Documentation:Video Basics/Creating a Video

Creating your own video is as easy as aiming your smartphone at a subject and pressing the record button. Creating video for educational purposes requires a little more planning and clarity about your goals. Here are some things you'll want to consider:

Why am I making this video? Consider your objectives carefully and make sure they are in line with what's important for learning. What will students learn? How will I know when they've learned it? How does the learning relate to the overall learning objectives for the course.
Who is it for? For example, recent research demonstrates that novices may benefit more from learning through video than more experienced students (Muller, D.).
What kind of video will help me convey what I need to convey? Animations or whiteboard illustrations in combination with dialogue may suit purposes where you want to explain detail not easily seen by a camera or the naked eye. Video interviews are important when you want to capture an individuals story or experience in their own words. Screencasting allows you to capture action on your screen as you are interacting with it to show people how to search a database or use a software application - for example.
How will learners use what they learn with the video? Will they participate in online or in-class discussion or problem solving, or will they self assess their understanding to better monitor their own learning?
Is the quality (production value) important or is the purpose to document and share? DIY video production can be as effective as full professional production, but the quality will be different (in terms of lighting, sound and post production effects).
What are my time and budget constraints? This may affect your decision about DIY vs. professional production and will also help you be realistic as to what you can expect to produce during your first attempt.
Where will I host the video? Do I want it to be open to the world or limited to a specific group of viewers?

However you answer these questions, creating your video will involve essentially 4 stages:

Pre-production: planning your project
Production: creating your video
Post-production: editing your video
Distribution: hosting and embedding your video

Resources to stimulate thinking and planning:

UBC's Design Principles for Multimedia: an overview of research and practice based principles for effective multimedia design, within a practical framework.
What Makes an Instructional Video Compelling?: an interesting piece looking at factors like relationship to course content and conversational language, as contributors to compelling viewing of instructional media among students.