One of the things video creation novices are often most surprised by is how long it takes them to create a video. As seasoned video creators, we know that it’s important take into account a lot of factors in our time estimates. We find it is always beneficial to take inventory of the resources available to you when creating videos. Whether your video is 30 seconds or 30 minutes, a little bit of planning will go a long way. Here are some questions to ask yourself and points to consider as you estimate the time needed to complete your project.

Content

What content will be in the shoot? Do you have your storyboard and shot list fully prepared? Are your presentations and other resources complete? Are you abiding by copyright law?

It’s important to begin estimating your time frame by looking at the content you will present to your students. Are you fully finished creating and organizing these elements? If not, assess how many hours it will take you to complete your content and add this number to your estimation. Make sure that you are authorized to use this content. If you will need to obtain permission, estimate how long this will take.

How long will the video be in minutes/hours? How many segments?

Planning segments and the length of your video beforehand will help to avoid including unnecessary information, providing concrete progression in the lesson, and allowing students to navigate through the video according to their needs. Estimating the length and segments in your video will also help you edit the video and reuse portions later.

Will you need other complementary footage and audiovisual elements? Have you acquired or created these elements previously, or will you need to research, create and/or shoot them?

Complementary elements to consider include b-roll, images & graphics, video animations, background music, voiceover, captioning, and audio description. Estimate the time needed to find, edit, and add these elements to your video in post production based on the length, pacing and frequency you will use of each resource.

People

Who has review and approval responsibility?

Take into account any partners or stakeholders who are creating or need to approve the video concept alongside you, and how frequent communication occurs between this group. For example, if the project must gain approval from a supervisor and this individual takes on average three days to respond, you should account for this in your estimation.

Who (if anyone) will be in your shoot? Are they prepared to present content? Do they need training on shooting best practices?

If you have worked with this individual(s) before, try to estimate how long it may take to get a set of quality takes from them based on the past. As COVID-19 continues to pose a threat to health and safety, you may need to account for shooting on separate days to heed social distancing or other safety measures.

How many people do you have to provide set up and shooting assistance?

For projects primarily recording your screen or yourself you may not need additional assistance. However, if you will be shooting multiple different scenes or using several resources, decide how many people you will need and when/where they can provide assistance. Then, add their availability to your count.

Location

What location(s) will you be recording at? Have you reserved these spaces yet? How long does it take to get there and back? If you will be recording using a virtual platform, have you tested the software and optimized your settings for sound/video?

The time it takes to travel back and forth from a location as well as set up and take down your equipment can become lengthy quickly. Be generous with this estimation to provide extra time for mistakes, delayed schedules, and similar situations. If you need to reserve the space, figure out what times are best and available to you and note it in your count.

Hardware

How many cameras will you need? What accessories and how many of each will you need?

If you already have your equipment, estimate how long it will take to fully charge your devices and prep their bags and accessories. If you don’t yet have your equipment, estimate how long it will take to purchase, borrow or otherwise obtain the hardware and how long it will be available to you. Classroom Services and Academic Digital Media offer an array of equipment and services to assist in your project’s needs including cameras & accessories, personnel, complementary element creation, post-production editing and distribution. The Teaching Center also houses the Media Creation Lab, a broadcast-grade digital media studio designed for the development of a wide range of multimedia content.

Software

Do you have the post production software you need? If not, how long will it take to acquire it? How long are you authorized to use it for?

Depending on the size and complexity of your project you will need different software to suit your needs. Ensure that you or whoever will be creating and editing your video is comfortable with the software, and gain an idea of the pacing of their work by assessing previous projects and the hours needed for them. If you do not have the software, assess what software will fit best in terms of affordability, function and ease of use. Include time necessary to learn the software in your estimation.

How long will it take to load, transfer, render, and export files between locations?

These processes can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, so it’s important to include upload, download and file transfer/rendering times in your estimation. For example, videos uploaded to Panopto undergo processing that can take several hours to complete before students may access and view them.

Distribution

What’s your target audience, and how will your video(s) be viewed?

Consider what location you will use to host and distribute your videos, and the time it will take to upload to the site, and share a link or location with your students. If you will be sending the file directly to them, estimate how long it will take to load and send the file(s).