Instructional Video: It's All About Approach

Making an instructional video without some type of plan will likely lead you in a direction other than the one you intended. Think of the approach you use in making your video as a roadmap allowing you to reach your final destination: the finished videotape. Before you begin, though, you'll want to consider the following questions.
How long should your video be? Before choosing your approach, decide how long you want your completed production to be. The instructional videotapes produced at Videomaker are generally 30 minutes in length and are broken down into six, four-minute segments separated by 10-second "bumpers" or lead-ins to the next segment. In addition, each tape begins with an animated opening, followed by a 30-second introduction, and ends with a 30-second wrap-up followed by the closing credits.
"We use three different approaches in each of our 30-minute videos," said Lander, the video editor. "It breaks up the video, and gives it a better feel," he said.

• How much time do you have? As you'll see later in this article, some approaches are more time-consuming than others. It's important to evaluate how much time you haveand how much time you're willing to put into your projectto choose the proper approach. If you're on a tight schedule, for example, you won't want to choose an approach involving grandiose, time-consuming shots or extra time in the editing room.
• Who are you trying to reach? Identifying your target audience is key to picking an appropriate approach. Is your audience a group of teens? Business associates? Pre-schoolers?

Know who you're trying to reach and plan your approach before you develop your script to avoid producing a video that's out-of-touch with your intended audience.
What type of equipment and budget do you have? You don't have to have any fancy bells or whistles to produce a winning informative video, but taking stock of your equipment-and your budget-is essential when deciding on which approach to use. As you'll see in this article, some approaches lend themselves to higher-end lighting equipment, or depend on hiring professional talent. Unless you have endless monetary resources, be realistic about what you can achieve with the equipment, money and personnel you already…