Delivered at the Rocky Mountain Chapter of STC, this session explores how to: *. Develop a storyboard *. Review a support topic *. Create a related video *. Help users visualize how to perform the task

1. Rocky Mountain STC Session
Bernard Aschwanden
www.publishingsmarter.com
bernard@publishingsmarter.com
Best Practices when Creating
Interactive Video Tutorials
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2. About this session
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 A picture is worth 1000 words, how many is video worth?
 In this session we address how to:
 Develop a storyboard
 Review a support topic
 Create a related video
 Help users visualize how to perform the task
 Doing this helps your audience SEE how to resolve issues
before they become problems
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3. Housekeeping and note taking
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 Not all slides or topics are
equally weighted
 Use some, discard others
 Slides speed varies (reference)
 Questions? Ask any time!

em
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4. About your speaker
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 Publishing Smarter: President
 Content strategist, publishing
technologies expert, author,
and geek-enough
 Certified Technical Trainer
 DITA
 Content management
 Topic-based writing
 Society for Technical
Communications
 Vice President
 Associate Fellow
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5. Standard disclaimer
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 In the interest of brevity I
will make some blanket
statements to keep it simple

 Purists may complain
 And they are wrong!
 (except when they are right)
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6. what goes into a storyboard
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Storyboarding
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7. Purpose of a storyboard
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 Explains each screen in a course
 Details each screen, what the reader will see/do
 Helps the reader ID course content, media, interactions
before development
 Could be SME
 Could be the client
 Could be a stakeholder in the training
 Guides all members on a team
 Provides a source that all people can refer to during dev
 Helps define the audience (crucial)
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8. When to create a storyboard
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 After a plan has been developed and approved
 Before any video is built
 May not be needed in all contexts
 Consider the complexity of what is being created
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9. Reasons you need to put the time in
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 Saves time/cost in the long run
 ID roles and responsibilities
 Graphic designer creates look/feel
 Illustrator builds images
 Narrator provides audio overlay
 Programmer builds interactions
 SME/Client approve content
 Sets initial expectations, define how course looks/acts
 QA tool: Compare the final course with the storyboard
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10. Elements of a good storyboard
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 Project and slide info
 Visual/video elements
(graphics, callouts, citations)
 Text elements (on screen text)
 Audio elements (heard as the
screen displays)
 Interactions/navigation for
users (what to click, where)
 Branching (where next,
options, flowchart)
 Overall learning objectives
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11. Minimum requirements likely include
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 Screen
number/label/identifier
 i.e. DITA-FM-01-23
 Course name
 Module name
 Lesson name
 Slide title
 i.e. Basics of a DITAmap
 Visual components
 On screen text
 Audio info
 Both narrator and effects
 Interactions info
 Branching info
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12. Audio tips
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 Include slide by slide script
 Could have sound effect or
music info (be careful)
 Sound out tough words or
initialism and acronym info
 DITA is did-uh, and not as
dee-ta
 SME is pronounce smee, not
spelled out Es, Em, Ee.
 WYSIWYG is wizzy wig
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13. Graphics tips
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 Used to provide ideas to a
media team
 Provide a description of the
screen
 May include simple
sketches, or text notes
 If video is needed, include
notes and a link if possible
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14. Text tips
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 Provide exact screen
content
 With audio: Include
supporting text for the
narrator (notes about tone
for example)
 No audio: consider if more
text is required
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15. Navigation and interactivity
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 Include info for every
screen
 Answer developer questions
about course building
 These may include:
 Options a learner can take
 Requirements that must be
followed
 Logical progression (what is
next)
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16. Common storyboard formats/design
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 Good for SMEs who like the details outlined
 Common format: Tables (Word or Excel)
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ID and
topic
Learning
objective
Narrator On screen
content
Notes
10-11
DITAmap
Basic familiarity
with the look and
function of a
DITAmap, able to
The DITA map is a
document that can be
compared to a table of
contents, or a document
plan. ..
Sample DITAmap
with basic content,
plus sample as code.
Talk to SME to get
sample as visual
map and as code.
10-12
reltable
Basics of a reltable
with concept, task,
reference content.
The reltable, or relationship
table is used to define
related topics in columns
Sample reltable with
basic content, plus
sample as code.
Talk to SME to get
sample as visual
table and as code.
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17. Common storyboard formats/design
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 Good for SMEs who are visually driven
 Common format: PowerPoint
 Visual format with slideshows or outlines
 Provides similar information, but may be visual rich
 Ensure you also use the slide notes if working with a tool
like PowerPoint
 Samples on next screens
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18. 10-11: Basics of a DITAmap
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 Learning objective:
 Basic familiarity with the
look and function of a
DITAmap, able to ID
components of a map
 Narrator/Audio
 The DITA map is an XML
document that can be
compared to a TOC or...
 Notes
 Talk to SME to get sample as
visual map and as code.
 <?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE map PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Map//EN" "map.dtd">
<map id="map_5D33A666A75E4B239F468C70A409CFAF" title="Working
with Files">
<topicref format="dita" href="c_PrintingFiles.xml" navtitle="What is
printing" type="concept"/>
<topicref format="dita" href="c_SharingFiles.xml" navtitle="What is file
sharing" type="concept"/>
<topicref format="dita" href="c_SavingFiles.xml" navtitle="Why save files"
type="concept"/>
</map>
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 Screen notes
◦ Ensure the user clicks the
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19. Tips and tricks for storyboarding
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 Know your audience and their needs
 Know the delivery platform (web, CBT, print, mix)
 Chunk the info to manageable parts
 Include detailed audio and visual info
 Ensure storyboard agreement before work begins
 Include info about full motion recording, if needed
 Avoid it if you can, adds overhead (size, control, edit restrictions)
 Minimal amounts, planned, might be acceptable
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20. Sample: Storyboard to change a password
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 Consider what goes into changing a password
 This is a sample only
 A very brief example of things that may be in a storyboard
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27. Getting a tool to make the job of
implementing a storyboard easy
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The right software
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Everything eLearning. One complete tool.
 Easily author virtually any kind of responsive interactive
eLearning content. Create HD product demos, application
simulations, soft-skills and compliance training materials,
live and self-paced online courses, self-service videos,
employee on-boarding modules, and more. Meet varied
eLearning needs of users with the tool that has long been
trusted by more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies to
create compelling eLearning content.
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29. My definition
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 There are many tools that build interactive content
 The reason I pick Adobe Captivate is that it exceeds my
expectation on what needs to be done
 In the context of technical communication
 A tool to create video based training
 An environment to create tests in
 A system to create content for clients
 To do this well though is a lot of work
 Adobe has delivered this for years
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30. Get the tools
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 http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate
 Follow the links to the download
 Create an Adobe ID (if needed)
 Download, install, launch, test, purchase

more inclusive
 FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Illustrator, Acrobat
 And, of course, Captivate
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31. create a
video to explain how things are done
write a bunch of stuff
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Review a task to document

32.  Use software you are familiar with
 Find a simple task to perform
 Use paragraph tags in Adobe FrameMaker
 Capture/crop an image with Adobe Photoshop
 Compile a help project in Adobe RoboHelp
 Create a table in Word
 Restart a game of cards on your computer
 Navigate your company site
 Storyboard how the task will unfold
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Considerations
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33. Video goal
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 Teach users how to create a basic file
 New, based on a template
 Using the Equity Letter
 Create a document, then close w/o saving
 Goal is to show how templates impact new documents
 Under 1 minute or so of video
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34. May be based on existing task documents
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Create a document based on a template
New files can be created based on predefined standards.
1. Click the Office Button, then select New
2. Under Template, select Installed Templates
3. Select Equity Letter
4. Click Create
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35. Considerations for building
eLearning content
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Create your first tutorial
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36. Before recording
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 Take notes or outline
(storyboard if you can)
 Plan your steps
 Work through the process
 Configure screen resolution
 Hide unneeded parts
(e.g.: the Windows Taskbar)
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37. While recording
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 Add extra slides as you go (easy to delete)
 Mistakes happen


 Add to your notes as you record

 This can ALL be adjusted post recording (if you have good software,
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38. Post-recording
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
 Add transition slides if needed
 With repeated process: cut back on slides
 Use to combine major ideas if applicable
 Add markup to materials
 Text Caption, Rollover, Click Box, and Zoom Area
 Add temporary slide number if location is unclear
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39. Other considerations
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 If you type, steady speed
 Review all background
elements
 Get a quality microphone
 Mix audio/text for those
 Save often, and save
backups if needed
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40. Avoid
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 Add audio independent of the actions (do the task first)
 Keep it short, 2 to 3 minutes of video, not 10 to 15
 cuz
 Only add background music if truly needed
 Client requests
 Cover other audio issues
 Keep effects simple
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41. More to avoid
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 Avoid uncontrolled environments (especially for audio)
 Close messenger, email, etc.
 Take time on the recording
 If publishing to YouTube upload once, so get it right
 Keep the interface tidy
 Remember to save often
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42. Demo of the ideas discussed
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Putting it into practice

43. Assumptions
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 Our Adobe Captivate version may differ
 If your version is different, the process may change
 Recording of use of Microsoft Word
 Simple application demo
 Can show many ideas
 Video is for internal use (so no specific setup for YouTube,
screen configurations, etc.)
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44. Create a storyboard
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
 The goal here is to showcase Adobe Captivate
 Of course, YOU can consider what the storyboard may
look like though
 If you REALLY want to test yourself, develop a storyboard
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45. Perform a trial run first, test the interface
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 Launch Word, and size as needed
 Perform actions
 Office Button > New
(or, in older versions, File > New)
 Under Template, select Installed
Templates
 Select Equity Letter, then Create
 Office Button > Close
(or, in older versions, File > Close)
 Do not save
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46. Repeat actions, find changed behaviour
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 Office Button > New
(or, in older versions, File > New)
 Under Template, select Installed
Templates
 Select Equity Letter, then Create
 Office Button > Close
(or, in older versions, File > Close)
 Do not save
 This process gives you the chance to
see what happens on screen as you
perform standard actions.
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47. Record your first video
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1. Launch Captivate (firewall?)
2. Under New > Software Simulation, Create
3. Under Size, select Screen Area
(Full Screen of Monitor 1)
4. Under Recording Type, select Automatic, and Demo,
Assessment, and Training if required (only using Demo,
but cool to do all three)
5. Adjust Settings, if needed.
6. Do not pan, no narration needed
7. Click Record, then wait 3 seconds
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48. Perform your actions
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 Office Button > New
(or, in older versions, File > New)
 Under Template, select Installed Templates
 Select Equity Letter, then Create
 Office Button > Close
(or, in older versions, File > Close)
 Do not save
 Press End (on kbd) when done recording
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49. Edit your materials
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 When done Captivate is ready
 File > Save As in case of a crash
 Review the slides, and watch performances
 Press F10 to view from current to next 5

 Review a few times to make sure the right ideas have been
captured
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50. When done
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 Record your audio
 Add effects if required
 Add interactions (such as instruction and click boxes)
 The order of those may switch
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51. Share the finished product
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 Select File > Publish
 Set output options
 Create and share
 Publish to help repository
 Import and include in FrameMaker/PDF content
 Add to RoboHelp
 Without interactions put it on YouTube
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52. Ideas and samples of finished content
for online and PDF/print
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Deliver the content
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53. Case study example
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 Adobe creates and delivers the TCS software suite

 Content (text) in the guide is written in FrameMaker
 Video is created in Captivate
 Content is converted to PDF from within FrameMaker
 Content is converted to online formats using RoboHelp
 All content delivered to all channels in all formats
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54. Summing up the discussion,
and options to continue it.
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Conclusion and contact

55. About this session
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 A picture is worth 1000 words, how many is video worth?
 In this session we address how to:
 Develop a storyboard
 Review a support topic
 Create a related video
 Help users visualize how to perform the task
 Doing this can help your audience SEE how to resolve
issues before they become problems
55

56. Services
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57. Follow up contact information
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905 833 8448 (Eastern Time)
bernard@publishingsmarter.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bernardaschwanden
@publishsmarter or @aschwanden4stc
www.publishingsmarter.com