Whether you want to create a YouTube video to teach strangers one of your talents, or a video to train the employees at your company, the process of creating a training video is similar. In this post, we'll break down what that process is, so you'll be able to effectively share your knowledge with others and provide them with the skills they need to succeed.
What is a training video?
Training videos are designed to teach viewers some particular skill. They were most often used by businesses to teach employees, but as video equipment becomes more readily available, and video sharing platforms grow in popularity, they are often used to share knowledge on sites such as YouTube.
How to make a training video
Below, we'll outline the steps you'll need to take for each stage in the process of creating a training video.
Preparation
- Training material — This may seem obvious, but you need the training material that you'll be using. Some people try to just wing it, but this often results in a sub-par product.
- Lighting — Video loves lighting. Good lighting is the difference between the professionals and the amateurs. You don't need a ton of experience in this regard to get good results though. A common and easy-to-use solution is a ring light placed directly in front of your on-screen talent.
- Camera — At one point, picking the right camera could be a huge section in and of itself. Now, professional YouTubers are making due with their high-end smartphones. It is a good idea though, if you want the best production quality, to find a camera that will let you make manual focus adjustments.
- Microphone — Even high-end cameras don't have the greatest microphones on them. You'll likely want to use a separate microphone for recording the audio. An omnidirectional microphone is good if you need to pick up audio on several people. Unidirectional microphones provide the best result for one person by blocking out unwanted sound from every other direction.
Shooting
- Adjusting the camera — A nice crisp picture is important to the quality of your shot. Position the camera where you want it to get the framing that you desire, and then manually adjust the focus until your talent is well-defined in the shot.
- Adjusting the audio — Your audio recording software should have a gain function on it that adjusts the volume of the microphone input. Have your talent speak in their natural voice and adjust the gain until it goes into the red. Then back it off a little. The goal is to get a nice volume without picking up too much and causing artifacts.
- Getting the shot — The benefit of shooting video is that you can edit out all of the mistakes to end up with a high-quality end result. Some mistakes are okay to leave in, but if your talent flubs a line too much or stumbled over their words, simply retake the shot and edit it together in post. Beware though, if you cut too much, the video will look jerky. Have the talent start over from a reasonable starting point to limit the number of such cuts.
Editing
Once the video is shot, you'll need to load it into your favorite video editor to assemble it. There, you'll be able to cut out all the bad takes and stitch together the final product. Cutting to graphics or other footage can help minimize the amount of jump cuts as well. Here is also where you'll add any text or graphic overlays that aid in getting your point across.