According to TechSmith, 83 percent of people prefer consuming instructional content by watching videos (TechSmith. 2024 Video Viewer Trends Report. TechSmith Research Report. 2024). Yet, this preference doesn’t guarantee successful completion. Creating videos for an online course that learners actually finish seems like a complex equation — balancing educational accuracy, production quality, and course engagement.
Spoiler: Producing professional videos is not a difficult problem to solve. Most organizations that fail likely skip the fundamental concepts and lack a clear roadmap. By following a proven approach, you can create videos that learners complete and drive results.
This article covers what you should know about making videos for online courses and its three main production phases. By the end, you’ll understand the key elements of professional videos and the core steps to create them. 🤩
Summary
- Why high-quality videos matter in online courses
- Key elements of a high-quality course video
- Creating high-quality videos for online courses
- How Blue Carrot can help your business
- Conclusion
Why high-quality videos matter in online courses
Quality videos do more than teach — they improve the learning experience, effectiveness, and the organization’s ability to develop employee skills. Let’s explore the benefits of using effective video content in your online courses.
1. Boost learner engagement and completion rates
Online courses often have high dropout rates due to lack of motivation, difficulty with self-directed learning, and limited social or institutional support (Bawa Papia. Retention in online courses: Exploring issues and solutions. SAGE Open. 2016).
High-quality videos address these challenges through a multi-sensory learning experience. They create compelling narratives that hold attention with visuals, audio, and animations. Professional presentation and clear structure help learners stay motivated and complete courses.
2. Enhance knowledge retention and application
Video-based learning advantages include improved learner retention through short segments (3–6 minutes) with interactive elements and personalization. Based on our experience, creating one bite-sized video per learning objective keeps content focused and digestible.
Videos allow rewatching and format adaptation, making them useful in self-paced learning. They also strengthen memory through repetition, supporting short-term comprehension and long-term retention. Videos work best when combined with learner engagement strategies such as active learning and various instructional methods.
3. Increase perceived course value and satisfaction
High production values signal investment in learner success and organizational commitment to quality. Visual and audio clarity, smooth editing, and consistent branding all contribute to creating a positive first impression and building trust with learners.
4. Maximize ROI of training investments
Scalable videos reduce per-learner costs over time and ensure consistent messaging across departments. Organizations can repurpose video content across different departments, regions, and languages, extending the value of their investment in e-learning content development costs.
5. Ensure accessibility and inclusivity
Accessibility means designing video content for a course that all learners can use, regardless of their physical abilities, technological constraints, or learning differences.
Videos enhance accessibility through audio-visual storytelling. Combined with soundscapes, localized descriptions, and poetic elements, videos allow visually impaired or marginalized students to participate in inclusive learning experiences (Jun-Dong Cho. Multi-Sensory Interaction for Blind and Visually Impaired People. Electronics. 2021).
Key elements of a high-quality course video
Effective course video quality combines technical excellence, instructional design, and learner engagement strategies. Understanding these elements helps you avoid mistakes in online course creation that can compromise the effectiveness of your videos.
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Element |
Description |
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1. Instructional design |
Instructional design is the structured learning design process for creating courses that achieve objectives and maintain engagement. This includes choosing teaching strategies, creating learning patterns, assessments, and practical assignments. |
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2. Script and content delivery |
Scriptwriting for videos and delivery determine how effectively your message connects with learners. A natural, conversational tone fosters a connection with learners and increases engagement. |
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3. Audio and visual quality |
Professional visuals improve comprehension of complex diagrams, processes, and demonstration videos. Consistent audio quality maintains learner focus and helps retain information. |
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4. Video editing |
Good video-editing skills of a contractor will ultimately help engage learners, reinforce key points, and create professional course materials that reflect high-quality instruction. |
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5. Interactivity |
Interactive course videos transform passive viewers into active participants by incorporating elements such as knowledge checks, clickable hotspots, and branching scenarios. |
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6. Personalization |
Personalization adapts content to individual needs through flexible sequencing, analytics-based support, and multi-level materials. |
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7. Accessibility |
Accessibility features include closed captions, transcripts, and proper color contrast for inclusive learning. |
Creating high-quality videos for online courses
In this section, we break down how to make a video for an online course into three phases: pre-production, production, and post-production. Each includes clear goals, deliverables, and quality checkpoints to keep you on track.
📌 Phase 1: Pre-production
This phase establishes a solid foundation by defining objectives, understanding your audience, and creating a comprehensive content plan that aligns with your business needs.
👉 Analyze target audience
Understanding your target audience shapes every decision to create videos for an online program — from content complexity to delivery format. Begin with deep audience analysis to understand:
- Who your learners are (demographics, skill level);
- Why they need the course (motivations, business objectives);
- Which specific learning challenges must be addressed (skill-gap analysis).
Ask these questions to learn about your audience:
- How will the audience access the course materials?
- Will they take the course on smartphones or desktop computers?
- Are there any accessibility requirements?
👉 Define goals and learning objectives
What business challenges will your video course solve? Identify the organizational goals that video-based training will address, for example:
- Reduce onboarding time for new employees from three weeks to one week;
- Improve product knowledge consistency across global sales teams.
What knowledge and skills will learners gain? Define clear learning objectives to give them direction and let them know what they’re working toward, for example:
- By the end of this lesson, students will be able to solve quadratic equations using the quadratic formula with 90 percent accuracy.
- After completing this course, employees can effectively communicate with clients through email and by phone to improve customer satisfaction scores by 5 percent.
👉 Develop instructional design
Strategic learning pathways reduce learner confusion, lower cognitive load, and keep learners motivated, including:
- Learning pattern: Design how content will be delivered, for example, pairing a theory video with a practical assignment.
- Assessment mechanisms: Design evaluation methods to measure learning progress and effectiveness, such as quizzes, assignments, and group projects.
- Interaction opportunities: Plan interactive learning components that match learning strategies.
- Technical requirements: Determine resources for course creation and delivery, such as video editing software tools, a Learning Management System (LMS), and a hosting platform.
👉 Create a blueprint and storyboard
Developing a blueprint entails outlining the course by defining:
- Activity: What the learner does;
- Description: How they do it;
- Content: The materials (text, video, and slides) with exact words and phrases.
Storyboarding video content breaks down your course into visual sequences. This process involves structuring online course modules into individual frames or slides, each with scripted voice-over text, graphics, and animations. The result is a comprehensive document that guides production. This step should include localization if your course will be multilingual.
📌 Phase 2: Video production
This phase focuses on the video-making experience based on the blueprint and storyboard, including professional video recording setup, animation, and voiceover integration.
👉 Produce video assets and animations
The production process begins with designing illustrations, animations, and graphic assets that align with your visual style guidelines. Once your visuals are ready, build interactions and interfaces using tools like Articulate Storyline and package everything into a SCORM-compliant module.
Here are some e-learning video types you can produce:
- Animated videos for online courses: Use dynamic visual elements to explain information in simple terms, capture attention, and improve retention.
- Interactive course videos: Encourage active learner participation through interactive elements like quizzes and polls.
UNFPA
View demo- Simulation-based training: Create realistic, immersive replications of real-world scenarios for skill practice in a controlled environment.
- Instructional videos: Demonstrate how to perform specific tasks or procedures. This video type includes informal videos, live streams, formal courses, and screen-capture videos.
- Live-action videos: Feature real people presenting content on camera, also known as talking-head videos. These videos connect with learners through human presence, facial expressions, and body language.
AI Insights course
View demo- Synthetic videos: Leverage AI in e-learning development to create realistic presenter videos without traditional filming. This affordable video production solution reduces production time and is ideal for quick course updates and multi-language versions.
👉 Add video voiceover
When adding voiceover to your videos, you have two main options. AI-generated voiceovers offer a cost-effective solution with faster turnaround times and consistent quality. Alternatively, professional voice actors, while more expensive, provide a stronger emotional connection, natural inflection, and accurate pronunciation.
📌 Phase 3: Post-production and optimization
The final phase is optimizing video content to meet professional standards, ensure accessibility and compliance, and achieve learning outcomes.
👉 Execute quality assurance testing
Quality assurance involves three key areas:
- Content review: Verify content accuracy, alignment with learning objectives, and consistency in terminology and branding.
- Technical testing: Ensure all interactive elements work properly across devices and browsers, and videos play smoothly with accurate captions.
- User testing: Run pilot tests with your target audience to gather feedback on content clarity and identify potential learning challenges.
👉 Implement feedback and refinements
Refine video content based on testing results and learner feedback, such as re-recording unclear modules, adjusting pacing, and fixing technical issues. Lastly, implement final revisions in the fully polished SCORM package.
How Blue Carrot can help your business
Partnering with experienced professionals accelerates results and ensures enterprise-grade course video quality from day one. Since 2014, Blue Carrot has provided high-quality video production services, producing over 300 videos for higher educational institutions and renowned organizations.
Why choose our online course development services?
- Full-service video production: We manage the entire production process across multiple video formats, ensuring your content meets your learning objectives.
- Proven educational content expertise: With experience developing courses for organizations such as the United Nations and the University of Southern California, we understand how to create effective video content that enhances learning outcomes.
- Scalable solutions: We scale production systems to meet your needs. Our projects range from 60-second explainers to 1,500-minute e-learning series.
Case studies
For Studio SE, we are transforming a 50-hour live program into a self-paced online course. By integrating a software simulator, we’ve created a realistic learning environment for students to practice and validate their SysML (the systems modeling language) modeling skills. The videos serve as supplementary material within the broader set of learning activities.
In our Learn Crypto project, we developed 2D animated lessons that break down cryptocurrency concepts into engaging, accessible content for beginners. The animations use visual metaphors and step-by-step explanations to clarify blockchain technology and cryptocurrency fundamentals.
Conclusion
Creating professional videos is a systematic process that combines technical excellence, instructional design principles, and learner engagement strategies. When done right, these videos transform the learning experience — boosting engagement, learner retention, and completion rates. Organizations can efficiently develop employee skills at scale and maintain consistent quality across departments.
Let’s recap the key process:
- Pre-production: Build your foundation through audience analysis, clear learning objectives, and strategic content planning.
- Video production: Create professional assets using your blueprints through animation, live recording, or AI-powered solutions.
- Post-production: Refine and optimize your content to meet quality standards, accessibility requirements, and learning goals.
Partner with Blue Carrot for high-quality videos that deliver measurable results. Book a call with us.
