Time Based Instructions
How to make tea
(10.15)
My task is “how to make tea.” Since, making a tea is a relatively simple task, I decided to search if there’s a more “professional” way of making tea. I ended up watching two videos.
The second video ended up being more helpful because the first video was about making tea from scratch. Although I did think about making a video that starts with harvesting the tea leaves for a brief time, I soon realized that it’d cause too many problems. For example, I would struggle with the time limitation because there are many steps that I would have show. Also I need to find a clean oven, which is hard to find in CMU dorms. Buying plants for fresh leaves could be a potential problem. To find a certain plant, I might have to order it online if it’s not available anywhere near, which could mean that the plant could be damaged along the way or they might send me a dying plant from the beginning.
I learned a lot about tea from the second video. I didn’t know every single detail mattered for each type of tea. Since the two types that I already owned were green and herbal, I paid more attention for those two.
Instruction
- Get icy cold, low mineral, filtered water for more delicate and complex taste.
- Start boiling water however the water temperature should depend the tea type. The water should not be over boiled.
Green- Water temperature is best around 180°F/82°C (fish eyes small sting of bubbles)
Herbal- Water temperature is best around 212°F/100°C (rolling boil)
3. *Only for herbal* Preheat the teapot by swirling with a little bit of hot water to maintain the high temperature of the water.
4. Prepare the tea leaves. The amount of tea leaves should be proportional to the amount of water. For example, one cup of water requires one teaspoon and two cups of water requires two teaspoons.
5. After finish preparing the tea leaves, close the tin lid tightly and store them in a cool, dark, dry place.
6. Rinse the tea leaves by pouring a little bit of hot water.
7. Pour the hot water and let the tea leaves infuse.
Green- Let the tea leaves infuse for one minute.
Herbal- Let them infuse for five minutes.
Simplification:
Although I haven’t started making tea yet, I noticed that step three and six could be either confusing or almost unnecessary to the viewers, especially without the voice narration. I also found step five a little distracting.
Videos + Tea making
(10.17)
In class today, we watched many videos and almost all were entertaining to watch. Although not all had to do with showing instructions, they all showed good examples of what to do or what not to do. They exemplified the importance of setting, storytelling, composition, perspective, and visuals. By watching the videos, I learned that keeping the viewers entertained doesn’t necessary means that it is a good instructional video.
Reading the comics also helped me even though it wasn’t about videos. It allowed me to understand that every single detail isn’t necessary. For example, even if the comic doesn’t show the exact scene people can understand what would happen in the right context. Continuity seemed to play and context play important roles in both videos and comics.
Materials
For the tea making process, I realized that I would need a kettle, tea pot, and cup . I bought a black kettle at Target. However, after I bought it, I realized that a black kettle would fail to show the water boiling. For now, I decided to go with it and see if it is extremely problematic or not. I ordered the tea pot and the cup online and made sure that they are made out of glass.
Picking Tea
As mentioned before, I have two types of tea: green and herbal. There are also three types of herbal tea: Ginger Lemongrass, Chamomile Citrus, and Wildberry Hibiscus. To decide what to use, I looked at the colors since it might be the factor that could entertain the viewers.
Green: The green tea leaves that I owned caused the water to turn to a foggy yellowish color. Since it’s a common tea color, it could reduce any confusion to the viewers. However there is nothing surprising or fun watching a typical tea brewing.
Ginger Lemongrass: The color is yellowish green that slightly resembles the green tea.
Chamomile Citrus: It’s reddish brown color, which also is a typical color or regular tea.
Wildberry Hibiscus: The leaves infuse to make a vibrant red color, resembling a red wine. It’s visually pleasing to to look at this tea and it could keep the viewers entertained just with the color. Although this is not a usual tea color, I decided to stick with this type of tea for now.



Taking Pictures
For the next step, I had to take a series of pictures showing the process of my task. Unfortunately, my tea set hasn’t arrived yet, so I just used whatever materials I had at that time. During the shoot I had to keep a couple of questions in my mind.
- What are the necessary steps that viewers must see?
- How do you keep it away from being too detailed?
- How do I make it easy for the viewers to follow and understand?
For this version, I wanted to record the process as simple as possible and limit the number of pictures to less than ten. I didn’t feel the need to make the viewers feel overwhelmed since making tea is a relatively simple task.To limit any distractions, I decided to shoot it on the seamless background.








Problems:
Lighting: It’s obvious that the lighting is not ideal even though I used the lights. The shadows are appearing everywhere in every direction to a point where they are distracting the viewers.
Oversimplified: Many of the necessary steps are missing. It leads the viewers to guess what they would have to do. One of the feedback that I got from my peer was that step seven can be confusing since it doesn’t show what it inside. I believe that the biggest problem is that I didn’t show the end result. I finished taking pictures while pouring the hot water.
Inconsistency: Since the shots were taken without the tripods, the positions are unnecessarily inconsistent. The viewpoint also changes at step six. I did that in order to let the viewers see how much tea leaves need to go in, but now I see that the sudden change can be a bit confusing to look at. Also, although, they were taken at the same place and same time, the lighting is different in each picture.
Distracting factors: These, I believe, can be solved by the ordered tea set. However, so far the cup, and the tea leaves infuser are both very distracting. The Christmas cat and the pink owl are cute to look at but they don’t seem to be fitting in with the tea making atmosphere.
Takeaways
There is a big room for improvement for the next step.
- Adjust the lighting or/and change the camera setting so that more light is exposed and is easier for the viewers to see. The yellowness of the shots are uncomfortable to look at.
- Use a tripod for consistency. The point of view and the placement of the objects remaining the same will help the viewers to focus more on the task.
- Include more details so that the viewers won’t have to assume too much. But at the same time, I shouldn’t overload it with unnecessary shots.
Storyboard
(10.22)
During class today, Stacie and Steve went over what we should pay attention. They listed some questions that we should think about while making a photo series storyboard.
- What do you include/omit?
- What is the sequence of events?
- What do people need to “fill in” between shots?
- What is the context for your shots?
- What is the pacing/duration of your clips?
- How do you deal with lighting, ambient sound?
- What is the pacing/duration of your clips?
- Think about the difference between showing/teaching
- Consider point of view
- How can you use actions to instruct?
For the storyboard, I tried to apply what I learned from my last attempt and the list. I also used a newly arrived tea set for clarity as they allow the viewers to see what is in the inside. I added much more detail this time in order to reduce the gap between each shot. Tripod was used to stabilize the shots. In addition, I paid more attention to the lighting so that the yellowness would be decreased. Nevertheless, I decided to keep some of the factors same, such as the background. Although I did consider shooting in the kitchen, since most tea making would happen in there, most CMU dorm kitchens seemed a little disgusting and the lighting also seemed pretty bad.





(10. 24)
During the pancake + tea session, I got to see others works. I saw the different approaches that people were taking and saw what kind of lighting that they were working under. What I learned was that as long as the lighting is decent, it doesn’t matter whether the lighting is artificial or not. I also learned that next time, I should make the pictures bigger so that people can actually see what’s going on.
Some of the notes that I too were:
- Making the background blurry with the use of aperture could be helpful since it would block the distraction of the background.
- The yellowness in the pictures for the pancake people made Stacie not want to eat them, meaning the lighting can leave a huge impact.
- Jump from one scene to next scene should be mindful; continuity should be emphasized.
- P.O.V should be consistent, otherwise, it could confuse and distract the viewers.
One comment that I got from Steve was that the sudden phone popping is too unexpected and out of context. It almost feels like a phone advertisement. Initially I added the phones to show the time passing, but now I see that it can be very distracting. Telling time passing seems like one of the most challenging part of the project. However, they did discuss that for pancakes, the bubble on the pancakes would indicate the time passing.
Another thing I learned is that sound is necessary for tea making. For example, Steve said that the sound of water boiling while tea making allows him to indicate that he should prepare the tea bags. The sound would help the viewers to determine how much time has passed and what they would have to wait for.
Video I
(10.28)
This was the first attempt at shooting a video. This was very different from taking pictures as I had to be mindful of each step I take. Because I missed the right timing to shoot in the studio, I had to film it in my dorm, where it was quiet, and since it was in my dorm, the lighting was not ideal.
There are multiple problems that I should fix in this version.
Lighting: As mentioned before, dorm is not the best place to shoot a video. Although there was natural light, there is “yellowness” present.
Background noise: The ambient noise was distracting when I was listening to the shots. I couldn’t concentrate on what I actually had to listen to such as sound of water pouring or boiling.
Clarity: There was still some confusion that was involved. The amount of tea leaves and water used needed some sort of exact showing of measurement. For example, I could actually use a teaspoon instead of using a little bit of a big spoon to scoop up the leaves. For water, I could start off the exact amount water I would need, instead of starting with a full bottle of water. Also at the end, when I used the hand signal to indicate how much they would have to wait in order for the leaves to infuse, it doesn’t look like I am telling them to wait for five minutes. Instead it just looked like I was telling them to just wait.
Jumps: Overall, the video jumped too quickly form one to another. The setting changed too abruptly. I should focus more on smooth tradition next time.
Pace: The whole video was very s l o w and boring to watch. I purposely moved slowly for the viewers, however as I watched it over, it seemed almost obnoxious. The length of this video is over two minutes, which indicates that I should cut down some steps and move faster while shooting.
Editing
(10.29)
Today, we had a chance to watch what others have been working on. Although I didn’t show my work and get direct feedback, I learned a lot by listening to the comments. First thing that I realized was that my movement was too slow and I lingered on unnecessary steps. For example, when I poured the water into the kettle, I showed the whole process. That was one of the reasons why my video was very boring. Another thing I learned was that I don’t have to move in slow motion since people can pause the video any time they want when they don’t understand something. Moving slowly would actually distract the viewers from continuing to watch instead of helping them learn the task.
I applied what I learned during the class and edited the first video. This was just to see what kind of approach I should take next and what much time I can reduce by removing lingering movement. Although it’s very jumpy and unfinished looking, it gave me a good sense how to make the next version under one minute.
Video II
(10.30)
For this version, I wanted a different background and apply what I learned from the class. I planned on creating a video that is actually instructional. I also paid attention to continuity.
Changes
- Instead of starting the video showing the materials needed, I just went straight into the water boiling part.
- I filmed the video in Porter Hall and found a white background and a white table in order to remove any distracting factors.
- I moved in a normal speed instead of moving in slow motion to keep the viewers entertained.
- Instead of using a metal spoon, I found a smaller plastic spoon to show that only a teaspoon of tea leaves are needed.
- I did a lot of jump cuts and tried to make it flow faster.
- I used and showed the exact water amount needed to make one cup of tea.
- There are more number of close up shots to emphasize the important scenes.
- Instead of using the hand signal to tell the steep time, I showed the instruction written on the can.
- Instead of preparing the tea while the water is boiling, I decided to wait until the water is completely boiled to prepare for the tea because I thought that when put together, the scene order could be confusing.
Potential Problems
- I worried that the white background might not fit the context of tea making.
- Since no classrooms were available during the day, I had to film it during the night with no natural light.
- It was raining, which created more white noise in the background.
- I forgot to include the part where I show the empty tea infuser.
- I also forgot to include the red light (cautious hot sign) on the kettle while boiling.
- The scene where I show the steep time is still ambiguous and there are too many texts for the viewers to read in a short amount of time.
- There are a lot of jump cuts which could make the video unnatural and the movements can be found distracting.
- The shirt is a little wrinkly and the sleeves were wet from the rain.
Feedback
(10.31)
Today, I got to see other tea people’s work and realized that I am taking a little different approach than they are. Most of them are showing the process in the first point of view while mine is in third p.o.v. Also all of the videos used the phone timer to show the infusion time. Elena also emphasized on the mood of coziness and the whole mood was very different compared to mine.
I also got to get many feedback from the peers.
- Pacing is off
- The cuts are too jumpy
- Change the water bottle to look more professional
- The first zoom in while boiling water is awkward
- Fumbling movements are distracting
- It’s hard to read all the words during the “steep for five minutes” scene and feels like I’m just showing what kind of tea it is
- Can include more human interaction, especially at the end
Steve’s feedback
- Change the spoon
- The part where I show the close up of the tea can is confusing since it’s after I used it
- Rearrange some scenes
- Tablecloth is unnecessary
- Show what kind of materials are needed in the beginning
One thing that confused me was that some people found the video comical and laughed at the zoom in parts. The comical mood was completely unintentional because I didn’t think that making tea is funny. This made me realize that the close ups and the transitions are awkward and the mood is maybe too serious.
Also I found out that I’ve been filming in the wrong size. It should be 4:3 or 1024 x 768.
Video III (Final)
(11.3)
For the final version, I ended up going back to Porter Hall. Although I did enjoy the warm and cozy feeling of other tea making videos, I also liked the white background which removed the distracting features.
While filming, I tried to resolve the issues from previous versions.

- I went back to using the metal spoon and changed the water bottle. Although, I ended up using a plastic water bottle again, I thought that it looked more professional than the last water bottle.
- I also borrowed a Rode mic from the library to put more emphasis on the sound. I wanted the sound of my video to be somewhat satisfying.
- The table cloth was removed in this version to eliminate any distracting features.
- I ironed my shirt but unfortunately, it got wrinkly pretty quickly.
- I introduced what materials are going to be needed and filmed a scene that shows a close up of the tea I’m using.
- I tried to make the “steep 5 minutes” part more clearly than last time by zooming closer and making my thumb pointing at it.
- I decided to add a human interaction part by including a scene where I drink a sip of the tea.
I also did a quick study on how others create instructional videos. I watched Tasty videos to learn how they include everything in a short amount of time and keep the viewers entertained. I specifically paid attention to the ending scenes where they would show the human interaction.
Since also I had some comments on my off paced video, I also tried to edit the video to make it the “right” pace and still make it under a minute. Because I had a few close up scenes, where I put emphasis, I knew that those moments would have to go a little slower than the rest. I struggled to make the right balance between slow and fast, and keep the consistency of the pace. In this version, I didn’t want people to find it comedic. I’m not suggesting that being comedic is bad but I thought that the instructional on making tea and being funny didn’t really fit together. However I do now see that my body in the background could be found funny because of my awkward position.
Final Video
Some changes that I would still like to make:
Although this is the final version and I am somewhat satisfied with it, there are some problems that I still see. For example, when I am showing the close up of pushing down the switch of the kettle, it is out of focus. I didn’t notice it when I was shooting it and now I find it a little distracting. Also, the scene where I put the tea leaves, I spill the tea leaves and I place the spoon in a weird position. Lastly, as I mentioned before, my body in the background is funny to look at because of how awkward I am standing.
Takeaways
Overall, I am happy with what I’ve learned through the process and with my final video. In the beginning I thought that this project should be easier than the previous ones. However this project turned out to be challenging in a different way. I struggled a lot with finding the right pace, keeping necessary scenes, and picking the fitting setting in terms of context. I am still a little worried about whether I chose the right place to film or not, but I am satisfied with the whiteness of the film. Also producing one minute video took much longer time than I anticipated. I thought it would take max two hours but when I started working on it, even setting up the camera part took like half an hour.
I believe that I’ve learned a lot from doing this video. Most of the time when I saw films or short videos, I didn’t pay attention to any details. But now, I know that careful thoughts should be incorporated into all clips in order to make the viewers understand clearly and not get distracted. Pacing, context, continuity, sound, color, and almost every single detail require careful attention. I realized that for every studio project so far focus deeply on convenience for the users or viewers.
I enjoyed the whole process of filming and editing. Although it did get a little frustrating at times, I know that it was all worth it.
