Video can be short and illustrative

I’m as big a fan of photography as I am film; in fact my PhD research was all about photography and so it’s ironic that 90% of myworking life is focused on film (okay ‘video’ – but other than coffee I’m not snobby about many things!).

I have always been interested in the relationship between film and photography. On the one hand photography has the power to deliver an epic statement that can immediately (as Roland Bathes puts it) ‘pierce’ you. Photographs (usually) tell their story or make their point quickly (if they’re trying to tell a story of course). Video on the other hand, tends to rely more on narrative development to get the story across.

Whilst I love photographing portraits, I can be a bit cheeky and tell people I’m taking photos, but actually I’m filming them.The result is a ‘video portrait’ that is such a subtle departure from a photo, but still retains a similar sense of intimacy.

Like the above example I shot for a steam train company, video can be very short, but that is the beauty of video in the age of ‘online’. Video can be short and illustrative – and in that sense the bridge between photography and film can be seen to close slightly.

Of course, the above example is less about ‘learning’ and more of an encounter; but it inspired me to write and show, because I’m interested in the discussion.

From an L&D perspective, where one of the buzzwords is ‘bite-sized learning’, think about how video can be used subtly to illustrate something as opposed to launching into an epic story. After all, the beauty of digital is that image, text, and film can become so closely intertwined, to a point where I think we are only just beginning to scratch the surface.

Have you used short-form video content for learning within your organisation? If so, please feel free to comment!

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