Courses:
Video Strategy & Production

2024

Due to demand, we are now also teaching short-form, masterclasses and online versions
of our flagship course outlined below.

The first of these is our Masterclass: Video for Healthcare

The original 
Complete
Video for Business
course

In one week, you will learn everything you need to become a confident video producer. 
Here is that everything:

HOW to film ~
to get professional videos

From the first lesson on the first day, you’ll see a dramatic difference in the quality of your videos.

Fundamentals: Set up your kit to get technically perfect videos right from the start.  Frame rates, image quality and size, white balance, exposure, focus, composition.
These topics sound a bit techie and dull. Prepare to be amazed.
It’s a deep dive into all of those settings that will enable you to use your camera to the max. 

Lighting: This is the art of painting with light, because everything looks better with great lighting.  You’ll look at lighting both people and products, the simple techniques with the greatest impact, and the pitfalls to avoid.  You’ll study using both available (natural) light (cheap, plentiful and surprisingly effective when done well), and artificial light (when a few pieces of inexpensive kit can dramatically improve your footage).

Filming people: How to shoot a basic interview, including angles, positioning, and the human side to it all.  And filming a piece to camera.  Yes, it’s time to step in front of the lens.  You’re going to be much better than you think.

Audio: It can make or break a video, and yet its importance is frequently overlooked (which is why sound is where it all goes wrong for so many people).  You’ll learn how to get it not just right, but perfect.

B-Roll: This is the stuff you’ll need to capture in order to edit your video together. You’ll discover how to shoot it in a time-efficient way and how it will help tell your story.

Editing: We’ll introduce you to the best free editing software and how to use it.  Once you’ve mastered basic editing, and have the feel of building stories in the edit, you’ll add titles, music, sound effects and all the things that turn your video in to a social-ready package.

Advanced editing: Mixing audio and setting levels, image correction, colour grading, a split edit, and why you’ll want this stuff anyway.

Exporting files: What are the right settings to use? They’re different for all the video platforms so you need to know what’s what.

Optional advanced: This will add extra sparkle to your footage (and make you feel dead clever).  
You’ll experiment with camera movement (jibs, dollies, drones and gimbals), tweaking colour and exposure, shooting in raw colour space.  Sounds like a lot of jargon, and it is quite technically advanced, but by this stage your camera will let you do it, and you’ll be ready.

Putting everything you’ve learnt into practise, you’ll fully understand how to use your kit to create high quality videos of all kinds with technically impressive images, professional sound, precise editing and great storytelling.

WHAT to film ~
to build an audience

The basics: The key thing you need to know about online video.  How social and marketing videos really work.  And the thing that’s wrong with every ‘brand story’ corporate video and how you can fix it.

Research:  Boring, right?  Not here.  We’re going to show you where to find the delicious data that’s hiding in plain sight, how to fully understand it, and use it to your advantage.  This is research as a superpower. You’ll learn exactly who your audience is, how they behave and what video content they want.

Video types and styles: What choice do you have?  What works and what doesn’t?  Understanding your options will enable you to pinpoint exactly what’s right for your audience.

Production planning: You’ll study the two main filming schedules, and how to dovetail them to suit you, your company and your audience best.  And from schedules to screen anatomy, you’ll plan how your finished video will look before you film a thing.

Directing: The Goldilocks bit.  Too much directing is just as disastrous as too little.  Whether you’ve hired some crew, or it’s just you and your phone, you need to direct your shoot ‘just right’.  You’ll learn how to direct humans, how to direct yourself, interviews, scripts, it’s all here.

Post production: Copyright, music, intros, outros, subtitles, channels, uploading, and all the post-production extras. 

Optional advanced: Working with video professionals and crews; knowing if and when to hire in help, and what they need (but won’t tell you).

And finally: How to look after your subscribers, because you’ll have a ton of them.

Fitting the HOW and the WHAT together for the best skillset

That unusual method to mesh the key elements of our course? 
You’ll have to come on the course to find out, but there’s nothing quite like it.

It enables you to immediately back up every bit of theory with practical, hands-on learning, and reinforce everything you learn in a way that is meaningful and useful to you personally. 

Customize

You will have noticed there are a couple of optional advanced modules, one in filming, the other in producing.  This enables you to personalize the course a little as you can choose to join in, or if you prefer, you can use the time to practice filming, experiment with different pieces of kit, do more deep dive research, or finesse your content strategy.

Individual Training

You will also get some 1-2-1 time with each of us.
In your session with Suzanne, she will help finalize your own production plan.
With Andrew, he will guide you on the specifics of your own camera.

Key Objective

You will master video-making techniques, equipment, production management and planning.

Key Outcome

You will leave with a production plan to create professional video campaigns that get seen, and the technical skill, the strategic insight and the confidence to action it.

Five days of focused practical and classroom learning

We're a CPD approved provider too

When: The course runs Monday to Friday.  Each day will begin at 9.30am and end at approximately 4.30pm, with a short break for a buffet lunch.  Some homework outside these hours will be required.

There will be pizza: On one of the days there’ll be a social meet-up for a couple of hours after class ends.  It’s not obligatory to attend, but we’re picking up the tab, and you’ll get a chance to ask us anything in a nice, social environment.

There won't be handouts: Throughout the course, you’ll take all your notes yourself, so bring your laptop.

Kit: And bring your camera too, whether it’s a Go-Pro, DSLR, or (most commonly) your phone.

You’ll have a chance to learn on all types of kit, including lights and audio recording equipment.  You can also have a go on a broadcast-standard camera, so that if you decide to hire a production company, or hire some fancy kit, you’ll know what it can do.
But the bulk of the training will be done on phones, so you really stretch their capabilities and learn how to get the most from them. 

A tip for the shy: There will be none of that “let’s go round the table” nonsense that many among us dislike.  No-one is going to be put on the spot.  If you want to speak up and contribute, great.  If you don’t want to, if that isn’t your style, that’s fine too.  You can always personally ask us questions afterwards, or during the social evening.

However, we do encourage everyone to be filmed on camera at some point.  It’s important you experience this, even if it makes you a bit squeamish to start with; it makes you a far better director.  You’ll only be filmed in front of a couple of people as most of the exercises are done in groups of just two or three.

It’s our job to inspire and encourage you, and make participating easy, including being in front of the camera and handling the equipment. 

You'll master it all.