| Shooting & Directing Training Videos

Learn how to create highly effective, scripted, broadcast-quality training videos with minimal crew and affordable equipment.

There are more career opportunities in non-broadcast video production than ever before.

This course addresses the creative and technical elements of producing successful scripted broadcast-quality training and instructional videos using affordable equipment and minimal crew. Director/producer Doug Jensen of Vortex Media has written and produced hundreds of instructional videos for dozens of clients during his 40-year career.

This workshop is designed to teach fellow professionals how to create videos that meet the goals of the client, are more interesting and engaging for the viewer, and require less time and resources to produce by combining traditional production techniques with the latest HD and 4K digital technology.  According to Doug: “In my experience, there is no other area of video, film, or television production that offers as much creative freedom, financial security, and personal satisfaction from a job well done”.

Ideally suited for independent producers, corporate, military, and government production staff, and experienced ENG/EFP professionals and event videographers who want to take advantage of this rapidly expanding sector of the production industry.  The course combines formal classroom lectures with practical hands-on fieldwork as students get experience working in many different production roles.  Students will work as a group to produce an instructional video for a real product.

This workshop is the second part of a two-part sequence of workshops that can be taken individually or together, depending on a student’s area(s) of responsibility in the overall workflow of producing scripted training videos. 

The first class, WRITING & PRODUCING TRAINING VIDEOS, (offered online February 21-March 27, 2024), takes participants through the planning, writing, and prepping phase in six online sessions from the convenience of your home or workplace.

This second workshop SHOOTING & DIRECTING TRAINING VIDEOS is a hands-on week-long summer class that takes place August 5-9, 2024 on the campus of Maine Media in beautiful midcoast Maine. In this workshop, the focus shifts to shooting, directing, and editing a finished instructional video – using the script that was previously written by the students who participated in WRITING & PRODUCING TRAINING VIDEOS.

This pair of workshops imagines that a business has hired the students to produce a short “how to” instructional video for one of their consumer products. You will learn techniques applicable to most types of scripted corporate videos, training videos, instructional videos, and explainer videos.

This class will involve both lectures and hands-on exercises.  All necessary cameras, lighting, models/talent, etc. will be provided.

Major topics covered in this workshop:

• Organizing and managing the production
• Casting professional vs. amateur talent
• Auditioning and hiring talent
• Directing professional and non-professional talent
• Location scouting, scheduling, and other logistical planning
• Production Design
• Camera prep and basic camcorder operation training
• Controlling exposure, focus, white balance, and other camera functions
• Microphone selection and audio recording techniques
• Basic lighting techniques
• The advantages of Teleprompters, ear prompters, and other production tools
•  Shooting necessary B-roll
• Narration and/or voice-over recording
• Tips and techniques during the shoot that save valuable time in post
• Ingesting, backing up, archiving, and managing the raw footage
• Preparing for the edit
• Establishing a streamlined and efficient workflow in post
• Editing in Adobe Premiere
• Color grading in DaVinci Resolve
• Graphics and music
• Obtaining client approval
• Best practices for creating back-ups and archiving project files

Requirements

Students must bring their own laptop with a video editing app such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro.  Adobe Photoshop and the free version of Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve are also recommended.

All images copyright Doug Jensen.