Blog_Banner_Asset
    Homebreadcumb forward arrow iconBlogbreadcumb forward arrow iconGeneralbreadcumb forward arrow icon5 Reasons Why Making Educational Videos is Different

5 Reasons Why Making Educational Videos is Different

Last updated:
15th Mar, 2018
Views
Read Time
7 Mins
share image icon
In this article
Chevron in toc
View All
5 Reasons Why Making Educational Videos is Different

I like the term “paradigm shift”. It speaks of a complete change, a totally new way of seeing and doing things, an exhortation to change the way one deals with the world.
I joined upGrad 2 years ago, after 19 years of making content for television, film, and digital media. I worked in genres ranging from fiction to news, sports to ad films, reality to talent shows, documentaries to comedy sketches, and a lot of other content; and what I faced was the most shifted paradigm I’d ever come across.
Making content for academic purposes, for a company that purveys education, is about as close to what I used to do earlier – as an albatross is to a penguin. Purportedly, they involve the same process — ideate, visualise, script, shoot, edit and animate, output. But IRL (“in real life” — I’m trying to be more millennial nowadays; hooray! another paradigm shift!), it’s very different.

“How is that so?”

I hear you whispering to each other,

“Aren’t penguins and albatrosses both birds? Isn’t content, just, like, content?”

Ads of upGrad blog

Let me break it down for you.

People are scared to face the camera

Wherever I have worked earlier, I’ve always met consummate professionals who were very comfortable in front of the camera. Actors and models, anchors and presenters, all used to earn their bread by the way they performed on camera. Far from being afraid, they’d be transformed when the camera turned towards them.
On the other hand, at upGrad, everyone seems to be afraid of facing the camera. Perfectly reasonable, outgoing people will find a shell and occupy it, refusing to come out even for God and country. We’ve had professors with thousands of hours of teaching under their belt, foundering and prospective anchors being completely at sea the moment they face the camera. It takes a lot of confidence building and hand-holding to get them comfortable, and even that has to be followed by constant monitoring for any regression to the aforementioned shell.

The sun doesn’t revolve around you anymore

Whenever I used to work on making entertainment content — or news or documentaries, for that matter — the whole process and everyone involved with it used to work around that. The videos themselves would be the be-all and end-all, the one overweening raison d’être of the whole enterprise. The video department would walk around like the lords and masters of all they survey.

With education, though, the video department is a support function. We don’t sell what the video department makes, we sell what the academic content department makes. A video is essentially packaging for the content, making sure that content is presented neatly and clearly. In education, the video is at the same level as Sales and Marketing, Admin and Tech. We help ourselves help others.
What Makes upGrad Come Up with Awesome Content?

Too much entertainment is too much

Earlier, I used to employ various techniques and cinematic devices to make the content we create more entertaining. A lot of gimmickry and creativity used to go into making every video different, appealing, eye-catching and memorable. The drama was inevitable and very desirable.

In education, though, all of this gimmickry is pointless; it distracts the student from the basic content and overwhelms the content itself at many places. Basic things like moving backgrounds, motion shots, over-animated graphics, quick cuts, are all unnecessary when it comes to academic content, and defeat the purpose of creating the content itself. Drama, of course, is a no-no.

We need to make videos that put the professor or the subject matter expert front-and-center. The spoken content is reinforced with graphics that detail the same thing. It’s not entertaining, for the most part, but it is effective teaching.

We’re at the far end of the process

In my previous projects in entertainment content, the videos would be made first, and then everything else around it would kick into gear. Marketing and sales would happen alongside or after the video had been created.
At upGrad, the videos are made at the end of the process. First, the marketing team needs to start marketing the program; then the Sales team gets the students on-board. While this is happening, the academic team needs to figure out the content in consultation with professors and subject-matter experts. After many rounds of back-and-forth, the scripts are written and the shoots start. Only once all this is done and all footage is sent to the post-production team, the edit and graphics process starts.
What is the Biggest Form of Job Satisfaction?

Shoots and edits are simple

What I mean is that all shoots involve a subject matter expert speaking directly to the camera. There is generally only one angle used (for technical reasons) and the most that is done to it, is to change the magnification on the post (cut the video, zoom in, continue) at any cut to avoid a visual jerk. Even while editing, the only thing that needs be done is to cut the videos at the appropriate places as specified in the post-production script. It’s like how one edits an interview.

This is a far cry from how things are done in entertainment videos. Shoots are horribly complex and take a long time to get done. And anything not done would be “fixed in post”, which meant that the editing team would need to sort out everything the shooting team didn’t. None of that happens here at upGrad.
Well, there you have it. The paradigm shift, explained in simple, easily undressed points. This too, is a legacy from upGrad. Where earlier I might have rambled on incessantly about why this is so, I have now learnt the power of succinctness and minimalism. Rah upGrad!

What to do next?

Ads of upGrad blog

All the free upGrad courses under the Lifelong Learning initiative have been crafted in collaboration with leading industry experts. As always, like all upGrad offerings, these courses will be taught by best-in-class instructors.

So, how about upskilling with upGrad’s Lifelong Learning initiative?

Say YES and register now!

Profile
Sandeep Vasudevan has achieved his dream of being the oldest child prodigy in the history of Online Education. Now that all his childhood ambitions have been fulfilled, Sandeep spends his time pondering other worlds to conquer. In other news, Sandeep makes up in Malayalee what he lacks in everything else.
Get Free Consultation

Select Coursecaret down icon
Selectcaret down icon
By clicking 'Submit' you Agree to  
UpGrad's Terms & Conditions

Our Popular MBA Course

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1What is the basic difference between a content writer and an academic writer?

Academic content writing and general content writing may sound similar but are a lot different in meaning. Academic content writing is concerned with writing for the educational purpose. It is used to clarify the concepts of different fields in easier terms. General content includes humour and comparatively more complex language, while academic content does not include too much humour and language has to be simple for the benefit of students. Content is the real king in academic videos as it helps in effective teaching.

2When are videos created in the academic sector?

In the entertainment sector the videos are created first and then sales take place. Videos are marketed and attract the target audience. In the academic sector the shooting of video takes place at the end. The product which is a course is marketed first and then the production of video takes place. After shooting the video, it is sent to the editing department to add graphics and cut down the unimportant parts. At upGrad, content writers and videographers consult professors and subject matter experts to create the best script and the flawless video.

3What is done to maintain seriousness while creating a video?

To maintain the soberness of the academic video, it is important to remove the distraction. The videos are shot against a plain background and with a single-angle camera. There are no unnecessary animations or graphics that might distract the students. One of the difficulties while shooting a video is camera-friendliness. Not all the subject experts are camera friendly. A lot of the professors are not shy while taking a live class but in front of the camera their confidence goes down. A good deal of time and effort are required to shoot the video, edit them, and present them to the students.

Explore Free Courses

Suggested Blogs

Top 7 Jobs in Demand in 2024 [And How to Prepare Yourself?]
899519
Thanks to demographic changes and technological advancements, the job landscape has shifted considerably across the globe. In the coming years, new jo
Read More

by upGrad

05 Mar 2024

Top 10 Highest Paying IT Certifications in India in 2024 [Astonishing]
78680
Summary: In this article, you will learn about the top 10 highest-paying IT certifications in India. Take a glimpse below. Business Intelligence (B
Read More

by Rahul Karthikeyan

05 Mar 2024

Salary for M.Sc IT Graduates: Highest Paying Job Roles for M.Sc IT [2023]
900720
Are you an MSc IT student wondering what career you should pursue? Then you’ve come to the right place. This article will help you figure out yo
Read More

by Sriram

04 Mar 2024

Career Options in Commerce With Maths: 6 Top Courses To Select in 2024
68945
Are you commerce with maths student wondering what career you should choose? Then you’ve come to the right place. This article will discuss the
Read More

by Sriram

04 Mar 2024

15 Most Popular Sales Interview Questions & Answers [For Freshers 2024]
104233
Most sales interviews start with a question about you and end with one about the company. While it is not possible to predict every question in a sale
Read More

by Kamal Jacob

04 Mar 2024

Top 15 Highest Paying Jobs in Computer Science in India [2024]
924373
Computer Science is a fast-evolving domain that is now an integral part of our modern world. In fact, Computer Science and computing/software technolo
Read More

by Rohan Vats

04 Mar 2024

Tower of Hanoi Algorithm Using Recursion: Definition, Use-cases, Advantages
5069
Are you searching for the Tower of Hanoi problem’s solution in simpler way on the whole internet? Well, you came to the right place. In this blo
Read More

by venkatesh Rajanala

04 Mar 2024

Top 50 Linux Interview Questions & Answers for Freshers & Experienced
5053
Linux Interview Questions & Answers for Freshers & Experienced Basic Linux Interview Questions for Freshers {25 Question}  What is Linux? D
Read More

by Harish K

03 Mar 2024

Strassen’s Matrix Multiplication Algorithm Explained
5159
Imagine multiplying large matrices together by hand—it’s tedious and time-consuming, right? Well, that’s where Strassen’s Matrix Mul
Read More

by Harish K

01 Mar 2024

Schedule 1:1 free counsellingTalk to Career Expert
icon
footer sticky close icon