Produce learning videos quickly and easily
Create online courses yourself with the smartphone
Convey your knowledge professionally with simple videos: Here you will learn how to plan, shoot, and edit learning videos with your smartphone – ideal for workshops, e-learning, and training.
On this page, you will learn how to create online courses using high-quality video content by yourself. This prepares you for creating a workshop that you want to sell online to your customers or provide to your team.
The didactic effect of self-created seminars and training sessions heavily depends on how well you have transferred the learning content conveyed in your online course. Creating e-learning videos and using our blink.it software for the integration and delivery of online training is a good way to quickly and easily convince your target audience of your content and give them the opportunity to learn based on your self-created learning materials. This way, you enhance the learning effect and simultaneously strengthen the direct connection of your learners to your courses and yourself. This approach makes particular sense for those who do not want ready-made seminars and e-learning courses but want to create their own training online.
Video elements are simply a must in e-learning
Whether for seminars, training sessions, or workshops, whether pure e-learning or combined with in-person events as blended learning: Anyone who incorporates videos into their online courses has a clear advantage, and filming videos with a smartphone is not rocket science.
At the latest since the smartphone generation starting with the iPhone 13, smartphones in terms of simplicity and quality are no longer inferior to filming with a professional camera. From now on, everyone has their high-performance camera in their pocket and can, provided they handle it appropriately, achieve outstanding results.
The 3 Phases of Filming Videos for Creating Online Courses: Planning – Shooting – Post-Production
Every training video starts with an initial idea: What is the goal, what do you want to achieve with your video? Phase 1 is therefore the planning of your video. Next comes the actual shooting, Phase 2: How should you hold your smartphone, what additional technical equipment do you need? The last phase is the post-production of your training video: What software can you use, how do you edit your video, what do you need to pay attention to regarding the audio, etc.
Are you ready? Then let's get started with Phase 1: The Planning of Your Video.
1. The planning of your videos for training, workshops, and seminars
Recommended time budget for beginners: 30 minutes
Recommended time budget for advanced users: 10 minutes
At the beginning of any well-thought-out action is a more or less rough plan. With the creation of a training video for online courses, you pursue a specific goal, which is why you must first ask yourself some questions to actually achieve this goal.
Step 1: Create Video Concept (optional)
A television or film is always based on a screenplay that includes dialogues and descriptions of the setting. A screenplay is also a useful tool for creating short didactic videos for online seminars. For this, you can refer to the following 5 W-questions:
What for? |
This question should always come first: What is the goal of your training video? What should the target audience do after the video? |
About what? |
This question is closely related to the question of "Why": What is the content of your self-created video seminar? What is the core message you want to convey? |
Many didactic short videos are designed in such a way that the trainer is visible in the frame the entire time and addresses the learners directly. Of course, other scenarios are conceivable as well, but for beginners, we recommend this selfie variant. |
How? |
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Where? |
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For your learning video concept, we have created a template that you can either fill out digitally or print out and write your notes in. In the template, you will find the W-questions mentioned above, along with examples and plenty of space for your entries.
Step 2: Create a Cheat Sheet for the Shoot
During the video shoot, you might feel a bit nervous or forget what you wanted to say. A small cheat sheet can help you, which you can prepare in about 15 minutes for your shoot. Of course, during the recording itself, you shouldn't look at the cheat sheet, but it helps you in advance to orient yourself and plan your recording.
We have created sample cheat sheets for you and some tips on how to best design your notes for the video shoot.
Step 3: Prepare the technology for the shoot
In addition to planning the content for your video shoot, you should also consider the technical equipment in advance. For quick, simple e-learning videos, a modern smartphone is sufficient – provided you keep a few basic things in mind, such as a stable surface.
You can upgrade the smartphone with some smaller technical devices and create professional video quality for little money, e.g., by using an external microphone, tripod, or extension cable.
2. The video shoot
Recommended time budget for beginners: 45 minutes
Recommended time budget for advanced users: 20 minutes
Are you ready for the shoot of your videos? Perfect! During the video shoot, there are fundamentally two essential elements: good sound and good image. How to achieve both will be explained in the following sections. In Phase 1, we have already provided you with a list of purchase recommendations for your video equipment. In Phase 2, we will now focus on the actual shoot of your training video.
Tip: Take enough time, especially for your first shoots, to try out different settings and options.
Step 1: Ensure good sound
The most important aspect of shooting videos for training, seminars, and workshops is clear sound. An external microphone makes a decisive difference: If your instructional video has background noise or your words are acoustically unclear, viewers quickly tune out. They may forgive a shaky or dark image – but not bad sound!
Therefore, pay attention to the following two points when filming your instructional video:
A quiet room: e.g., your living room or a quiet seminar room
A free microphone input: Make sure that the microphone opening on your smartphone is not covered.
If you do not have a quiet room available, a Lavalier microphone can help: You clip it close to your head (e.g., on the collar) so that distracting background noise is hardly audible. We recommend the Rode SmartLav for around € 65 (for iPhone and Android).
Tip: Short Test Recording
It’s best to test the sound once before you start the actual recording. Film yourself for 10 seconds and say something at a normal volume. Then watch the recording directly on your smartphone.
Do you understand yourself well? Then the sound quality is sufficient – you can start!
Don't understand yourself? Then check if your microphone is connected correctly.
Step 2: Ensure Good Lighting
When taking selfie videos, make sure that your face is well lit and that there are no or very few shadows visible. For your studio at home, you need both a natural light source (window) and an artificial light source (e.g., an LED lamp), depending on the room. To evenly illuminate your face, both light sources should come from the front. The best position is to stand between the window and the lamp, placing the smartphone camera a little distance in front of you.
Tip for Video Beginners:
Just try it out! You'll quickly notice how differently your image looks when you position your light source in front of, beside, or behind the camera. Take your time and test different positions.
Step 3: Create a Good Setting
In selfie videos, some framing looks more harmonious than others. Pay attention to the scenes in your next professional video where a single person is speaking. Often, the camera is very focused on the speaker's head – this makes them seem closer to the viewer.
A good setting in videos featuring people can be achieved with the following three tips:
Always film in landscape mode! On one hand, this is the natural viewing direction of our (side-by-side) eyes, and on the other hand, almost all of our playback devices (PC, laptop, tablet) are designed for it.
Only film the essentials! The speaker should occupy at least 3/4 of the frame, focusing on the face.
The neck must be visible, the hairline does not necessarily have to be: If you are only viewing the speaker's face, there should be more space below than above. This corresponds to the natural viewing direction of our eyes.
Step 4: Roll the film! Start the recording
Take one last look at your cheat sheet and start the recording. Don't be shy about slips of the tongue – it's best to keep speaking and record the entire video. This way, you’ll get a feel for whether your training video fits overall right from the start. Then press stop and start again! You'll notice that speaking becomes easier after a few recordings.
As soon as you’ve recorded a few versions of your video, make sure to check the result directly on your smartphone! Having to set up the entire setting again after you’ve taken it down is frustrating – even if setting up the blink.it Kit takes a maximum of 15 minutes for practiced hands.
Are you looking for software that allows you to create online courses yourself? With blink.it you have a learning platform that allows you to do just that - and you can also sell your courses directly through it. Set up your own learning platform now and try it for free for 7 days!
3. The post-processing of your explanatory video
Recommended time budget for beginners: 30 minutes
Recommended time budget for advanced users: 10 minutes
Option 1: Edit videos directly on your smartphone
If you want to trim your video as quickly as possible, Option 1 is the best choice for you. Here’s how to proceed easily:
Open the video on your smartphone and watch it there.
Open the file with a smartphone video editor. Our recommendation: CapCut Photo & Video Editor for iOS and Android (free with many features; Pro version for € 10 to € 20/month)
Trim the file from the front and back, reduce noise, and adjust the aspect ratio.
Export the video as .MP4 (1080p) and then upload it to your playback medium.
Option 2: Video Editing on PC
For many people, the display of a smartphone is simply too small to edit a video well. If you belong to this group, then upload your video to your computer and perform these basic editing steps:
Open the video with the editing software of your choice and play it all the way through once. We recommend the free tool CapCut Photo & Video Editor (available for Windows and Mac).
Trim the beginning and the end of your video: "Trimming" means simply cutting off everything unnecessary from the front and back. But don’t cut too short: Make sure to leave 1 to 2 seconds of space before your first word and after your last word.
Denoise the audio so that background noises are minimized and your voice is clearly heard in the foreground.
Adjust your video to the aspect ratio in which you want to play it (we recommend 16:9).
Watch your edited video several times until you are satisfied with it.
Export your final video as an .MP4 file and upload it to your playback medium.
Tip: With editing software, you can of course do many more cool things, such as transitions, fades, filters, subtitles, and much more. The steps above are just the basics that you should definitely do for every video.
Field of Application "Further Education, Workshops, and Seminars": Self-Created Videos in Your Online Courses
Now you have learned step by step what is important when creating learning videos. Finally, we have a few general tips for creating your own videos for workshops, seminars, training, coaching, e-learning, and blended learning.
10 Tips for Good Videos in Online Courses
Keep your video short! 2 minutes is completely sufficient for a learning video, more than 3 should not be the case.
Good sound is essential for the video quality of any video. If your viewer does not understand what you are saying or if there are distracting background noises, they will quickly tune out.
Always film in landscape mode! Our eyes are side by side, not stacked. And most digital playback devices are designed for landscape formats. We recommend a 16:9 format for every video.
Pay attention to relevant content for the viewer: Make it clear in your video why your viewers or learners should watch it. They need to know whether the video is interesting to them and what prior knowledge they might need to understand your content.
Nothing works without a call to action! Your viewer must know exactly what you expect from them at the end of your video - even if you only ask them to watch the next video in the online course.
Put your video in the context of the entire workshop, seminar, or e-learning: Is the content related to something you mentioned in the seminar? Are there additional sources on the topic?
Videos as elements of blended learning: For preparation for the in-person meeting and motivation, personally shot selfie videos are particularly well-suited.
Outsourced videos are expensive. They are usually only worth it if you want to produce a large image film or something similar.
Pay attention to your correct mindset when shooting the video. Be confident, in a good mood, and don’t fear mistakes: A single slip of the tongue appears more authentic to the viewer than a flawlessly read text. Most of the time, mistakes are not noticed or are quickly forgotten. Even professional news anchors on television stumble sometimes - that is simply part of it and makes the person in front of the camera more relatable.
Use your videos as ads: Videos vividly show what a training, coaching, or online course might look like with you. Therefore, use your video also outside of your e-learning, for example as an example on your website.
