Activity Pack: Explainer Videos
This book includes resources, readings, videos and instructions for completing this micro-course.
I've created this in a book format so you can save it as a .pdf for future reference.
There are 6 chapters, one for each step (or day) of the course plus a bonus chapter with additional resources and examples.
See you inside :-)
Ok, down to the nitty-gritty, finally.
Here's how this is going to roll out.
There are six chapters in this book. You should skim through all six before beginning. You should do that because I have been too lazy to not included an advance organizer or any other kind of fancy instructional design element that will allow you to see the whole big picture and contextual thing. So, skim through now - I'll wait.
You skimmed, right? I'm trusting you here.
As you can see, the course is laid out in the following order.
Chapter 1: Introduction (day 1)
This is where you are now so I'm not going to explain it to you :-)
Chapter 2: Planning (day 2)
In this chapter you'll watch a few videos (grab some popcorn for this but easy on the butter 'cos I'm on a diet) to get a better sense of the different types of explainer videos you could create. I'll be asking you to think about and note down what you liked or didn't like about the videos. I'll also be asking you to begin to make some choices around:
- Your video topic
- Who your audience is
- What you want them to learn from your video
- The style, model, and medium you might use
With those choices made I'll ask you to use one of the many templates provided (or your own) to produce your plan (aka outline)
Chapter 3: Pre-production (day 3)
In this step you'll:
- Write your script based on your plan - You’ll need a script even if you aren’t narrating your video. If you don’t narrate then you’ll provide text (maybe animated or kinetic) on the screen. Pro tip - KEEP THIS SHORT. 1 Minute of Video Time = about 140-160 words of script. So, a two-minute video could have a script that has up to 320 words.
- Create a storyboard (pen/paper, ppt) - This is kind of like a lesson plan and will include your script along with rough indications of visuals and any animation you'll be using. Pro-tip - You can write your script and storyboard at the same time.
- Find or create your visuals. These can be photos and/or graphics and/or video clips. I'll include a list of sources for these, in the chapter.
- Choose music and sound effects (if you are using). I'll also include a list of sources for these, in the chapter.
Chapter 4: Production (day 4)
Depending on your learning goal:
Share your script and storyboard in the forum.
Or
1. Record or create your video and audio
2. Record any other video you plan to add
Chapter 5: Post-production (day 5)
Depending on your learning goal:
Provide feedback to your co-learners.
Or
Put it all together. Your recorded audio, your visuals, additional sound effects or music all get pulled into you editing software and you line up the narration, visuals, sounds, and animations. Pro- tip - a one minute video takes from 1 - 4 hours in post, depending on the complexity of animation and how well the narration lines up with the visuals.
Do not feel bad if you don't get to this part during this course. I'm hoping you set a realistic goal of maybe getting through to the script writing step.
If you do produce an explainer video - please share it in the forum
so we can give you the accolades you clearly deserve!
Now you know where we are going and have a good idea how we will get there. Go on to the Foundation chapter.