by Lars Egidius Helle, Creative Director, Mohive
Video on a shoestring
In my latest two newsletter posts I considered some aspects of using video in Mohive. These posts have been about how you can use Mohive to make video-based simulations fairly easily. Today I am giving some tips on how utilise video on a shoestring.
Tip One: Tell, don’t show
One thing you should avoid is having a narrator as a talking head throughout your video. If you must have that, make sure that the narration is short. What you should do is use people from your own organisation to talk about their own experience. For example, if you are making a training video for mid-level leaders on how to conduct employee appraisals, go out and interview mid-level leaders and share their experience! User feedback tells us that learners respond positively to messages from peers as long as they are true and relevant. How do you do this? Make some brief notes on what you want the person being interviewed to say, and talk these through with him. Do not make a script. Put the camera on a tripod and make sure that the interviewee faces the camera. Natural light from a window or similar can be used to light him.
Then begin rolling, using dialogue with the person being interviewed. To do this you ask the interviewee questions and he answers them, covering the points you went through together before shooting. Also, make sure that you use a proper microphone so that you capture his answers clearly. When you edit the soundtrack, cut yourself out and leave in the person interviewed. Voila - you have a good and relevant introduction that you can submit to Mohive.
Tip two: Show, don’t tell
How small and insignificant can you make a video? How should you store this cable? Where are the fire exits? Show all this with small videos. Show how things are done. When you think you are close, go closer and make sure there is enough light. Edit the video and upload it to Mohive and it is ready to be used. Small videos can often be shot without sound, which makes them much easier to create.
But shouldn’t video be broadcast quality I hear you say? This is not necessary. Many small and simple video clips can be made without a film crew. Take a quick look at Youtube; you will see that much of the content there is not broadcast quality but it still works.
So now, go out and shoot!
Enjoy