Video Lesson is not a Weather Forecast
A lesson to make a video lesson
What’s wrong with TV Weather Forecasts?
How often did you want to share the video of a presenter forecasting weather in front of a map?
Like the way “Oh man! Must see! 6 degrees in Aberdeen!” Especially when you are from Glasgow, the recipient is from Edinburgh and 6 degrees in Aberdeen is not that bad.
Or “Check this out! Fingers! 10 fingers! OMG!”
No way.
Ever wanted to watch a weather broadcast on a daily basis? The whole 3-5-10 minute video?
You probably do this on a daily basis.
3 seconds max.
Just the weather. Nothing more.
2 seconds max to swipe for another city.
Have you ever rewatched any TV Weather Forecast?
Most probably the answers are no and never.
But you may want to share and see again a weather gag.
TV Weather Forecasts were replaced by weather apps to inform you and by memes to entertain you.
So if weather video forecasts have changed
why have video lectures not?
What’s wrong with Video Lessons?
The very first video lessons truely replicated real school/university lectures. It was necessary as learners were not used to a new format of education.
That is why teachers were acting like they were in lecture auditoriums.
Showing something on the board behind.
And taking up a significant amount of the screen with their bodies.
Making the audience feel as if teachers were present.
Lecturers tried so hard to keep the telepresence in their video lessons
And it was all right at first. But not for long.
Inflation of interest to video lessons
As it often happens over time the interest began to lower.
That video format palls on its audience.
And teachers started pumping the video lecture bubble.
The telepresence format was covered with multiple effects. What reminds the infamous TV weather forecast.
First there was a single camera.
Then two cameras.
Afterwards different angles.
Video tricks.
Various decisions from blockbusters (i.e. camera arc trajectory in The Matrix).
Special video effects.
Changes in the background.
Different sceneries (i.e. street, roof, etc.)
Visual effects (i.e. a teacher writes a text in the air)
And finally there was nothing left to surprise the audience.
It was like upgrading horseshoes when automobiles were about to appear.
In the end a TV weather forecaster can’t teach us anything.
What makes a good video?
Are there any benchmarks in videos that could be applied to lectures?
Video = sound + animated images.
As almost all video lessons are pretty good at sound, they fail at images.
A viewer should see every second what’s going on.
Every microimage.
A viewer must not look aside.
Every shot is important.
Every video should carry one message.
One single message.
There might be more than one.
But one is a must.
It may be a plot summary or 2 * 3 = 6 or that this digital production studio makes great stuff.
A viewer must watch the video and say:
“This cat wanted to eat”.
Video lesson should be like a teaser.
Wow-effect.
To leave an impression.
A showreel.
A viewer must say:
“Awesome, I barely got it, need to see it again right now”.
Make a video lesson this way
10 advices to sum up.
VIRUS
Make it shareable. Every video item.
Make it viral. Yes, we’re talking about one of many lessons.
Go viral or die trying.
EMOTIONS
Make learners wanna watch the lesson again and again.
Make them smile. Make them laugh.
Make them feel.
DYNAMIC
Make it short. Not more than 5 minutes.
30-150 second is excellent.
Add actions. Capture the audience’s attention.
Make it atomic, divide the materials into smaller pieces.
This one video lesson is a nice try.
