“I cannot believe how much I learned in such a short time and I got way more than my money’s worth!”
VFL cohort scholar
Time to ring the bell. Time to start Cohort 2!
Are you looking for a WAY to make videos that will change your skills forever?
Well, I happen to have a WAY – and I call it the VFL way.
As I continue on my quest to teach people how to make videos for learning, I start and end with this WAY, all day.
The “WAY” is a mindset I want all of my scholars to learn and practice.
- Done is better than perfect.
- Meaning is more important than visual quality.
- Follow the process.
If you want to make videos that help train or teach, then you need a process. Sure you can use an online tool that makes it easy. Yes! Sure, you can use templates to make it faster. Sure, you can use formulas to write and produce content. If you lack the understanding of what it means to make a video for learning purposes, you will be making videos that miss the point and fail to deliver on the purpose of learning. The purpose of learning videos is always to improve the knowledge, skills, and behaviors of the learner. So, now you know the VFL way. How do you OWN it??
Start with DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT
Overcoming the natural desire to quit when you fail is the beginning of the Way. Sometimes we get frustrated when we try to do something new. This is our brain’s way of signaling we are about to learn something. Some call this cognitive dissonance. It’s a feeling that things aren’t quite right. We don’t get it. Learning how to make video requires you to learn a bunch of processes nested into one big process. The ONLY way to get better at anything is to keep doing it repeatedly. Some smart dude wrote a book about this and concluded that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. When you complete the whole video process and still aren’t 100% pleased, what should you do?
You tell yourself: done is better than perfect! Call it done and move on! Learn from it and go make another one!
Meaning is more important than visual quality
These days, authenticity is valued over all things. People want to hear your voice. They don’t want a professionally over-produced video that bores them into the corporate learning river of Styx. No sir, no ma’am! Make a video that is important to the viewer. They should be shown or told why they should care about the topic of your video in the first 30 seconds! Bet! The VFL WAY is all about the meaning in what you are making over the technical execution.
Follow the process
Yes, there are 104 steps in my process to make a learning video for a business or organization. If you are a scholar in my VFL program, you won’t need all 104. You will find out what works for you and own it. Take my process steps (outlined in detail here: The Best Steps You Need To Make Your Own Video Process) and shorten your process to something that looks like your personalized version of my Proven 15-step Checklist To Easily Make Weekly Videos.
Video For Learning Course Overview
This guide is for anyone interested in taking a course to learn about making training videos, also known as learning videos. The Video For Learning Course is a live course with an amazing toolkit.
Done is better than perfect!
~ Sheryl Sandberg!
Overview
Video helps people learn how to do all kinds of things these days. These types of videos are called training videos aka Video for Learning! Do not confuse these videos with entertainment that you find on cable tv, Netflix, Prime Video, or HBO. Video For Learning (Training Video) is different because it is designed to deliver on the KSB, or Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviors. If this purpose is not clear, you are not making a learning video. So, how do you learn to make your own learning videos? This guide shows you how the VFL Program is designed to take you from setting a goal to establishing your own process for making learning videos. At the end of the program, you will have the confidence and elevated skills to teach through the language of video. Let’s look at a description of the Video For Learning Course.
Course Description
Length of Course:
- 6 Weeks of 1-hour virtual classroom time
Prior knowledge required:
- Google Docs or Microsoft Word, Zoom skills
Participants will learn:
- The eight milestones of a successful video maker
- The VFL Way
- Formulaic scriptwriting
- Planning for a video shoot
- Use the CLASSY approach to record videos
- Edit video using the PEACHY method
- Basics of distribution
- How to evaluate the effectiveness of the video
- How to create a personalized process to make great videos
Toolkit Download
- Needs Analysis Tool
- Storyboard Template
- Learning Video Rubric
- Project Planner Template
- What to Wear on Camera Guide
- Video Script Template
- Creative Brief Template
- Call Sheet Template
- Pre-production Template
- Talent Release Form Template
- Shot List Template
What’s in the Beginner’s Guide to Training Videos?
How we define video terms is key to understanding how to make them. Without a shared understanding – a common lexicon – we create confusion and waste time explaining instead of making solid videos that help people learn. Video for learning is always different from video for marketing or entertainment for one simple reason: all learning videos have the same purpose. This purpose is: to improve the viewers’ knowledge, skills, and/or behavior.
How do you make all of these types of training or learning videos? The beginner’s guide will show you the 8 milestones you need to master to be a successful learning video maker.
- Set your Goal
- Write the Script
- Plan the Video
- Make the Video
- Edit the Video
- Distribute the Video
- Evaluate and Measure
- Own your Process
Let’s look at the VFL Way and how it can become your everyday approach to making videos!
The VFL Way
When you complete the Video For Learning Course you will have your very own video and all of the customized processes to make new videos. To begin, you need to learn the VFL Way.
- Done is better than perfect
- Meaning is more important than visual quality
- Follow the process
These three parts of the program, known as the VFL Way, are essential to your success. Write them down on post-it notes or note cards and hang them in a place that you will see regularly. To get the most out of the program you have to give yourself over to completing every lesson and mastering every task. This does not mean you have to be perfect.
Upon Completion…
The VFL (Video for Learning) course guides you to your own process for making videos. The program shows you how to go from concept to final deliverable, no matter what kind of learning videos you create. Weekly live course sessions with me (Chris Karel, a learning video nerd who just may have won an award or two along the way) paired with a downloadable toolkit will elevate your confidence.
The more videos you make, the more you’ll be able to hone your personal set of checklists and processes. Make sure you document them for future videos. Before you know it, you’ll be a well-oiled VFL machine!
Helpful Links
Video for Learning Fundamentals
10 Myths of DIY Training Videos
Join my learning pals
Are you psyched to level up your learning video game? Let me know in the comments.
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