Creating video content can be time consuming and will likely take up more time than you would expect.  Advance planning is key to a successful project and the more you plan, the slicker the production process will be and the better your end product will be! 

This short video below shows colleagues providing excellent advice following their experience on working with us on a media production project

When considering or planning your own production ask yourself these key questions: -

1. What do I want to achieve?

Having an idea of preferred style and structure is really useful ito determine what needs to be recorded.  It’s often useful to write an introductory synopsis and a detailed description of each section of the production (often referred to as a storyboard) with names, locations, descriptions, and actions. Then outline the structure (beginning, middle and end), describe the key learning/information points and show how you plan to tell your story.

2. Who is my audience?

Think about who you are targetting and what level of education viewers are expected to have, as this will determine how the video should it be pitched.  Consider how you will host and share your content will determin it's range and reach

3. How long should my video be?

Statistics suggest that the first 15 seconds are crucial to grab the views attention, anything longer than 5 minutes will generally show a drop in interest level

4. What is my deadline?

Your timescales will determine what you will be able to produce in terms of complexity, the less time you have, the more simplistic the end product will have to be.  Consider your deadline and work back from there, factoring in any critical recording dates and when resources will be available.

5. What additional material might I need?

You may need access to images, graphics, music etc. to enhance your program which could take time and money to source. Commerical music is subject to copyright and usually costs a lot of money to use.  It is also very time consuming to get the ‘rights’ to use and you will incur royalty payments, therefore we wouldn’t usually recommend this route.