrive Tutorials

Further Exploration

Resources

If you already have some experience with video storytelling and want to take it up a notch, check out the resources below.

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Note: This page covers the nuts and bolts of creating a video. If you're creating an instructional video, we recommend you start with our Instructional Videos from the Instructional Design Blog. A well planned video project has three phases. Pre-production is where you brainstorm, script, and plan the video.

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Easy and popular option for quality audio.

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External microphones that you can prop up on your desk or table are also an option for quality sound.

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This option can be clipped to your shirt. Also called a "lavalier" microphone.

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When it comes to making your video accessible, you should immediately think, “captions!” Adding captions is critical (or providing access to a text transcript if captions aren’t an option).

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YuJa gets you started with captioning using the automated caption software. All you need to do is edit them to make any needed corrections: TUTORIAL

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If you upload your videos to YouTube, this is a tutorial for correcting those automatic captions.

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Great option if you record in Zoom, note that you won't be able to make corrections to the auto transcription this way.

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Overview

Zoom has a variety of options for creating closed captioning in your meetings and webinars which provides subtitles of the spoken in-meeting communications. This may be used for participants to easily follow the conversations or to meet accessibility requirements.

In meetings, the host or another meeting attendee assigned by the host can provide manual captioning, an integrated third-party closed captioning service can provide the captioning, or Zoom's live transcription feature can automatically provide captions. These same options are available with webinars, although manual captioning can only be provided by the host or a panelist. Any of these captioning options are also viewable in Zoom Rooms.

If you are unable to provide captioning manually or with a third-party service, the live transcription feature is also available but has limitations to take note of. Live transcription currently only supports English and the accuracy of the feature depends on many variables, such as but not limited to:

Background noise

Volume and clarity of the speaker's voice

Speaker's proficiency with the English language

Lexicons and dialects specific to a geography or community

Because of these limitations, if you are required to use speech-to-text support for any compliance or accessibility needs in your meetings and webinars, we recommend using a manual captioner or service that may be able to guarantee a specific accuracy.

As mentioned in our Zoom blog post, we are working towards making live transcription available to all of our users in the fall of 2021. To help free account holders who want live transcription before then, we will also be offering live transcription to meeting hosts upon request. To sign up, enter your information in this form.

Note: You can only assign one participant or third-party service to provide closed captioning.

For more information about viewing closed captioning or live transcription as a participant or attendee, please refer to the user guide.

This article covers:

Prerequisites

Closed captioning

Zoom desktop client (enter or view captions)

Windows: 3.5.37712.0111 or higher

macOS: 3.5.37712.0111 or higher

Linux: 3.5.37712.0111 or higher

Zoom mobile app (view captions only)

Android: 4.0.21521.0116 or higher

iOS: 4.0.21521.0116 or higher

Live transcription

Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account
Note: Approved K-12 accounts and other accounts upon request can also have access to this feature.

Zoom desktop client

Windows: 5.0.2 or higher

macOS: 5.0.2 or higher

Zoom mobile app

Android: 5.0.2 or higher

iOS: 5.0.2 or higher

Enabling closed captioning and live transcription

Account

To enable Closed captioning for all users in the account:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit account settings.

2. In the navigation panel, click Account Management then Account Settings.

3. Click the Meeting tab.

4. Under In Meeting (Advanced), verify that Closed captioning is enabled.

5. If the setting is disabled, click the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog box appears, click Enable to verify the change.

6. (Optional) If you want to make this setting mandatory for all users in your account, click the lock icon , and then click Lock to confirm the setting.

7. (Optional) Select the check boxes to enable additional features:

Allow use of caption API Token to integrate with 3rd-party Closed Captioning services

Enable live transcription service to transcribe meeting automatically

Allow viewing of full transcript in the in-meeting side panel: If disabled, participants can't view the full transcript in the side panel. They can only view captions in the video window of the meeting or webinar. Participants also won't be able to save captions.
Note: This feature requires Zoom version 5.7.0 or higher.

Group

To enable Closed captioning for a group of users:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit groups.

2. In the navigation panel, clickUser ManagementthenGroup Management.

3. Click the applicable group name from the list, then click theSettingstab.

4. Click the Meeting tab.

5. Under In Meeting (Advanced), verify thatClosed captioningis enabled.

6. If the setting is disabled, click the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog box appears, clickEnableto verify the change.
Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at the account level and needs to be changed at that level.

7. (Optional) If you want to make this setting mandatory for all users in the group, click the lock icon , and then click Lock to confirm the setting.

8. (Optional) Select the check boxes to enable additional features:

Allow use of caption API Token to integrate with 3rd-party Closed Captioning services

Enable live transcription service to transcribe meeting automatically

Allow viewing of full transcript in the in-meeting side panel: If disabled, participants can't view the full transcript in the side panel. They can only view captions in the video window of the meeting or webinar. Participants also won't be able to save captions.
Note: This feature requires Zoom version 5.7.0 or higher.

User

To enable Closed captioning for your own use:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.

2. In the navigation panel, click Settings.

3. Click the Meeting tab.

4. Under In Meeting (Advanced), verify that Closed captioning is enabled.

5. If the setting is disabled, click the toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog box appears, click Enable to verify the change.
Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom admin.

6. (Optional) Select the check boxes to enable additional features:

Allow use of caption API Token to integrate with 3rd-party Closed Captioning services

Enable live transcription service to transcribe meeting automatically

Allow viewing of full transcript in the in-meeting side panel: If disabled, participants can't view the full transcript in the side panel. They can only view captions in the video window of the meeting or webinar. Participants also won't be able to save captions.
Note: This feature requires Zoom version 5.7.0 or higher.

Starting Closed Caption or Live Transcript in a meeting

To start Closed Caption or Live Transcript in a Zoom meeting or webinar:

1. In a Zoom meeting or webinar that you are hosting, click Closed Caption or Live Transcript , if that feature is enabled.

2. Select one of the following options:

Assign a participant to type: Assigns a participant to type closed captions during the meeting.

I will type: Opens the closed captioning window for you to manually type closed captions.

Copy the API token: Copy the URL that you can provide to a third-party closed captioning service to integrate the service with your meeting.

Enable Auto-Transcription: Allows the system to start providing live transcription. Participants will be notified that this service is available. This option is only available if enabled in web settings.

Assigning a participant to type

Host

To assign a participant to type closed captions:

1. Click Assign a participant to type.
The participants window will open.

2. Find the participant who you want to type closed captions and hover over their name.

3. Click More.

4. Select Assign to type Closed Caption.

Participant

Once the host assigns you the ability to type closed captions, a notification will appear in your meeting controls. To enter closed captions as a participant:

1. Click Closed Caption .
This will open up the closed caption box.

2. Type the closed captions in the box.

3. Press Enter to submit your closed captions.

Using closed captioning in breakout rooms

After you start breakout room sessions, participants can click Closed Caption in the meeting controls to view closed captions. If you're the meeting host, we recommend using a third-party closed captioning service if you want closed captions in breakout rooms.

If you want a participant to type closed captions, make sure you assign them permission to type closed caption before starting the breakout room sessions.

Notes:

Only one participant can be assigned to type closed captions in a meeting; thus, it is only possible to have one breakout session with closed captioning.

Live transcription is currently not supported in breakout rooms.

Participant requests to enable live transcription

Participants of your meetings and webinars can also request to have live transcription enabled during the session. This option is available in the meeting controls, and avoids the need to request this verbally or through chat to avoid interruptions.

1. Start a meeting or webinar as the host.

2. When a participant or attendee requests live transcription be enabled, you will be prompted with the request. This request can be made anonymously, so you may not see the name of the participant requesting this feature.

3. Choose one of the following options:

Enable: Enables live transcription for use of anyone in the meeting or webinar.

Decline: Decline this request to have live transcription enabled. Other participants will be able to make their own requests.

Decline and don't ask again: Decline this and all future requests to have live transcription enabled.

1. Click Closed Caption or Live Transcript as the host in the meeting or webinar.

2. Disable Allow participants to request Live Transcription. This disabled the ability for participants and attendees to make these requests.

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Enabling and managing closed captioning and live transcription

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Zoom has a variety of options for creating closed captioning in your meetings and webinars which provides subtitles of the spoken in-meeting communications. This may be used for participants to easily follow the conversations or to meet accessibility requirements.

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While recording, you could turn on webcaptioner.com to auto transcribe your speech, then paste that transcript into a Word document (or similar) and make corrections.

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Web Captioner will sunset and be open sourced on October 31, 2023.

July 26, 2023
By Curt Grimes

Web Captioner will sunset and stop operating on October 31, 2023. Until this date, you can continue to access Web Captioner at https://webcaptioner.com/captioner.

Since its start in 2017, this project has provided a great opportunity to get the conversation going about accessibility and provide some tools to make spoken content accessible.

As I promised in the past, if I were to sunset Web Captioner, I would open source it. I will make the Web Captioner source available on my GitHub profile at https://github.com/curtgrimes on October 31, 2023 after Webcaptioner.com is sunset. I will open source it under the MIT license.

Go to Web Captioner
Available until October 31, 2023

Alternatives

If you used Web Captioner to add subtitles to live streams, many popular streaming services now have built-in automatic captioning available. If you are a content creator, consider enabling these options if they are not on by default. If a service, event, or stream does not provide captions, consider asking them to add this support. In the U.S., some public entities may also have an obligation to provide captioning.

Standalone alternatives similar to Web Captioner

I did not vet these alternatives thoroughly. This is not an endorsement. Be sure to follow through with your own research!

Other standalone alternatives exist. You may want to search for alternatives using keywords like these: live captioning, live transcription, text-to-speech, closed captioning, live streaming captioning.

Other alternatives by platform or service

Why sunset Web Captioner?

Since 2017, streaming platforms have continued to bake in captioning into their products, which is awesome! And within the last months and years we've seen an explosion of AI-powered speech recognition that can run locally and produce pretty decent results.

I regretfully have not had the time to improve and mature Web Captioner in the ways I originally wanted to. A mistake I made early on was making myself too available and open for feedback and support. I reached a point where I was spending more time troubleshooting users' microphone problems instead of developing new features in Web Captioner. While that may have been a good experience for a small set of Web Captioner users, as the sole developer of Web Captioner, this meant that I was no longer putting my time towards adding new features and fully realizing the vision I had back in 2017.

Another fundamental issue with Web Captioner is that it depended on the specific implementation of the Web Speech API only available through Google Chrome to produce a great result. While support for the Web Speech API has expanded to other browsers, the result users would see in Web Captioner would only ever be as good as those implementations, which left a lot out of my control. A non-trivial amount of feature requests I received were impossible to implement due to this dependency. That is not a good situation to be in. My eventual goal was to let users select (and pay for) a speech-to-text service of their choosing, but I did not have time to make this a reality.

Thank You

Thank you for your support of Web Captioner over the years. Many donors helped support a portion of the costs of keeping Web Captioner running. If you would still like to donate, you can make a donation on PayPal.

To follow me in the open source space, check out my GitHub profile.

- Curt

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Web Captioner is sunsetting October 31, 2023 - Alternatives, open sourcing

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Free, real-time captioning for your event.

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Learn how to use iMovie on your Mac to turn your videos and photos into stunning movies and Hollywood-style trailers.

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Putting your video in Canvas (with YuJa)

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Putting your video in Canvas (with YuJa)

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Canvas: Record or Upload Your Video with YuJa

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(you already have one!)

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Make your PowerPoint your virtual background in Zoom

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Make your PowerPoint your virtual background in Zoom

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New feature in Zoom (make sure your Zoom application is up-to-date)
Tutorial