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Let's preface this by saying learning and development is no walk in the park. Learning teams are often overwhelmed and under-equipped.
Around 45% of learning professionals spend at least half their week on training requests, and it takes roughly 130+ hours to create a single hour of traditional eLearning.
And then there's this constant need for more video training. 😰
You know it's super effective, but it is hard to produce quality videos without working with an external video production company.
Fortunately, many new and cost-effective solutions on the market can help you create more content in video format.
Moreover, these solutions go hand in hand with the latest L&D trends, so let's take a closer look at the problems first, and we'll get to the solutions right after.
What is training video production?
Training video production is the entire process of creating videos specifically designed to instruct or educate an audience on a particular topic or skill, such as how to use a product or perform a task. They range from short how-to clips to more extensive instructional courses and are highly popular.
Training videos are widely used, not just by individuals, but also by schools, universities, small businesses, corporations, and government agencies. Corporate training video production can be used to teach a variety of use cases, from hard skills like software training to soft skills required for sales training.
Depending on the training scope and topic, a professional team will plan the training video production to be more or less complex while still following the three main stages of pre-production, production, and post-production.
Stage 1: Planning and pre-production process
- Identify the objective. Determine what the video aims to teach and the target audience.
- Write the script. Create a script that lays out the content in an engaging and clear manner.
- Draw the storyboard. Visualize the flow of the video, planning out shots, animations, graphics, etc.
- Casting and location scouting. Select the right individuals and venues if actors or specific locations are needed.
Stage 2: Production
- Film. Capture the live-action content on a green screen or as per the script and storyboard. This can include on-camera demonstrations, interviews, and more.
- Record the voiceover. If the video requires narration, record the voiceover separately or during the shoot.
- Graphics and animation production. Whether a screen recording tutorial or an animated video, you must create the visual assets your video editors will add in the editing stage.
Stage 3: Post-production
- Video editing & graphics: Combine and trim footage to create a coherent and engaging narrative. Incorporate animations, text overlays, images, or other visual assets that capture the viewer's attention.
- Sound design. Add audio descriptions, music, sound effects, and balance audio levels.
- Get feedback and revise. Review the video, make necessary changes, and refine the content.
- Distribute the training. Once the video is complete, you can share it via various platforms, such as internal company networks, online courses, and YouTube, or embed it on websites.
How much does it cost to film a training video?
Training video production can cost between $ 1,000 and $ 5,000 per minute. According to industry data, for more than 100,000 companies in the United States, these costs translate into $1,286 spent on training per learner. Costs can go even higher for complex animated videos. Professional studios charge up to $8,000 per minute of animated video.
Aside from money, filming a training video takes a lot of time, often spent on pitching ideas, going into approval meetings, and juggling internal conflicts from idea generation to final revisions.
Making a single live-action training video requires working for 2 to 4 weeks with film equipment, actors, directors, and editors, in a rented video studio. It can quickly rack up costs.
At least, that’s what you can expect when taking the traditional route for corporate training video production.
Traditional training content production is too costly
As your company grows, it can be challenging to scale an L&D strategy.
That's why "employee-generated e-learning" is quickly emerging within organizations as a more scaleable strategy. Using this strategy, team members or subject matter experts can quickly create and update a video course without depending on anyone else.
On average, around 60-70% of an organization's learning needs cannot be fulfilled by an internal department. Instead, you can fulfill a large portion of that shortfall using an employee-generated e-learning approach.
The most common issues with producing e-learning courses
The graph above makes it clear that you should probably be making more employee training videos... but that's easier said than done. 😬
E-learning video production is a lengthy process. Besides that, training video production companies are expensive, and you are not a video production specialist...
L&D shortfalls are down to budget, time, and resource shortages, and there can also often be a misalignment between divisions.
Industry experts say that the biggest obstacles for producing video content for L&D in 2023 include time, updating/re-recording content, and ensuring videos are engaging. Breaking down these main challenges even further, we get to the 6 most common issues in training video production L&D teams face in their everyday work:
- It is complex to organize and manage the process of training video production internally.
- It can also be pretty expensive to work with training video production companies.
- It requires skills that L&D teams or internal SMEs do not have.
- It becomes even more difficult when you want to localize your video course.
- It's hard to keep all videos standardized when using external training video production services.
- It's impossible to update an educational video after it's done.
Issue number 6 is the most costly to large organizations that need to scale their workforce and keep up with constant changes in compliance.
For example, if an organization has thousands of employees globally who speak multiple languages, that small change in compliance can become disruptive. Every time a slight change occurs in how data needs to be handled, your IT team must speak to the L&D team, who then need to go update the video.
Then, if the learning and development team had an external training video production company handle that video project, they would have to inform the producers, the producers the actors — and the friction points would add up fast.
But what if the relevant teams could contribute significantly to their departmental needs?
What if any company could create educational videos internally without having to work with external training video production companies?
Hint: Easy, in-house corporate training video production is possible. 📹
All you need to get started are some easy-to-use and powerful tools that will help you create instructional videos within a reasonable budget.
How to transform into a learning organization
An organization or company that promotes e-learning, is more agile and competitive. By promoting self-knowledge, and critical thinking, and open feedback, employees can see and address problems and opportunities on all levels.
Turning your company into a learning organization brings you a whole load of benefits that'll ultimately affect your revenue and profit:
- People within the organization have a huge amount of niche-specific knowledge and experience. Since specialization is a key differentiator in today's economy, it's time to start sharing this internal expertise through educational videos.
- Encouraging employees to share their knowledge reinforces a sense of community and ownership. On an individual level, sharing knowledge with others helps improve system thinking and problem-solving skills.
- The culture of e-learning also serves as an employee retention initiative. Employee engagement and retention are typically 30-50% higher in learning organizations than in work cultures that don't support learning.
- With Gen Z entering the workforce, the demand for e-learning opportunities becomes higher than for any prior generation. 84% expect employers to provide learning opportunities through on-demand nano-learning assets.
Why is a learning organization beneficial?
One of the leading competitive advantages in the future will be an organization's ability to learn faster than its rivals, and it's already begun. Manufacturing firms that implement training programs increase productivity by an average of 17%.
The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay. — Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company.
Learning organizations tend to be successful because of their flexible, adaptive, and productive nature to react to change. By democratizing learning and development and letting departmental stakeholders contribute where they can, training culture can begin to change.
How to scale training video production with AI
A significant paradigm shift is happening with e-learning and development, especially with content creation and delivery.
We've typically considered video production a physical process involving cameras, lights, actors, and expensive editing equipment.
Well, not anymore.
Synthesia allows you to skip working with a training video production company and build content directly from your browser. This tool is powered by artificial intelligence, enabling anyone from your team to create engaging training and development videos with no cameras, lights, or microphones required.
Think of it as different video production services under one roof.
Or better said, in one tab.
Creating training video content has never been easier. Even people who do not have any video production skills can make professional-looking videos in Synthesia.
Check out this video to see how Synthesia works in less than 4 minutes:
How other companies use Synthesia in their L&D video production
Switching over to AI has the power to greatly streamline content creation. And we're not just saying that, check out the results that real companies are enjoying every day.
Production time was reduced by 62%
Teleperformance reported a reduction in their average training video production time of 8 days (62%) using Synthesia. In numbers, that means they saved about $650 per video.
According to Ben Kirby, Global SVP Learning and Development, “From demo to adoption, it was the shortest amount of time I have ever spent with any technology at Teleperformance. That's a testament to the fact that people immediately saw the value in the solution and wanted to use it.”
Budget reduction of $5,000 - $15,000 per video
Concept Sales is a company that trains salespeople using real customer stories. The only problem with their current way of filming customers? It took a whole lot of time, budget, and effort to record a real customer in person. Using Synthesia, they no longer have to record a customer, but instead can just write out a script, select an AI avatar, and they're good to go.
As Juri Piertersen, Managing Director put it, "With Synthesia, you can update learning materials very quickly. You just change the script, generate a new updated version and put it online."
Saved 90% of time when creating training videos
Zoom has trained 1000+ of its in-house salespeople using AI videos. They chose a solution like Synthesia both for the initial time-savings, but also for the flexibility in adjusting videos when Zoom's software was updated.
As Daye Collier, Senior Instructional Designer says, "Synthesia saves time for both SMEs and IDs. SMEs no longer need to record themselves, allowing them to focus on their primary responsibilities. IDs can create high-quality training content in less time."
Dayne and his team created 200+ micro videos in just 6 months. Here's what one of their training videos typically looks like:
5 current L&D trends to consider when creating training videos
Recent changes in the sphere of work also bring new trends in learning and training. Here are some of them you should keep in mind when planning your training and educational video production:
Trend 1: Focus on upskilling and reskilling
It's important to upskill and reskill employees because new jobs are constantly being created that didn't exist before. According to one report, 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven't been invented yet and will require new skills and knowledge. Reskilling for those new jobs will likely happen through a concise employee training video rather than random live-action videos.
Trend 2: Embrace microlearning
One of the reasons microlearning is getting more popular is that it is an effective way to learn new information. When information is presented in small, manageable chunks, it is easier for learners to process and remember. Short-format content also fits better into busy schedules and can be consumed on the go, with recent research showing that using micro-learning on mobile applications increases knowledge retention and work performance. Equally important, shorter videos ease the production process.
Trend 3: Consider blended learning environments
As remote work becomes the new norm, creating learning materials for both online and offline training is important. This type of training can benefit employees because it allows them to learn in various ways and at their own pace.
Trend 4: Plan for peer-to-peer learning
Peer-to-peer learning can be more engaging and motivating than traditional learning methods and can also promote social and emotional learning. Additionally, it can help students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills, which makes it a great learning solution for the new era of work.
Trend 5: Try to personalize your corporate training videos
Corporate training needs to be professional but also engaging. Making your instructional videos "pretty" with whiteboard animation may not be an option, but personalization is one of those tiny details with a big impact.
By personalizing videos, companies can ensure that their employees receive the most relevant and helpful information possible – at a specific point in their career and in relation to their particular training needs.
The FOCA Framework is a science-based structure that helps you create better training. It covers all the important aspects of a good training video and guides you through the entire video production process, from idea to final call-to-action. Here's more information about FOCA and some downloadable materials to help you get started ➔
Now that you know how to create good training videos for a great learning experience, you're going to need a system to deliver and measure the effectiveness of your training.
How to effectively deliver training
Easygenerator is an e-learning authoring tool that lets anyone create and share interactive content, from e-learning professionals to subject-matter experts. Track results and collaborate with multiple authors in real-time, all within one easy-to-use tool.
Whether you start from scratch or choose from one of their pre-made templates, Easygenerator's drag-drop editor makes creating interactive content seamlessly. Work with your whole team through in-app comments from co-authors and reviewers to craft perfect videos.
You can easily embed your Synthesia videos into Easygenerator and create courses in no time at all.
Now, back to you
By now, you know the importance of video in training, the latest trends in the corporate training production process, and the significant AI benefits. You also know there are better ways to cover your content needs than cutting big checks to instructional video production companies every month.
So why not familiarize yourself with the tools mentioned in this article and start with the most essential one?
Use the Synthesia AI video generator to create a free video and see how it can make your next video project a breeze!
About the author
Strategic Advisor
Kevin Alster
Kevin Alster heads up the learning team at Synthesia. He is focused on building Synthesia Academy and helping people figure out how to use generative AI videos in enterprise. His journey in the tech industry is driven by a decade-long experience in the education sector and various roles where he uses emerging technology to augment communication and creativity through video. He has been developing enterprise and branded learning solutions in organizations such as General Assembly, The School of The New York Times, and Sotheby's Institute of Art.
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