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With the rapid shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 crisis, demand for instructional videos exploded, and turnaround times shriveled. Finding ways to streamline the production process was critical.
Like most seismic events, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has fostered significant changes in the structure and processes of our society, argues Marc Studer, Electronic Media Producer at the University of Washington, Bothell.
These changes includes the processes that govern those
of us who work in higher education. From provosts to parking attendants,
we have all had to adapt the way we work.
Photo: pui_bunny / Shutterstock.com © 2021
As an electronic media producer at a mid-sized regional university, I've spent twenty-five years building a production protocol that reflects industry standards and best practices. My process has enabled me to deliver high-quality instructional and institutional videos in an efficient, timely manner. The rapid shift to remote learning changed all that. Suddenly, demand for instructional videos exploded, and turnaround times shriveled. It didn't take me long to realize that if I hoped to keep up with demand, I'd have to change how I did my job...
Based on my experience, I can offer the following tips for anyone looking to streamline the video production process:
- Embrace the situation. Adapting to a new reality that places more emphasis on quantity than on quality can be a hard adjustment to make. But this is not taking a step backwards so much as leveraging experience to reach a positive outcome.
- Request a brief pre-production Zoom meeting. Confirm key details and setting the stage in advance is critical for an efficient shoot.
- Forgo detailed scripts. Having a general idea of what will be filmed is often good enough.
- Level-set expectations with faculty members. Faculty members need to know that there will be starts and stops and that the goal isn't to re-create a real-time classroom lecture or lab demonstration. They also need to understand the value that video editing skills will bring to the project.
- Slate everything. When multiple sessions are filmed back-to-back, every lab experiment begins to look the same. Faculty members should announce each step of their process as they are being filmed. This provides valuable information for the video editing process.
- Standardize wherever possible. Post-production time can be minimized by using simple, unbranded title slides. This lack of branding will also produce assets that can be used in multiple contexts.
Penelope Adams Moon, Director of Digital Learning and Engagement at the
University of Washington, Bothell, contributed to the ideas and writing
of this article.
Source: EDUCAUSE Review
