Introducing the FOCA Video Creation Framework

I've been with Synthesia for a few years now and I've watched 1,000s of hours of user-generated videos.

One of our most common use cases is for creating training videos, and it's clear there is a huge knowledge gap between users who are creating really excellent training videos and those who don't.

In a nutshell, I think it boils down to which users have thought through how they are designing their videos versus those who haven't.

Professional video creators have a repeatable design process that they use to consistently create engaging and impactful videos.

This process is called FOCA, and in this post I'm going to share it with you.

What is the FOCA Video Creation Framework?

The FOCA Framework is a 4-step design process for creating videos based on both a number of learning theories (including Mayer's multimedia theory and Van der Meij’s rules for instructional videos) and lessons we've learned from watching thousands of hours of user and AI-generated videos.

The idea behind the framework is to give you an easy-to-follow process that covers audience analysis, outlining your video, visual layout and script planning, and how to drive viewer action at the end of your video.

The acronym FOCA stands for:

• F - Foundation
• O - Organization
• C - Content
• A - Action

Let me go through each of those steps and what questions I think you should be asking at each step:

F - Foundation

You should start by documenting who your audience is. Ask yourself questions like:

• Who is my audience?
• What information do I think would be useful to them?
• What do they already know?
• What are their pain points?
• What problems are they trying to solve?

O - Organization

The next step is to think about how you want to structure your video. Ask yourself questions like:

• How should I structure the information that I want to communicate in my video?
• How can I split my video into logical scenes?
• How many key points do I want to make per scene?
• Can I explain my video's structure in 2-5 clear points?

C - Content

Next, think about the best way to script and visually arrange the information in your video. Ask yourself questions like:

• Does my script sound natural when read out loud?
• Does it have the right amount of pauses to allow my viewers time to think and reflect?
• Who should narrate my script?
• What type of visuals do I want to use?
• Are my visuals supporting the script, or just decorating it?
• Am I visually overloading my audience with too much text that should be communicated via the script?

A - Action

In this last step you should think about how you want to end your video. Ask yourself questions like:

• How should I end my video?
• How can I drive my viewers to take the action I want them to take?
• What calls-to-action (CTAs) and interactive elements do I want to use?

How do I learn the FOCA creation process?

Synthesia runs a popular FOCA certification course via the Synthesia Academy, which I highly recommend checking out.

In this course you'll have the opportunity to deep-dive into each of the above steps while learning essential video best practices and even some instructional design theory along the way.

Whether you decide to do the course or not, I really do think that you'll create better videos by following the FOCA framework.

I can't tell you how many times we see videos spark and fizzle because the creator didn't properly prepare their idea for video before hitting record or jumping into the editing booth.

By doing your thinking up front, your video becomes faster to create, easier to understand, and more valuable for your viewers.