Video Best Practices

September 12, 2022

Creating a video to deliver your content can seem daunting for a number of reasons. Read this week’s blog for best practices, resources, and more!

Recording an instructional video is simple enough, but ensuring that your instructional video is effective is the bigger challenge. Apply the principles outlined below to ensure that your instructional videos have the best chance to benefit your audience.

Video Best Practices

Pre-production

Write a script that includes as much or as little detail as you need to stay on topic so you don’t miss any critical information.
Avoid using specific identifiers such as year and semester so you can re-use your videos for later iterations of your course.
Plan to make your video no longer than 8-10 minutes for an audience who is completely new to the material you are presenting. For an audience more steeped in the material, aim for no longer than 15-18 minutes.

Filming

Once you begin recording, give yourself a three-second beat before starting to speak or demonstrate and give yourself a three-second beat after you finish. This provides a cushion so you avoid cutting off anything you want to be recorded. You can always trim these ends off when editing.
Avoid raising your voice or whispering. You just need to project clearly towards the microphone so it can do its job of picking up your voice.

Post-production

Watch your video to ensure it has come out the way you like. While this can be uncomfortable, tune your attention to how you are delivering your content and whether this hits the goal you set.
Use the Editor in Kaltura for light editing such as trimming off the start and finish and be sure to add chapters when you change topics or move from one sub-topic to another.
Use Kaltura’s automatic closed captioning services to ensure your content is accessible to all members of your audience.

Additional Support and Resources

There is a lot to video best practices, but we have a lot of resources available for you! For more assistance, be sure to enroll in both Canvas courses below and refer to the guides as needed.

Video and Visual Development

These courses are self-paced and open-enroll Canvas courses to walk you through best practices!

COFFEE: Video and Visual is a self-paced and open enrollment course to provide more fundamental best practices to Clemson users. This is especially useful for anyone using Canvas. To self-enroll, select the following link: COFFEE: Video and Visual Canvas course link
Video and Audio Accessibility is a self-paced and open enrollment course that focuses on the specifics of making your videos accessible to your audience. This is highly important and many of the basics of video accessibility are easy to apply to your video creation process. To self-enroll, select the following link: Video and Audio Accessibility Canvas course link

Video Tools and Editing Guides

Kaltura is the all-in-one video recording, storing, and (light) editing platform at Clemson University. It is the best tool for easy integration of your video content with Canvas. For more information on Kaltura and for guides on using it, select the following link: Kaltura Video Guide link.

Camtasia is a more robust video recording and editing software that is available to Clemson users. For more information on Camtasia and for guides on using it, select the following link: Camtasia Video Guide link.

Video Consultations

Need assistance with using Camtasia for recording and editing? Book a consultation with Chase Sanders, Digital Learning Designer, for a 30-minute one-on-one conversation about your needs. Follow the link and select Camtasia Consult to reach Chase: Link to Clemson Online Consultation Booking page.

If you would like a professional recording option or you would like to use dynamic instructional technology such as Lightboard, then contact Clemson Online’s video production team by selecting the following link! Contact the video production team.

Upcoming Events

This week:

Quick Hits: Ins and Outs of Speedgrader Tools

Learn how to use Canvas SpeedGrader to view and grade student submissions. SpeedGrader allows instructors to leave feedback, use rubrics to assign points, and much more. The session will include a walkthrough demo about SpeedGrader and its many functions. Facilitated by Axel Ruiz, Learning Technology Specialist. A Zoom link will be emailed to registered participants, 48 hours prior to the day of the event. Contact James Butler with any questions about this session.