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A few years ago while I was working at an organization that consisted of various departments, the Chief Executive Officer requested that each department make a video informing the public about the functions of their respective department. These videos were also to show how each department work towards the vision and goals of the organization. Most employees in each department were trained, skilled professionals so we all anticipated a high standard of videos. I was excited and filled with enthusiasm and quickly volunteered to spearhead this project for my department. I was certain I could create this video because while at College, I had created an informative and instructional video for one of my classes. I will share with you tips our department used to create a video that was of a high quality and received favorable comments from our CEO.

Tip # 1

Determine the exact purpose of the video specifying exactly what you want the viewers to gain from the video. Be specific and create in your mind a vision of how your finished video should look. Our video was both informational and instructional so we had to gather information and put together props for practical instruction.

Tip # 2

Identify the audience to whom you desire to present the information. This will enable you to plan what information to put together in the video and at what level so that listeners would benefit.

Tip # 3

Write out a plan so that your video will be organized. Divide the plan into sections and for each section, write out the information, equipment, place and personnel to be included in the video. Plan your camera angle and the time for each shot.

Tip # 4

Try to use your own experiences to provide information in the video and research information from credible sources. We had tremendous amount of information from employees within our department.

Tip # 5

Unless you have a professional video recorder, use a professional service to provide and handle the video equipment. Your job will be to direct and explain how you desire the outcome of the video. Wow, imagine being a director for a video production! We used the information services department within our organization to shoot and edit our presentation. If you have to purchase the needed equipment I recommend brands such as Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, only because I have these appliances from these companies. I usually go for a brand name product. You will also need a cordless microphone and a tripod, and, if you decide to edit yourself, you will need editing software. These items are available from the same department stores as the camcorders. Total cost for these items could be upwards of five hundred dollars.

Tip # 6

Pay attention to the place where the recording would be done especially to images that will appear in the background. Clean and prepare the area to look professional. You can place items in strategic positions that can help promote the purpose of the video. Just do not clutter the video with too many images.

Tip # 7

Practice makes perfect. This applies very much to creating a video presentation. Go through your plan and rehearse what you would say. Get a stop clock and time yourself. Make every minute count. Practice what you would say on the video. Believe it or not the excellent videos that you see on TV are put together after hours of practice. Try not to use many statistics as this would come over as boring to the viewers. Make it exciting. Use personnel to do interesting demonstrations.

Tip # 8

If you are doing the video recording yourself pay attention to the light and use a tripod to set the camera. Shakiness would produce a poor quality and blurry video. Use colors of apparel that would be enhanced. White, cream and very light colors usually appear pale and dull. Get some colors in but not bright or shocking colors - these appear unprofessional and immature. Practice your posture - no sloppiness. When we did our instructional video, our solution to inappropriate movements and hand gestures were solved by using items that we work with in our department for our demonstrations. Your tone of voice is important. In College we used the Voice Lab where we answered questions into a computer and replay to listen to our voices. The first time I listened to my voice I realized I needed to work on sounding more enthusiastic. I recommend that you get a digital recorder and listen to your voice. After a few tries you would learn how to control the tone and pitch and sound excited at the same time. During excitement your voice tends to take on a squeakish characteristic which is the last thing you want on any video. Keep practicing and compare it to the reporters on TV. You will get there. Remember if you do not sound excited and confident - your viewers would not be enthusiastic about what you have to present. Check your grammar - this is all so important. Make eye contact with the lens as often as you can. Never turn your back towards the camera. Don't forget your hair - it would be nice to pull your hair back but whatever hairstyle you chose - avoid the hair in the face catastrophy.

Tip # 9

Text visuals help to make your instructional videos easier to understand and appear professional. For titles use a text size of 30 - 36 pt, for subtitle 24 pt, and for text use 18 pt. The Arial typeface looks very well for titles or emphasis and the Times Roman looks well for text. You wouldn't need a lot of text as it is used at the beginning of the video. The color of your text would depend on the color of the background of the video.

Tip # 10

Get your video edited. Again we used the same professional service to get this done properly. There will be some recordings that are definitely not needed or some lighting to adjust. Then there's the text to get in there - so if you cannot do this yourself - get professional help. Making an instructional video is very exciting, take the time to write your plan, get your equipment and remember practice makes perfect. Remember the first time you bought your digital camera and it took some experimenting to know how to use the zoom, voice recorder and other features - well this is no different, take the time to practice and you would have videos that you would want to look at over and over again. Follow these tips and I guarantee excellent results whether you are promoting a product or giving instructions.

Posture Exercises

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