Video Clinic: Start Training-Video Development with Pictures

If you’re planning to make an instructional video, you mightask, “Where do I start?” Training-video development starts with pictures, becausevideo is about pictures, not about words.

Can you remember the last time you saw a weather forecast onTV? If I were to ask you what the forecaster said, word-for-word, could youtell me? Most people can’t. But they do remember the fluffy cloud icons thatindicated it would rain. And they can describe the radar map.

That’s because video is a visual modality. People remembermore of what they see than of what they hear. As a result, TV professionals learnto think and communicate in pictures.

When TV news crews head out and report a story, they ask,“What am I going to show?” They then shoot their footage and edit it. They usuallywritethe voice-over scripts last. Video is a picture-first modality.

However, in many training departments around the world,pictures are the last thing people think of when they put togetherinstructional videos. Many write their script first without even thinking aboutwhat the learner will see on screen. As a result, they miss out on all thatvideo has to offer learning.

If you’re planning to create video to support learning, thefirst step is to learn the language of pictures. When I talk about the languageof pictures, I refer to everything you see on the screen: Footage, effects,text graphics, lower thirds, and so on.

Learning the language of pictures is not always easy becausewe were taught from an early age to communicate with words. Schools hadspelling bees, not picture bees.

Video is a series of message layers

While pictures are at the heart of video, otherelements work with the pictures to bring your message alive. They include:

• Special Effects
• Graphics
• Music
• Sound Effects
• Spoken word

Special effects includetransitions such as cuts and dissolves, as well as sweeps and starbursts whichcan be a little tricky. They include filters that change the pictures like makinga color shot into black and white.

Graphics includeanything from photos to images such as graphs and text graphics.

Music is apowerful message element that can affect the mood and energy of a video pieceand make the viewer feel they are somewhere else in the world.

Sound effects areused more in professional video production, but some trainers will use them toadd a sense of realism to their video stories.

The spoken wordincludes commentary such as a voice over, dialogue where we watch several peoplehaving a conversation, and monologue where someone talks directly to thecamera.

Search out an award-winning TV producer or filmmaker andyou’ll find they always plan their videos and films by starting with thepictures—then they add these other elements.

The professional practice is to convey much of your messagein the pictures, then add parts of the message that are missed in the picturesusing these other elements.

For example, consider you’re making a video on how to rollpizza dough. You could show a man kneading the dough. But how do we know whenit “feels” ready? This is hard to convey with pictures. So, we might add a textgraphic or voice-over to add that detail.

The challenge

If you’re currently making training videos that are simplytalking heads or screen captures, it’s worth reflectingon what you can do to add more visual elements. People will lose interestvery quickly if all they see for three minutes is a headshot of someone talking.

An immediate solution could be to add text graphics with keylearning elements that you cut to from the talking head or screen-capturevideo. You could also add B-roll (supplemental or alternative video intercutwith the main shot) to the talking head video.

In practice

So, what does this mean when planning instructional video?

Once you have written the objective and planned thestructure for your video, resist the temptation to immediately write a script. First,draw a storyboard that shows the viewer step-by-step what they’ll learn.

Given that video is all about pictures, we could say thatit’s good for learning that needs to be shown, but not told.

So, before expending time and energy into making video, startwith this question—if you were teaching this topic in a classroom, would youexplain the concept? Or would you demonstrate it?

If you’d likely explain the topic, it’s probably not suited tovideo. A podcast or providing the learning as written content might be better. Ifyou’d likely demonstrate it, video will be perfect.

It’s a mindset shift

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of fun arguments with folkswho write scripts first and feel that doing the storyboard first iscounterintuitive. It’s only after they try the storyboard first, that it makessense.

If we write a script first, we’re likely to spend most ofour time on it. (Ironically, the part most people will forget.) And then we’llmatch everything else to the script.

Doesn’t it make sense to focus first on the element of thevideo that will have most impact? And then go add everything else?

Some folks run into the problem that their legal departmentwon’t sign off on a video until they see a script—that’s an issue for anothercolumn.

It’s hard work

Adopting a visual mindset is not always easy. You may nothave the budget to go the extra mile. Your boss may just like those talkingheads of his.

But probably the biggest challenge is learning to think inpictures. Pictures are a language. They have their own set of rules—known as visualgrammar—that guides us in making them work for our messages.

For example, choosing to use a wide shot over a close-up canaffect your message. Opting for a low-angle over a high-angle can too.

Learning the visual language is not easy. From an early agewe were taught to tell, not show. For training-video development, it’s moreeffective to show, not tell, because video is about pictures. So, give yourselftime to develop into the visual mindset.