How to record and edit videos for online courses

Videos are the most important component of any online course creator’s program. Educators create successful video lessons as a part of their online courses and students rely on these videos to learn.

These learning course videos allow them to learn course materials, understand concepts, and discuss topics to reach their desired learning outcome.

However, all that being said, recording professional videos for your online course can be a bit challenging. Especially if you are a novice course creator who isn’t familiar with the process of video creation.

For this reason, many online course creators avoid recording video content for their courses online, resulting in less engagement with the audience and less revenue ultimately.

You may also believe that to record professional-looking course videos, you need to invest a significant amount of money into purchasing the right kind of equipment. However, that is not true.

You don’t need expensive gear to create high-quality interactive and engaging video course content. Many successful creators on our platform have already understood it, and it’s time for you to know the same.

We’ll be sharing with you tips on recording and editing professional videos for your online course in no time. With a little bit of practice, you should be able to craft wonderful-looking interactive course videos.

So keep reading to know about the best practices to record and edit different types of online course video content easily and affordably.

Table of Contents

Best practices to record & edit your videos for online courses

Best practices to record course videos

First off, start with taking talking-head videos for your online course. Talking-head videos refer to the videos where you record yourself speaking, hence showing your face to your audience.

Such a type of video recording format is highly engaging for students as they can follow what you’re saying just by looking at your face.

You can use talking-head videos for every single course lesson. However, mentioned below are some best practices to record for your course of each module.

#1 Practice your speech

If you are recording yourself for the first time, chances are that the results won’t be as you expect them to be. However, you are not alone in this.

The best way to appear professional and confident while speaking to the camera is to practice your speech.

We recommend that you check your video content once it’s recorded and jot down everything that can be improved about it.

Are you looking at the camera enough?

Is your body language right?

Answer these and other recording-related questions and try recording your video again with these points in your head.

Also read: What is video resolution, types, advantages & disadvantages

#2 Break down your long video shots

It’s important to keep your students engaged in an online course. However, it isn’t as easy as it seems.

The issue with many course creators is that they have any useful information to share makes it difficult to cut them short.

Our advice for course creators is to break down long videos into smaller sections around multiple lessons. This is something that Graphy’s successful course creators have been doing all along.

They keep their course videos short, so every time a student completes their short video lesson, they feel accomplished.

They increase students’ engagement in a class and ensure that the entire video is watched without skipping ahead and missing any valuable information shared.

Also read: How to create a video website from A to Z-2022 guide

#3 Chuck worrying about your appearance

Ensure that your online course is offering valuable information to your students while appearing professional doing so.

However, it’s vital to know that a professional appearance is different from your physical appearance.

What makes your online course more professional is the way your talk, your body language, the environment around you, and more.

Hence, while recording video content for your professional course online ensure that your background is clean and organized. Use a spot in the house or office that has a good background with fewer distractions.

Also read: How to record videos on your iPHONE for your online course

#4 Add screen records in your video content

Add screen recording footage to your video content. It is the most common way of ensuring that you are conveying useful information properly to your students.

While recording educational videos for your course, you can add screen records while going through the slides as your keep on explaining the content more in-depth.

There are many screen recording tools like Loom, Camtasia, ScreenFlow, etc. that allow you to choose or hide your face while curating video content for your course.

Also read: 15 Best Screen Recording Software for Windows Pcs in 2022

#5 Ensure that your audio is on point

Audio is an integral part of creating professional educational course videos. While built-in microphones are getting better with time, we still recommend investing in a good microphone to enhance the quality of your videos.

Best practices to edit course videos

Recording videos for your online course may not be as tough as editing them. There exist numerous video programs today that make the task a lot easier.

However, you can follow a few best practices to ensure high-quality videos, and take your online course to another level. Hence, attract more students to learn from you.

#1 Choose the right video editor

You need to figure out for yourself if you want a basic video editor like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, etc. to cut and clip footage together.

Or, you want a more advanced editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Camtasia, Final Cut Pro, etc. to add subtitles as well.

However, we would want to stress it’s more helpful to start with z simpler set of tools at first and move on to more sophisticated software once you get a hang of editing videos.

Also read: Best video recording software in 2022 & how to select the best one

#2 Keep your video editing simple

You should be editing your videos keeping in mind the viewer and the type of content you’re trying to present.

As far as educational course videos are concerned, adding heavy effects and transitions doesn’t seem like the right decision to make.

We advise you to add effects only when it makes sense. Dissolution of an image can mean the passage of time or a location. Similarly, a fade to black (even white) is a decent way of ending a scene.

#3 Add a second source to capture sound for videos

If possible, we advise you to record audio for your course video with a separate recording system. Such a practice will ensure clearer audio and the overall quality of your course videos.

Find a good microphone that can be connected to your recording camera directly. Or, you can also record the audio separately and synchronize it later using Adobe Premiere CC.

#4 Compress your HD video files

Let’s get this straight: the higher the resolution of your video content, the better the connection it builds with those who watch it or download the material for a reasonable period of time.

Make the life of your future students easier by exporting your video file in the highest resolution possible and then compressing it for the final output.

We understand that it might be a tiresome process. However, it will ensure a better learning experience for your students.

Also read: 6 ways to make video files smaller without losing quality

Create professional course videos with Graphy

Videos are an integral part of your online course. We hope that you’re now familiar with the essentials to get started with recording professional and engaging videos for your students.

However, once you are done creating all the video content for your online course, all that you’ll be required to do is upload your videos using Graphy’s best course builder platform, and structure them well to sell them to your audience.

Graphy provides you full flexibility to create and sell amazing online courses. It lets you upload unlimited multimedia content that includes video, audio, PDF, eBooks, and more to your online course.

Whether you want to embed videos or you choose to use our secure video hosting, we have got you covered.

We use Amazon CloudFront CDN to offer buffer-free content delivery to learners from anywhere in the world. Additionally, we also protect your course content with content encryption, token protection, and digital rights management (DRM).

Use Graphy and deliver your course content with multilayer security!

Using our platform you can secure your content from screen capture and recording. Just create personalized watermarks with the learner’s phone number and email address and flash them all over your content.

You can also control the access and the validity of your course content. Choose to offer content for a limited time or not. It’s all up to you.

It’s your wish, whether you want to launch your branded course website or mobile apps!

However, in both ways you allow your students to download your course content offline and watch it at their convenience. Run them only on authorized mobile phones and restrict access on rooted devices and simulators.

We have just unfolded a few of Graphy’s features and it’s already amazing. Sign up to learn more about what our best course creation platform could do.

With no piracy and no revenue loss, use Graphy to secure your content and boost your sales 10x.