Video is Easy

iPOV has used video to extract and record expert knowledge from a wide variety of settings and situations - using many different video recording techniques. The examples shown here are just a small subset from more than 500 projects that iPOV has successfully completed. From that experience we have proven that using video is much easier than most people think.

Informal, Non-threatening Capture Sessions

Most people believe that 'making a movie' is a big deal. We are accustomed to thinking it has to be perfect. Fortunately, YouTube and its kin are dispelling that myth. Informal video can be interesting, informative, compelling and useful. Video records action in its natural state. If you want an expert to explain something, just ask them for an informal 'show and tell' and make a low-key video recording of the session.

This is especially true for Video-in-PDF documents.

In these documents, the PDF text supplies the main narrative and the video clips play a supporting role. The clips can be short, simple and unadorned - as long as they are accurate and authentic.

iPOV can do much more with the video elements if there is a need. Our Flash enhancements can make any video look more impressive and well crafted and our ability to restate the commentary avoids the need for multiple takes if the experts stumble over their words.

Inexpensive Video Capture Tools

Most of the video clips in the example documents were recorded with very inexpensive tools such as the ones shown below:

Screen Capture Movie (Screencasting) Software

This class of software is installed in a PC and runs in the background.

It records a movie of everything that occurs on the computer screen and any commentary that is provided through a microphone.

iPOV has good success with two products, BBFlashback and Camtasia, but new products are emerging constantly.

Solid State Camcorders

These are brand new. A $100 camera (e.g., RCA EZ207) can record 2 to 4 hours of decent video and fit in a shirt pocket.

They store the video on 4GB SD chips, so you can quickly swap in more capacity. iPOV gets great results with these cameras and there are lots of models to choose from.

With inexpensive technology and iPOV's ability to pull good knowledge from mediocre video, anyone can use video to capture knowledge for eLearning or technical documentation. If you concentrate on making the capture sessions fun, informal and productive, we will do the rest.