Experienced Educator Mark Christensen Gives Advice on How to Craft a Quality College Video

Newport, New Hampshire, April 11, 2017 (Newswire.com) - ​Creating a quality video doesn’t necessarily require a lot of skill and experience, in fact, it is something nearly anyone can do when following the steps outlined in this article. Mark Christensen, an experienced educator from New Hampshire, who aims to help colleges and related institutions to create something memorable and of high quality, has described two simple steps in creating an effective college video.

Mark Christensen, who has his Masters in Marketing and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership says, "It is difficult to know just where to start when it comes to creating a video. You know that you want to create a message that highlights the value of your college or university. Perhaps the campus has been renovated, a program has been added to your prospectus, or a new faculty member has been hired. These are all hugely important stories that you can put across through video, but you need to know what to do. We can help with this but there are actually two simple steps to follow."

"When you share information and ideas with others, and particularly those who will have some involvement, you instantly create a brainstorming session"

Mark Christensen, Educator

Mark Christensen adds, "The first step is to ask the question why you would want to create a video. In other words, what is its purpose?"

It is a known fact that a video is a very popular and effective marketing tool. No longer are video productions million dollar activities, nor are videos supposed to be hours long. Rather, the video has to be focused and short, so that it can be added to a website as well. This enables colleges to ensure that current and prospective students, staff, and faculty members alike are able to hear the story. Mark Christensen adds, "You have to start by specifying what is the purpose of the video. Do you want to discuss the culture of your college, do you want to ask alumni to reach out, do you want to showcase a new professor? Once you have determined what you want your message to be, you can move on to the second step."

The second step to take when you are planning to create a college video is to develop an outline of the various components of the video. Too often, people will simply grab a camera and start shooting. While this does provide the opportunity for capturing a lot of excellent information, it often leaves the information jumbled and unclear, sometimes even completely unusable. Even if it is found to be usable, it will require hours of editing and cutting. Mark Christensen states, "If you have an outline, a type of blueprint, of what you want to be included in the video, you will be far more focused and organized and you avoid wasting a lot of time filming those things that would not be included in the end."

What this means is that proper preparation is key to success, and this preparation must involve planning for who will be involved in the video as well. Every stakeholder in the video - the students taking part in shots of the campus, the professor who is interviewed about their lessons, a communications director who wants to make sure the video is fit for purpose - has to understand what the goal of the video is, how it will be presented, and what their role will be. The planning stage, therefore, is also very much about information sharing.

Mark Christensen further explains, "When you share information and ideas with others, and particularly those who will have some involvement, you instantly create a brainstorming session. Everybody has pieces to share or insights that when pulled together makes for a better experience. By working together, you would be able to capture all the information that needs to be included in your video to have the maximum impact and you lower the chance of overlooking key issues that should be included."

The planning stage is about creating a blueprint of what the video will look like. This ensures that the proper time is allocated to every element that has to be included in the video. Additionally, it helps people develop the dialogue for the video, understanding what needs to be discussed, how, and how much time is allocated for each. Having a plan like this in place ensures that everyone involved can remain focused on what is expected of them.

Mark Christensen says, "It is common to feel stuck and overwhelmed when creating a video. But if you know what you want your message to be, and you create an outline of how you want to put that across, you will be able to create a video that will serve its purpose."

Source: Mark Christensen