Documentation:Video Basics Test/Main page/Script

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CHECKLIST:
  • Chunk your content into 3-6 minute segments.
  • Review principles for learning, instruction, and multimedia development.
  • Create a script.
  • Coordinate with everyone involved in your production.

Finish planning. Every minute you spend planning your project is worth two or three minutes of designing, recording, and editing. Before you do anything else, download and fill out this worksheet. Try to be as detailed as possible: it'll make life easier later on.

Chunk content. One of the most important features in the planning worksheet is the 'Generate Concepts' section. This will help you break your content down into easily digestible sections, a technique also known as chunking content, which involves breaking large themes down into manageable chunks or concepts. If you intend to cover 4 concepts in a single video of 20 minutes, breaking the long video into four five-minute chunks makes it likelier that the material will be watched and effectively absorbed. Recent research indicates that the optimal length for student engagement is 6 minutes or less. (Guo, 2013).

Review principles. UBC's Design Principles for Multimedia provides an overview and basic framework for considering evidence based principles when designing multimedia for learning.

For more depth, have a look at Carnegie-Mellon's principles for learning, Merrill's first principles of instruction, Gagne's 9 events of instruction and Mayer's principles for multimedia development: they're all useful resources for helping you think about how to approach your video as a learning resource.

Storyboarding. After you've selected one chunk to start with, you can fill out this storyboarding worksheet. You can fill this out however you want to: for more traditional video projects, storyboards usually include sketches of each scene with notes attached, but you can feel free to use text, draft your script, draw each slide, sketch diagrams you might use, or some combination of those and other techniques.

Create a script. Writing a script will save you time in the longs run. ICreating a storyboard can help you see where you may want to add additional content, like b-roll images, to provide examples and raise interest. Once your storyboard is complete, you will get a sense of the flow of your project and can make decisions about editing more easily. Once your script and storyboard are complete, you'll get a sense of the flow of your project and can make decisions about editing more easily.

  • Make sure to rehearse your script(s), to avoid unnecessary pauses or verbal stumbles when you're recording.
  • Time your script to ensure it fits within the 3-6 minute timeframe you should be aiming for.
  • Try to write naturally: not only will people learn better (Mayer's 10th principle) but it'll be easier to read from: encountering the words it is when you'd usually say 'it's is distracting, and can throw you off.
  • Review your video for extraneous material, and remove it: the occasional anecdote or tangentially related point is fine, but the shorter your video is, the likelier it'll be watched to completion, and staying focused on your topic is important. (Mayer's 1st principle.)
  • For scripting pointers look at scripting for explainer videos by Lee Lefever at Common Craft.

Prepare your subject and shoot location. You'll need to arrange schedules, permissions, and any other needs related to your cast, crew, and location ahead of time. You'll also want to check out the location to see what the lighting is like, where the power sources are, and how noisy it is. Yale's Broadcast & Media Centre Do.It.Yourself resource provides a great starting place for the things you'll need to consider.

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TIPS:
  • Try to keep to three minutes per concept with a total video length of not longer than six minutes.
  • Planning will save time later. Take time to prepare your storyboard and script.
  • Keep things simple and remember your objectives.
  • Shorter productions take less time to plan, record, and edit, and are easier for students to digest.
  • Write how you speak. Don't try to force yourself to speak differently when you're recording: you'll make more mistakes and sound less natural.