As an instructional designer or trainer, you've probably heard about the importance of incorporating video in your training modules a dozen times. After all, consumers love to view content on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat for personal reasons, so why not for learning in a professional setting?

But where do you begin?

In "And Action: Get Rolling With Mobile Video," Matthew Pierce urges L&D professionals to start with proper planning, which means thinking about the script. Accuracy and conciseness are key—not because learners won't watch long videos (they will if the information is relevant and interesting to them), but rather because learners' tolerance for irrelevant content is going to be low.

You can still develop a storyline, Pierce notes, but be mindful of the video's flow and keep the viewer focused.

When you finish the script, you can begin storyboarding, which helps designers and developers to envision the project before starting to shoot. Such things as how far the camera should be from the action and what is happening are two factors to consider during this step.

Another preliminary step to your video project is developing b-roll, or supplemental footage intercut into the main shot. This helps tell the story in a more interesting manner.

Good preparation continues with having a workflow for files, and shooting, editing, and storing your video.

These tips were adapted from the October 2018 issue of TD at Work.