‘If you were run over by a bus I am not sure we can replace you and we would be in big trouble’
I am told that this is a compliment
One of the things I am asked most often when doing videos for knowledge retention / management is ‘How do you do it?’
And for most of my career I have just shrugged it off and said ‘I just do it’. I could never think of a simple answer. And the reason is there is no simple answer.
And lately, thinking with my self-employed marketing hat on. This area of creating videos for knowledge retention is very unique. And as far as I know, no one else does this or has the skill set to do this well, and I have seen very creative and knowledgeable people really struggle. More and more people are realising the importance of knowledge management and retention they are starting to explore ways on making this more interesting then a pile of documents locked away in a folder and they are turning to video and interactive options like e-learning.
Like a self-employed person needing to wear multiple hats to do multiple roles, a motion graphics role for knowledge management has multiple hats (Currently wearing my marketing hat)
So I am going to try and give an overview of my thought processes and maybe we can work out how do I do it?
OMG wisdom to pass on does that mean I am old?
Get in early
Knowledge management is not like creating a promotional video, where you get a brief and almost everything handed to you. You need to get in there and start learning about how the business / team works yourself, if you don’t understand the material then how do you plan to animate it?
It does mean sitting in boring meetings and reading an endless amount of documents but in the long run this will be highly beneficial. Ask questions, query things, imagine yourself as a new starter coming into the business what material would be a priority? What unique icons can I create and what can be pre-animated to save time later on? This is where your project management hat comes in handy.
Problem solver
Ah the CV cliche. To work out how to represent something visually that has never had an icon before is something you will come across.
Research hat is on. Google key words and see what pops up in the image search. Nothing of help? Listen to the sentence and pick out other key words and image search them.
Do a bit more research on what the subject is about. I am often researching a subject and then have a light bulb moment. I have dealt with some very technical phrases and wording that is unique to a specific industry. So it is not always possible to come up with a unique image, if all else fails put it in as text.
Storyboard artist
Knowledge management videos are not your typical videos. They are not done by professional voice artists and in the majority of cases they are not planned by the expert giving the talk, along with no script
I have always said to other creatives I work with ‘Storyboard before you start animating’. Don’t worry about detail in your storyboard, if you can understand it that's all that matters. Mine on occasion look like scribblings of a mad women with 20 cats (a personal goal) but I understand them and know what to do just by looking at the timings, shapes and colours.
I have come across designers who insist on not using storyboards for whatever reason and then they struggle and the work they produce is not of sufficient quality (Enter managers hat). Focus on what they narration is saying, translate it onto paper and then take it into your editing software. Don’t try and do it on the fly. I used to do that and it actually slowed me down and reduced the quality of my work. A simple storyboard is easier, faster and less stressful.
I have also found it useful when I am struggling to get down ideas in storyboard form and show to someone else and get there feedback and advice.
Motion Graphics Artist
My favourite hat.
I always setup my project file and import any assets I need before I begin. If I need to adjust some animations in my animated icons library I do that before I start. It’s all there nice and neat in the appropriate folders. I downloaded and made some adjustments to a free java script for After Effects which will build the folders within the project file for you. I really recommend everyone to get one or have something similar. I also have a document with all my most commonly used expressions so I can just copy and paste as and when I need to without having to type it out.
All this just leaves me to place the assets into the file, using the storyboard to determine time frames and layout, and ensure the timings are correct. And away we go.
Copywriter
This is probably the most boring and most time consuming part of creating these videos. Ideally this should be done by someone else. However, I have found that there is not enough time for someone to write the text out and state at what time frame the text should come in at.
This is an area that trips many designers up. For knowledge management adding text to re-iterate or emphasise a message is useful and helps improve memory by about 10%. For me personally I like to know if text is going to added so I can add it to the storyboard. Adding it later is just a headache.
It’s a bit like note taking at university. You note down and re-phrase, in your own words, something you need to remember. There is an option of getting someone else to do it, however, they may not understand design thinking and instead of short sentences you end up with an extract from ‘War and Peace’.
I was always very imaginative writer, I was writing stories as a child in pre-school (thou terrible grammar) so this was something I felt comfortable in doing. If you are uncomfortable in writing text, then say it early and get something in place, before getting too far in the project. It’s important you and the client and the team you are in are comfortable.
Also very important. Spell check!!!
Client
I am actually quite shocked at the amount of designers who do not check there work before sending it to client. OK you spent several hours working on the video, and you are sick of the sight of it but it still needs a once over. It’s easy to miss things while you are editing.
Imagine you are a client and you receive a video that has a series of spelling mistakes, icons missing, audio missing, animation errors etc. Would you be happy to pay £500+ for that? No. You would want a near perfect video.
I view the video as if I was the client. Something not right then fix it. Don’t wait for the email with a list of fixes. Especially if you have more than half a dozen videos to complete.
So those are my main thought processes and recommendations, specifically aimed around creating e-learning / knowledge management type videos. However some areas can be used for different projects. Each designer will be different so be flexible, find a way that is best for you and your client.
Clients don’t always understand how videos are put together so be patient with them and explain things clearly and if you are struggling, explain why you are struggling.
Clients give your designer a cookie and understand things are not done at a click of a button.
I would like to see more designers and creators get into the knowledge management /
e-learning industry so please connect with on social media for more ramblings, freelance chats and pictures of cakes.
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