The basis for the A&E television show The First 48 is an excellent metaphor for creating videos for training.

The short description for the popular television show is as follows: “For homicide detectives, the clock starts ticking the moment they are called. Their chance of solving a case is cut in half if they don’t get a lead in THE FIRST 48™. Each passing hour gives suspects more time to flee, witnesses more time to forget what they saw, and crucial evidence more time to be lost forever.”  Source http://www.aetv.com/the_first_48/index.jsp

Let’s revise the shows brief description for a training development scenario:  “For training managers, the clock starts ticking the moment their course is started. Their chance of success in their new e-learning course is cut in half if they don’t create interest in first 48 seconds. Each passing second gives employees more time to flee, more time to forget what they saw, and crucial training more time to be forgotten forever.”

In June we created a social media training course for employees.  This video based e-learning course starts out fast and furious, but creates interest for employees to finish the course.  You can view a short sample in the video clip below:

Click to view video

The course pace slows down after 1:45 seconds, but the critical moment occurs when employees realize that this training is different.  We received more compliments about this course than any course we have created in the past five years.  Many of the employees who took the course referred us to their friends and family’s employers to have something similar created for those companies.

When you are planning your next training project think about the first 48 seconds.  Traditional course development for certain subjects is not as effect as other types of training.  Remember we live in an impatient economy with employees who have been conditioned by media – e.g. movies, television, and video games.

I am often asked, what is the best budget camera for online videos?  Xcelus Studios usually does not use a low budget camera for our video production projects, but I realize that most small companies cannot afford a $6000 camera for simple video projects.  They just want good enough video to post on the web.

After looking at the samples from my friends Flip video camcorder and reviewing the Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera, I choose the Kodak Zi8 camera.  The biggest reason to use the Kodak Zi8 camera over the Flip Video camcorder is the ability to add an external microphone.

After watching video footage of my friend’s Flip camera from a FranklinCovey event at Sundance, I was impressed with the video quality, but not the audio.  I couldn’t hear the main subject due to the crowd noise and the isolated interview shots the sound was so distant that the interviewee seemed cold and unappealing. Remember that poor audio plus good video quality still equals a crappy video.  Portable video camera microphones pick up every sound in the room.

After purchasing the Kodak Zi8, I hooked up our Sennheiser wireless microphone to the camera and did some tests.  The audio was great and the video quality was great.  I also purchased a 1FT Audio Cable – Female XLR to 3.5mm Stereo Right Angle Plug from ComputerCableStore.com to use our shotgun microphones with the camera.

Another great feature on the Kodak Zi8 is the ability to choose which video format – 1080p, 720p 60fps, 720p, or WVGA.

For web video or training, the Flip and Kodak camera’s video output size is way too large for web viewing.  The video size averages about 60MB per minute in 720p mode.  This means that a 3 minute video would be about 180MB. I recommend that you use video compression software to reduce the file size before you upload the videos to your website.  We use Sorenson squeeze, but there are less expensive options available and some free online options as well.  A good web video size is ~4MB per minute.  A 3 Minute video is now 12MB vs. 180MB.

If uploading to YouTube, they will compress and convert your file automatically.  YouTube’s file upload limit is 2GB.

If you are using these cameras for interviews remember these tips for successful video:

LIGHTING – Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media.

1. The Key Light shines on the subject
2. The Fill Light shines from a different angle
3. The Back Light shines on the subject from behind

SOUND

1. Find a quiet location to record
2. Lavaliere microphones are preferred
3. Try not to use shotgun microphones
4. Cell phones should be completely turned off

COMPOSITION

1. Use a Tripod
2. Make sure to have the camera at the exact level horizontally as the main subject
3. Try not to look down or up on the subject with the camera
4. Use a medium shot
5. Avoid zooms

VIDEO COMPRESSION

1. 3 – 4 MB per minute vs. 30 MB per minute
2. 3 Minute Flip Cam video is 86 MB
3. Encoding Options
   • Sorenson Squeeze (Desktop)
   • Encoding.com (Online)

For reference, the cameras we use in our professional video work are the following:

• Panasonic HVX-200a with a Red Rock Lens system
• Canon 7D

Many companies use online video for customer testimonials.  Too often these videos are nothing more than customer X saying that Company Y is a great company and they have great products.   Just sit the customer down in front of a camera and tell them what you want to say. After 3-5 takes there is enough information to create a short video for a website.  This is the simplistic way to create a non motivational testimonial video.

The problem with the simplistic approach is there is no emotional attachment to the customer. In other words, the “trust” factor of the customer’s testimonial has not been established. A good customer testimonial video is more than just telling someone that Company Y is a great company and they have great products.

Customer testimonial videos need a believable “trust” factor of the unknown customer telling someone they should trust what they are sharing.  Creating these videos involves more creative development time and effort to share additional background information about the customer which is essential to establish creditability.  The most effective way to do this is to tell a story with your customer testimonial videos.

Some of the best customer testimonials videos I have seen are produced by APX Alarm in Provo Utah.  Tom Coleman is an expert at creating an emotional attachment to a customer and a product.  You can see some of APX Alarms customer testimonials videos at this link by click the play button on the image.

The next time you are planning customer testimonial videos, take some time and do something different – tell a story.

What Makes a Great Training Video – Tell a Story

Part 2 It All Starts with Aristotle – Ethos Pathos, Logos

This series of blog entries is not how to make a great training video, but explains the elements of a great a great training video. Many thanks go to Platte Clark, Director of Product Development for VitalSmarts for this information. Platte has developed some of the best video based training scripts Xcelus Studios has produced using the power of story. This information comes from a white paper and presentation we co-developed for a local ASTD event in 2006.

Five Things Instruction Designers can learn from Screenwriters about Training Motivation

Aristotle developed three keys to effective writing: the artful application of ethos, pathos and logos – the use of character (or credibility), logic (or reason), and emotion respectively. An excellent example is in the TV series Star Trek. It is expressed through the individual roles of the fictional characters: Captain Kirk (character), Spock (logic), and Dr. Bones (emotion). The screenwriters of the series purposefully built a charismatic leader who was often buffeted by appeals to reason and/or emotion as a foundation for compelling story telling.

Motivating participants to sit through training material is becoming increasingly difficult and critics are quick to point out that staring at a small screen is inherently problematic. In the end trainers feel pressed to employ motivational strategies (such as making training mandatory or sending test results to managers.)

Unfortunately, training via a computer often is problematic—think of the numerous distractions; absence of social consequences for quitting; and the tedious read and click environments. Screenwriters have been wrestling with many of the same motivational issues for years and have found ways to keep eyes glued on the big (and little) screen. In fact, building a three act screenplay is as formal and structured a process as designing training; the only difference is the dramatic structure is hidden under plot whereas instructional design is often conspicuously apparent throughout.

The differences in how screenwriter and instruction designers develops content are outlined below:

Screenwriting Method

–Beginning (set-up & hook) Act I

–Middle (complication) Act II

–End (resolution) Act III

Instructional Design Method

–Tell them what you’re going to say (Intro)

–Say it (The Course)

–Tell them what you’ve said (Summary)

Creative instructional designers don’t restrict their training to the premise that eLearning (or any other self-driven learning methodology) requires extrinsic motivational elements for successful completion. Training can be intrinsically interesting and motivating. Screenwriters have been building such interest for years, and what follows are five techniques they use that can be equally effective in instructional design.

Secret #1: Ethos, Pathos and Logos

Secret #2: Build a Thematic Argument

Secret #3: Conflict is Good

Secret #4: Create a Noble Goal

Secret #5: Hold Something Back

Click here to download the Five Things Instruction Designers can learn from Screenwriters about Training Motivation white paper.

What Aristotle and Star Trek can teach us about the art of writing and instructional design.

This series of blog entries is not how to make a great training video, but explains the elements of a great training video.  Many thanks go to Platte Clark of VitalSmarts for this information.  Platte has developed some of the best video based training scripts Xcelus Studios has produced using the power of story.  This information comes from a white paper and presentation we co-developed for a local ASTD event in 2006.

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Part 1 Why Story?

Let’s do a quick history test – Tell me all of the details of the Apollo 13 mission where does your mind go to first?

Encyclopedia?

School Textbook?

News Article?

I would wager a bet that most of the readers of this blog immediately thought of the Tom Hanks Apollo 13 movie.  You probably had an image of the Tom Hanks pop in your head other than the one of the original flight crew pictured in this blog.

Can you explain the details of the Apollo 13 crew?

How did Jack Swigert become a crew member? (Think of Kevin Bacon’s character)

Why didn’t Ken Mattingly fly on Apollo 13?

Did they land on the Moon?

All of these details can be remembered through the power of telling a story and the use of video or visually imagery.  Why is story-based knowledge and memory so powerful?  People naturally learn by hearing stories.  It is easier to remember details and fact through stories. Some research shows that during a story both sides of the brain are working together.

Roger Schank & Robert Abelson wrote:

“People who fail to couch what they have to say in memorable stories will have their rules fall on deaf ears despite their best intentions and despite the best intentions of their listeners. A good teacher is not one who explains things correctly but one who couches his explanations in a memorable (i.e., an interesting) format.”

Platte Clark shares the following:

• People need a context to help them relate what they have heard to what they already know
• When a decision-making heuristic, or rule of thumb, is presented to us without a context, we cannot decide the validity of the rule we have heard, nor do we know where to store this rule in our memories

Video is a great tool to tell a story, but often training videos are nothing more than an audio or talking head with endless bullet points of data.  We have made our fair share these videos and they continue to be a preferred style of some of our clients.  They are easy to write and take less effort to make.  Weaving a story into a training video can be complex.

One of the best training videos we developed was for Zenger Analytics. The 3 part video was a component of a two day instructor led training course for account managers of insurance companies.  The video started the training session telling a story of an account manager visiting a client who is frustrated with the account manager because of the lack of details in their reporting.  Take a look here…

I was sitting in the training class observing at the account managers watch the story.  It really illustrated their typical account visits.  Immediately after the video was finished they all were connected to the training and related several stories and experiences that were similar to the character in the video. The training included two additional videos throughout the course retelling the story with different outcomes based on the new knowledge they gained from the course..

The interesting part about the whole training experience was at the dinner that night everybody was referring to the video as they were discussing the training with their peers.  The six minute story proved very effective in connecting the training audience to the content.  It made them pay attention and gave them a point of reference of why they needed to become better account managers.

Another example of a training video telling a story is one we created for a Biotech company about insider trading.  We took a 60 minute presentation and turned it into a 3 minute story. Take a look here…

What makes a good training video? Tell a story.

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In part 2 of this blog we will discuss how to develop a training script using screenwriter’s techniques.

More and more companies are now using online video strategically in business processes such as lead generation, employee/partner communications, sales qualification, support, training and marketing.  We have compiled a list of URL links to our favorite articles validating the emergence and importance of using online video in your business.

1. Six Reasons Videos That Aren’t Viral Are Valuable

2. Online Video Marketing: How to Optimize Your Web Site Conversion Rates Through Video

3. Persuasive Online Video Strategies That Prompt Action

4. The Video Boom: Video Takes Over the Inbox

5. Five Ways Traditional Media Companies are Using Online

6. Creating Powerful Digital Video Campaigns

7. Online Video Ads – Statistics 2008

8. The Online Video Snacking Trend

9. The Future of Online Video Looks Bright

10. B2B Marketers Gain Competitive Edge with Online Video

Online video is very cost effective format, easier to produce, and host online than in the past.  It is now almost a requirement to be successful in attracting customers and prospects to your product and services.

About Xcelus

Xcelus develops innovative and unique online video platforms allowing companies to integrate the power and persuasion of video into their sales, marketing, and communication strategies. Xcelus’ online video platform tools allow companies to manage, deliver and measure video content to meet the needs of today’s business requirements. Xcelus’ video solutions include sales, marketing, customer support, lead generation, recruiting, and employee communications. Xcelus is a private company founded in 2005 and is based in Provo, Utah amidst the greatest snow on earth.

Screen recording software is very popular for recording training and support videos.  Right out of the box you can easily produce videos by recording computer screen movements and your narration.  But, just because you can record screen movements and record audio on your computer microphone, doesn’t mean that your audience will be engaged with your content.  Here are some tips we suggest to our clients when producing videos with screen recording software like Camtasia and Captivate.

1. Plan your video – What are you recording and why is it important? You are obviously creating a video to demonstrate something on your computer, but before you start recording plan your video.  Identify each step of the process and write down the narration for each step.  The narration doesn’t have to be dry and boring, but make it relevant to what is important.
2. Introduction/Closing– Remember to do an introduction narration of what you will be demonstrating and a closing summary in your video.  Using the consistant title screens and closing screens can help you build brand identity.
3. Keep it short – If your video is longer than 3 minutes, break it into segments.  Your audience will be grateful that they can view only the information they need rather than watch a 15 minute video hoping and waiting you will show them what they want to see.
4. Use a good microphone – Do not use the $10 microphone you bought at Wal-Mart.  Sound is critical to screen recording videos.  Form my experience, if the sound is bad I will not endure through a video just to see it. Please invest in good quality microphone.  There are many quality USB microphones you can find for $99 – $299 that will really make a difference to your video.
5. Choose an appropriate screen size – Screen recording videos are very tricky if you have to resize the content to stream from a web page or YouTube.  The best rule is to record smaller than 1024×768.  That is an average laptop viewing area.  Screen recording at a larger viewing area will create a huge video file that will look horrible when compressed to a smaller size.  Record at the smallest size possible.
6. Narration Pace – Speak clearly, slowly and follow your script.  Do not ramble on or feel like you have to say something all the time.  Show the process and provide clear narration.
7. Rehearse, Rehearse and Rehearse – Do several dry runs to test your script and timing.  Create a demo for feedback from your coworkers.  Use the feedback to make changes to your script.
8. Keep your Screen Clean – Turn off all reminders and popup screens.  Look at your browser’s toolbars and turn them off.  Sometimes toolbars and bookmarks reveal too much information about you!
9. Record in a quiet location – Try not to record your narration in a pod. Reserve a conference room away from the normal office traffic. Remind your coworkers that you are recording and to be respectfully quiet.
10. Start your Applications Before you Record – Some applications take some time start.  There is nothing more boring than watching an application take 20 seconds of your recording time booting up.  If it isn’t critical to your instruction on how to launch and application, have the applications ready to go and use the alt tab keys to cycle through the applications.  Make sure when you switch to an application it is loaded in your screen recording area.

Building a library of training and support videos is important to any organization.  Screen recording software is affordable and easy to use.    Keep ahead of your competition by creating quality videos rather than good enough videos.

I found a great article about online video by Target Marketing about the importance of online video.  Here is the link:  http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/the-emerging-importance-online-video-410206_1.html.

I first started putting video on the web in 2001 using Broadcast.com and Yahoo! services for a lead generation programs.  The response was better than expected.  The technology back in 2001 was very limited and required expensive software and expertise to get a video on the web. Most companies were sending out mini DVD business card rather than posting a small QuickTime or Windows Media videos on the web and hoping their audience had DSL or better Internet connections.

It is a lot easier and less expensive now to put a video on a website. Most business and consumers have access to broadband Internet connections and the video compression technologies are inexpensive and easy to use. It is almost a requirement to have a video on your website to keep up with your competition.

Enjoy the article.

This blog post is by guest blogger, Renee Casati. Renee has been doing professional acting and voice talent for a number of years in commercials, movies and corporate videos.   We use Renee frequently on all types of audio and video projects even as a make-up artist for Stephen Covey projects.

Renee is based in Park City, Utah, but is often in Los Angeles, California working on TV and movie projects. Renee can be booked through Talent Management Group www.talentmg.com or 801-263-6940.

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Having been on both sides of productions—Talent (Acting and Voice) and Production (Casting / Directing / Producing) — I have compiled a few talent management tips for your next corporate video project which will improve communications, save on studio time/costs, and allow you to enjoy excellent technical and creative results.

Who is the Audience? – Provide a brief description of who will be watching or listening to the final video or audio. It helps the talent form a mental picture of the audience they are addressing.  If possible, provide a sound clip of a previous project…talent gets the precision of the auditory…not just verbiage.

Scripts – Remember all good video and audio projects start with a great script.

• Have someone read the script out loud before you call it final. This will help for timing and nagging problems before they occur in the studio – costing you time and $$$. I did a corporate training project where the script had never been read aloud. The Producers heard it for the 1st time as we were recording it. The inferences and “double entendres”—Viagra related—were hilarious and we couldn’t stop laughing. Luckily, the producers were light-hearted, but it did cost extra studio time to re-write and re-record.
• Make sure you are recording the final script. I’ve done whole sessions where after 2hrs of recording…in post production they discover it was, oops the wrong version.  Watch out for re-do costs.
• Make sure it’s at least 12pt font and legible…most current copy, no crossed out words and changes written out….
• Phonetically spell out uncommon words or industry terminology
• Capitalize acronyms with dashes and spell out numbers (IBM = I-B-M or AMS 2500 = A-M-S twenty-five hundred)
• Provide a script 3-4 days before the recording – this way I can read it prior to the recording date. Even a draft script would be helpful.

Direction – Only you have an exact vision of what you want for the finished recording. Now you need to communicate that vision to your talent so you get exactly what you see in your head.

• Give you talent specific/descriptive words. Even “upbeat” and “excited” has a 1-5 scale.
• These are great exacting trigger words:  warm, confident, authoritative, classy, sassy, sultry, quirky, engaging.(I suggest keeping a list of proven one-word directive)
• They hear, “Great…and Again, but make it more conversational” (when the script is written like it’s pulled right out of the Journal of the American Medical Association!)
• It helpful to tell your talent you want them to sound like a role:  corporate professional, mom-next-door, best friend, announcer, attorney, doctor, trusted teacher, or a bored DMV worker!
• Also it’s common to use, “Sound like James Earl Jones”…or a name actor on a commercial or sitcom…In this case a sound clip would help…you may get a Voice Talent who is not familiar with that particular show/commercial.

Voila, those are a few nuggets for you…hope all goes smoothly on your next project!!

Cheers,

Renee

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Thank you Renee for those tips.  The only other advice I can give when working with talent is to remember to bring water bottles, cough drops, and M&Ms.

To view some of Renee’s work click the image below:

Now you have created your new marketing video, what do you do with it? Here is a list of my ideas on how to maximize your business video:

1. Convert the video to the following digital formats and in a variety of sizes:

• FLV – Flash video format for web posting
• WMV – Windows media format for PowerPoint Presentations
• MP4 – for iPhone and Mac applications
• H.264 – High Definition format for Presentations
• MOV – for your Mac applications

Your video production vendor should provide you with these formats. Hopefully you are not being delivered a single video file. If your video vendor will not provide the above formats, request the final .mov or .avi file and purchase video conversion software (We use Sorenson Squeeze) to convert your video to the above formats.

2. Upload your video to your website. Put a link to the video on your home page.
3. Create a special landing page with your online video for Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns
4. Upload your video to YouTube. Create a YouTube account and a YouTube channel for your company. Use YouTube as part of your SEO and social media strategy. You can see the Xcelus Studio channel at: http://www.youtube.com/xcelusstudios
5. Use your video to start a social media strategy. – Start by creating a Facebook account and a Facebook page for your company. You can see the Xcelus Studio Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Provo-UT/Xcelus-Studios/25219468856?ref=ts
6. Tweet your Twitter followers about your new video.
7. Use your video in your sales processes such as email campaigns and sales presentation.
8. Don’t forget to use your video in your PowerPoint presentations. The WMV format work great in PowerPoint.
9. Create a press release announcing you have created a new marketing strategy using online videos. Link to the video.
10. Announce your video in your corporate blog.

There are many more ways to maximize your video. These are just a few ideas to get your new marketing video out to your clients and prospects.