Instructional videos are a cornerstone of many training programs, onboarding processes, and team communication. But if you have never produced your own videos, it can be a bit of a daunting project.

There’s producing, editing, camera equipment, audio equipment, and then distributing the content to think about. In this episode, we’re focusing more on the steps you need to take before you start rolling. How do you plan your content for maximum impact?

Lee Rodrigues, Senior Instructional Designer at Sunrun, joined this episode of The Visual Lounge to talk more about this planning stage. As part of our ten-week series on instructional videos, Lee is the latest guest to discuss instructional design and producing the best videos possible.

Lee has had 15 years of experience in the technology, training, and multimedia production fields. He uses a number of tools and tactics to develop and evaluate blended learning solutions for measurable and improvable behaviors.

Learning points from the episode include:

• Why all big projects should start with a prototype
• How planning a video is a bit like planning a recipe
• The difference between workflow-based instructions vs. knowledge transfer
• The Five Moments of Need and how to set objectives
• How Lee scripts his videos and uses the zero draft approach
• How to read a script on camera

Important links and mentions:

• Lee’s portfolio video

Learn more about the TechSmith Academy.

To read the blog post on the topic or watch the video, click here.