The demand for high-quality training videos for software or applications is on the rise. Now that you’ve decided to undertake training video production, you may be wondering how to do so on a limited budget. Here are a few tips to help you get started. The main thing to do is to invest more in planning. With careful planning and a little creativity, you can produce a video that will help your audience learn about your software or application and you can certainly do so with a limited budget.
Here is an example software tutorial video produced by CineEye for AI writing tool TyperTool:
Table of Contents
1. Why You Should Produce Training Videos for Your Software or Application?
2. Pre-Production of Training Videos
3. Production of Training Videos
4. Post-Production of Training Videos
5. Distribution of Training Videos
1. Why You Should Produce Training Videos for Your Software or Application?
There are many reasons why it’s important to do training video production for your software or application.
Videos can provide a quick and easy way for users to learn how to use your product, to onboard new users and ensure they are using your product correctly. They can also be used to provide refresher training for existing users, or to introduce new features and updates. In addition to that, app training videos can be used to show users how to perform specific tasks, or they can provide an overview of the product.
Generally, videos can be a more engaging and interactive way to learn than traditional written documentation or tutorials.
Finally, training videos for app or software can also be a valuable marketing tool, helping to promote your product and build brand awareness.
Here is an example tutorial video CineEye produced for a digital business card CardOne:
When used correctly, app or software training videos can be an extremely valuable asset for your business.
When engaging in training video production, there are several stages of production to take into consideration.
2. Pre-Production
As a video producer, the pre-production phase is critical to the success of your project. This is the time when you develop your concept, determine your budget and schedule, and assemble your team.
– Initial Concept Development – Do Your Research
Determine what type of video would be most effective for your audience and your budget. In other words – what is the purpose of your video? There are many different video production options available, so it’s important to choose the one that will work best for you. Thinking about the purpose of the video will help you to choose the best video style. Also, identify your audience. You need to think about who will be watching the video and what their needs are.
– Budget and Schedule
As you develop your budget and schedule for your training video production, first, you need to determine how much you can realistically afford to spend on the project. This will help you to create a realistic budget and avoid overspending.
Next, each stage of the production will have their own price tag. As many parts of the production you do yourself, that much you can save. For example, you can save on talent by choosing one of your own team members to be on camera. You can also save on music by choosing royalty-free music from various free libraries. There are other elements of cost that you can cut down.
One of the easiest ways to go about this is to look at each element separately and think whether you can do it yourself or whether you can afford to outsource it. You will get a clearer picture about your budget later on once you have gone through more in-depth concept development and have clearer picture of all the elements of cost that come into play. Then you can review your project and get a clearer picture of what budget is realistic.
Working with an experienced video production company can help you a lot in this stage as they will be able to see all the elements quickly and will be able to advise you on how much overall the project will require. Of course, you as a buyer also have a responsibility to know what costs what – at least approximately. This will help you make well thought through choices when outsourcing video production company.
– Further Concept Development – Content and Format
Once you know your video purpose, audience, and approximate budget you can spend, you can start to determine the content and format of the video. What information do your users need to know in order to use your software effectively? How long should the video be? What style should it be? Should it be a tutorial or more of an overview? The format of the video will be determined by the content you want to include.
This is also the part of pre-production where you need to decide on the visuals and audio for the video. What type of graphics will you include? Will you use music or narration? Will you use on-camera talent? What will be the location of the shoot if you want to use on-camera talent? Also, don’t forget to keep it short and sweet. Your viewers’ attention spans are shorter than ever, so it’s important to make your training videos as concise as possible. Get to the point quickly and don’t include any superfluous information.
These are all important decisions that will affect the quality of your video.
– Script/Storyboard
Once you have decided on these aspects, you can make your basic or more advanced script and (not always) storyboards.
The script will outline the key messages that you want to communicate in the video, as well as the structure of the story. Once the script is complete, it is then time to storyboard the video (not all videos will require this phase). This involves creating visualisations of each scene in the video, which will be used as a guide during the production process.
– Assembling Your Team
Finally, here you can decide who will need to take part in the training video production. Is it your in-house team or will you outsource it to a third-party local video production company? Many options are available. Don’t forget to think about both on-camera and off-camera talent and technical staff.
3. Production
Once you have the content and format figured out, and you have your basic script and (in some cases) storyboard ready, it’s time to start thinking about production – shooting the footage. If your pre-production will be done well, your production stage will not be too difficult, especially if you are working with experienced team or if you have some video skills yourself. But it is important to carefully plan and manage this stage of the process to make it as smooth as possible and save time as the longer it takes the more expensive it gets.
4. Post-Production
After the video shoot is complete and all the footage has been collected, it’s time to begin the post-production phase. This is where the footage is edited and assembled into a finished product. The editor will work with the raw footage to create a cohesive story that flows well and communicates the intended message. Once the edit is complete, the video will be mastered. This is the process of polishing the video and ensuring that it meets all technical requirements for distribution.
5. Distribution
And last, but not least, you need to think about distribution. How will you get the video to your audience? Will you host it on your website or use a video hosting service like YouTube or Vimeo?
Final Thoughts
There are a few steps to consider when going forward with training video production for your software or application. Overall, the process of producing a training video on a budget requires careful planning and execution in order to be successful. By working with a reputable yet affordable video production company, you can ensure that your training video will be of high quality and will effectively communicate your message to your target audience.