How Long Will it Take to Make a Video for an Online Course?

If you’re thinking about creating an online course, the good news is, digital courses or online courses are in high-demand! However, you might be surprised to find out just how long it actually takes to produce an online course, especially when it comes to video production! Producing a video for an online course is an important step to course creation, but you’re probably wondering, “How long will it take to make a video for an online course?” 

Figuring out just how long video production will be for your online course is important for a number of reasons. Of course you need to know how long the process will take so that you can decide whether or not you have enough time to do it, as well as so that you can determine an appropriate launch date. You might also want to know if there’s anything you can do to speed the process up. 

At Beverly Boy Productions, we specialize in filming a wide variety of video styles and types, including video content for online courses. While we cannot specify exactly how long it will take to produce the video for your online course without some additional details being considered, we can give you a roundabout idea of what to expect in regards to video production timelines as they apply to the creation of video content for online courses. Here’s what you need to know:

How Long will Production Take for an Online Course?

Many factors are going to influence the amount of time that it takes to make a video for an online course. Courses that are made up of screen recording style videos, and mostly slides, can be recorded very quickly whereas a course that requires live action video recording, interviews and your face on camera will take substantially longer to film. We’ve seen an entire course be filmed in under a day, and we’ve seen a course take several weeks to film. It all really depends on the underlying factors involved in the production of your online course.

Factors Influencing Course Production Time

You’re probably wondering, what factors do I have to worry about that can influence the total time it’s going to take to make a video for my course? In other words, are there any factors that are in your control which can reduce the total amount of time it takes to make a video for an online course? The answer is, of course there are some factors that you have control over in regards to the total time it’s going to take to make video content for your online course. They are:

• The type of video content being created. Screen recordings can be filmed more quickly than interviews or live action. Interviews are easier to film than live recording outside a studio. Etc. 
• The length of the course. Producing a single video is going to be a lot faster than producing multiple hours of video for a course.
• The style of video that you’re creating. If you’re recording a cooking tutorial you’ll have many takes and retakes whereas if you’re filming a simple Q&A style interview the filming will probably be much quicker. 
• The amount of b-roll required. Course videos that require minimal b-roll will come together more quickly than those with a lot of supporting footage.
• The total video length. The longer your final video, the more footage and editing will be required.

Of course, the amount of assistance you have in producing the video for an online course is also going to influence the total amount of time that it will take to make a video, too! If you’re filming, and editing, the video content all on your own it’s probably going to take longer than if you have a team of professionals helping you out!

Production vs. Post-Production Timelines

On average, when you ask, “How long will it take to make a video for an online course,” the answer is going to be based on the total length of the video and the production needs. Production for a single course video can generally be handled in a day, especially if you hire a professional crew. Likewise, post-production is probably going to take substantially longer to finish. This is where your footage is edited and the final draft of your video is introduced. 

Editing video content for an online course can take a lot of time, especially if you intend to edit the course content yourself. Because video editing takes so long, most course creators choose to outsource at least this phase of the production process to a professional crew or freelancer in order to speed the process up a bit. Even so, the average amount of time it takes to edit video for an online course is at least twice as long as it takes to record the footage. Some video types will require less editing than others – for example, screen recordings are easier and faster to edit than live action video. 

Overall, when you ask, “How long will it take to make a video for an online course,” the answer is probably about 1 day to shoot, and 2-3 days to edit. Of course, if you plan to do all of the filming and editing yourself, this could take significantly longer than if you were to hire a professional for the job!