Google had a problem. Their vitally-important YouTube Partners didn’t understand how to use YouTube’s complex backend systems. They were relying on classroom training to certify such professionals, but were only training about 1,000 professionals a year.
Lee Rodrigues and I solved this problem by developing 90 videos in eight weeks, thereby creating the YouTube Certified Online training program. During the following year, nearly 10,000 professionals took the training — a 10-fold increase.
So when potential clients ask me whether I’m a Certified YouTube Consultant, I just laugh. I didn’t just take the test; I made the test.
I made the videos. I scripted many of them, directed most of them, recorded and edited a handful of them, made the initial video that set the standard for the team of editors and 100+ videos that followed, led the production team, co-led the post-production team, then uploaded everything to the learning management system and built out all the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes it all work.
Pulling off such a huge transformation in such a short time was brutal, and our success depended largely on the way we navigated the post-production process.
Post-production is the part of video-making that scares eLearning folks the most, probably because they know the least about it. It seems very technical, dazzlingly creative, and probably expensive. Yeah, it can be — but it doesn’t have to be.
The key to success is doing things in the right sequence.
1. Make an inventory
First things first, you need to do an inventory. Don’t rush this step or cut corners, because it is the foundation of everything that comes next. Make sure the names of your files make sense and that you know how to find things. Back up your resources, delete the trash, and sort/tag/keyword the rest.
Take the time to note points of interest and any core content. Join any multi-cam clips, select the best of multiple audio sources, and generally gain a comprehensive understanding of what you have and where it is.
2. Craft the audio
Sound conveys time and tone to your viewer, but unfortunately there is little you can do to fix audio in post-production. Before you get caught up in visuals, find and sculpt the best audio takes. First, create your story, sequence, and flow from the soundtrack — so keep that script from your pre-production handy.
3. Create a rough cut
Now open your eyes to what you just edited, find the weak spots, and look for ways to make the whole composition stronger. Drop in placeholders for visual references (images and text) but don’t worry yet about transitions. As soon as your story is complete and your learning objectives have been met, you’re done with this rough cut.
Now share your rough cut with a small subset of your target learners, and ask them what they learned. Do not share this rough cut with anyone else if you can help it. Everyone will want to see, but you want to wait until the next stage.
4. Make it pretty
Until now, you should not have worried about how good or bad your work looked. Now, you can. Replace any placeholders with the real content. Conceal any awkward bits with visually interesting elements such as photos, outtakes, or b-roll video segments. Smooth things out in a way that reinforces your story.
5. Add the magic of modern technology
Now you can finesse the transitions, add effects to the video and audio, de-green that green screen, insert any fancy motion graphics and keyframes, and do all the other extra stuff that wasn’t possible on a personal computer 20 years ago.
By doing things in this order you will meet your learning objectives halfway through the process. Then you can simply “refine until deadline” and quit when you hit it. The more time you have, the better it will probably look. But most importantly, you’ll be motivated in the final stages by producing the best possible product, rather than by racing to complete your basic learning objectives.