Instructional Video

Abstract

In this chapter you will be able to understand and appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of when it is best to use instructional video to meet the needs of your target audience. The emphasis on this chapter is on a best practices and techniques throughout the entire production process, including pre-production (planning), production (capturing video), and post-production (editing video).

Appendices

Professional Practice Case Study 4A

SUNY Potsdam Math Education Professor Don Straight Gives Advice for Integrating Video into a K-12 Classroom

Don Straight teaches at the State University of New York at Potsdam in the Math Education program. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate pre-service and in-service teachers who to integrate technology into their classrooms. One of his passions is photography and video, and he agreed to be profiled here to offer his advice to those looking to add value to their classroom through instructional video.

• 1. In terms of planning, you do not always need to plan “shots” per say. Film interesting things from interesting perspectives. Develop the photographer’s perspective and artistic eye, angles, framing, to bring the most out of the shot.

• 2. In terms of equipment, do not be afraid to use an iPhone or SmartPhone if it is handy. GoPros are also good, and two can be used in tandem to create 3D video. Camcorders are also good, although sometimes they are older and the resolution is lacking. For a professional look a DSLR with a quality lens.

• 3. In terms of editors, don’t be ashamed to use what is quick and easy. iMovie, for example, can do most of what you would need to do for your classroom. If your video needs to be a little more sophisticated, use Adobe Premiere Pro or other professional editing software.

• 4. When editing, use titles and subtitles to put a personal feel onto a video. This is a way for the producer and editor to communicate directly to the audience, even if they were not in the shot.

• 5. If you are capturing video for certification videos, adjust the volume up when editing, as it is often too low. Use a cordless lapel mic if it is available.

• 6. If you need to move around an object to see it from different angles, try using a gimbal, which steadies the shot and keeps it smooth. Moving the camera with your hand can make the video shaky and jump.

• 7. Slow-Mo now is an option on most cameras, and a great teaching tool when you need to slow down a process. If you need to speed something up, try using time-lapse photography

• 8. When producing video, try using multiple cameras at the same time to get different perspectives.

• 9. Be sure to add closed captioning for accessibility. YouTube allows for easy closed captioning.

• 10. Avoid cutting from one shot to the next from the same perspective (jump cuts), even though they have become acceptable.

• 11. Pay attention to Ambient Noise that we often don’t pay attention to. It can come through when recording. Use decent microphones.

• 12. Try not to compress (or minimally). A nice thing about YouTube is you can upload at maximum quality, and it automatically scales down based on Internet connection.

Professional Practice Case Study 4B

Ithaca College Professor Edward Schneider Offers Advice for Capturing Video for Online Courses

Dr. Edward Schneider is a professor of communication and instructional technology at Ithaca College. He has been teaching technology courses at the university level since 1994, and currently teaches a number of online courses. He agreed to share some advice for capturing video for online courses.

• 1. It is critical that the first thing you do is to adopt a design thinking mindset. Empathize with your audience and try to design your video to meet their needs. “Personas” are a good tool for helping you to empathize with your target audience.

• 2. To capture a basic lecture, you can use simple presentation software such as PowerPoint, and then move through the presentation, narrating as you go. You can export a PowerPoint as a movie with audio easily in Windows, and if you are in MacOS, use QuickTime Pro to capture your presentation, as PowerPoint does not capture audio when exported on the Mac. An added benefit is that when he presents the lecture to the students, he gets a chance to truly watch and evaluate his own lectures.

• 3. When picking your export settings, use .h264 for high quality compression. Also pay attention to keyframes, which is the way most compression algorithms work. The more dynamic your video is, the more keyframes you will need. You can control the frequency of keyframes in your compression settings.

• 4. If you have access to it, Pinapto, is a more sophisticated lecture capture tool. It captures the screen, live video, or both at the same time. It also automatically adds chapter markers, which are useful later. Camtasia is another useful screen capture tool, and there are of course many others.

• 5. Many faculty simply put their PowerPoint presentations online for students. The problem is that a well-designed PowerPoint presentation should NOT stand by itself, and it should be text-light, and rely on the instructor to narrate the slides. If it is long blocks of text that are being presented, just put it in a Word document.

• 6. Control your mouse movements deliberately. Most software allows you to turn off or on the recording of mouse movements.

• 7. Many laptops have built in microphones, and they usually sound terrible. Invest in a good desktop USB microphone. Audio-Technica is a particularly good brand.

• 8. If you want to keep the attention of your students, your instructional Videos should almost never be chunked into segments more than 30 min, and the absolute longest is 40 min.

• 9. When he was studying telecommunications theory in graduate school, he came across research about video pacing that concluded that doing lots of quick cuts is a great way to entertain people, and they like it, but they don’t remember it. A simple video with longer cuts is better if you want them to remember the story.

• 10. Establish a production pipeline, from pre-production to production to post-production. Like bushwhacking through the jungle, it is much easier to navigate after the initial path has been carved. One particularly useful step is to capture and post 10 sec of video (exactly 10 sec). How BIG is it? How much room does it take up? Check your framerate, resolution, and compression. Tools like VLC and QuickTime give you all of that info. It is worth learning about what compressors are best for what types of video. For example, darkness or snow can wreak havoc on a video during compression if the wrong compressor or compression settings are used.

• 11. You can take a selfie-stick, remove the stick part of it, and put it on a tripod.

• 12. Do not be afraid of using 3d modeling software like Blender. It has built in video editing capabilities. Many video production tools, especially 3d modeling and motion graphics, have a reputation for being complicated, but keep in mind there are loads of tutorials. Animation is one of the best tools for explaining complex relationships, in many cases even better than capturing naturally occurring phenomenon. Similarly, Adobe After Effects may seem complicated, but with a few basic tutorials you can produce some amazing video.

• 13. Don’t see the camera as your only source of video. Remember you have access to screen capture, PowerPoint animations, exports from video games, photographs, animations, etc.

• 14. When teaching video production in K-12 schools and libraries, use the video production tools they have available to them: iMovie (Mac), Blender (Linux), and Windows Video Editor (Win 10).

Professional Practice Case Study 4C

SUNY Potsdam Professor Tracy Lipke-Perry Uses Video Motion Capture to Optimize Piano Performance

A classic use of video is to capture a performance that occurs very quickly in real time, and to slow it down to review the details of what is actually happening. Recently, motion capture has added a new dimension to this process, allowing for extremely detailed recording and analysis of movements. Professor Lipke-Perry and her colleagues conducted studies in 2017 and 2018 using this technology to analyze pianists’ movements. In 2017, she positioned eight digital motion capture cameras across a custom frame built to accommodate the dimensions of a standard keyboard instrument. She then placed 22 reflective markers on the hand of each pianist including the fingertip, each finger joint, and several on the wrist as position references. In this way, a three-dimensional tracking of each pianist’s movements was captured for analysis, giving each participant precise analysis of their body position and movements facilitating suggestions for improvements.

Pianists were shown their “skeleton” video track immediately after performing. The results, which were universal among pianists of a variety of levels of expertise, indicated that the timing of piano keystrokes varies whenever the thumb is involved. Identifying this commonality is important in working with pianists who might be recovering from injury. In that way, motion capture has the potential to identify performance aberrations at a very early stage but also to track recovery in ways that are not visible to the naked eye in real time. The implications are in repetitive stress injuries and the balance of coordinated muscle use.

Two exercise science students were part of the team in pilot work, capturing data, and the early stages of analysis. Due to the emerging nature of the technology, in particular the application at the piano, several weeks of pilot studies were necessary to determine (1) optimal camera placement, (2) optimal marker placement, and (3) the basic operation of the camera system and data capture software. This experience helped prepare the exercise students for other real-world research opportunities in terms of problem-solving and use of cutting-edge technology and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The 2018 study, pianists played the same short piece four times in different conditions. The first time, they all played the piece however they wanted. In the next three trials, pianists were asked to focus on: (A) their fingertips and creating short, detached-sounding notes (B) creating the feeling of a dance, and (C) the sound of a metronome keeping a steady beat. The difference in these conditions was comparing performance while focusing internally (on one’s own body) versus performance while focusing externally (on an idea/thought or alternatively on something in one’s environment). After numerous years of teaching piano in the studio, Dr. Lipke-Perry has observed that it is often challenging for pianists to articulate details related to their focus. Many pianists would finish playing a piece and not have any idea what they were focusing on. Naïve to the purpose of the study at the outset, but later knowing the premise as well as the basis of the study related to sports literature, pianists left with a definite idea about how they would approach “performing” going forward. Overwhelmingly, both the participants and Dr. Lipke-Perry’s colleagues observed more musical, fluid, and sensitive performances in the condition relating to the external focus, the idea of the dance. The movements themselves were very different as observed in the motion capture videos. Even if sound was removed, the differences in continuity and smoothness of the movements, as well as movement intent, were obvious. In fact, while focusing on the fingertips, not only were the performances less artistic, but they were also less accurate in terms of playing the correct notes and rhythms. The lesson for the participating pianists was overwhelming in terms of future application. They could improve, and in some cases, revolutionize their performances by focusing on an idea or musical thought.

All participants in these studies were part of a cutting-edge, real-world experience with transformative results, whether they were a pianist, scientist, or both. Application of digital motion technology is emerging and becoming more widely utilized as the benefits of movement analysis and healthy performing are realized.