Overview
Recorded content lets viewers pause, rewind and watch at their own pace, but it also removes the cues a live audience gives you. Viewers drift when a segment runs long, when slides are dense or when audio echoes. Most universities now also expect recorded teaching to meet accessibility requirements, which in practice means accurate captions, a transcript and slides that work for screen-reader users.
We support the whole workflow: breaking a topic into short segments with clear learning outcomes, writing or tightening scripts and speaker notes, redesigning slides for video, advising on microphone, lighting and screen-recording settings, and editing auto-generated captions until they are accurate. For online conferences, we also help you meet the organizer's length, resolution and file-format requirements.
You remain the presenter and subject expert. We work with your content in your lecture capture or recording tools (for example PowerPoint's recording feature, Panopto, Zoom, OBS Studio, Camtasia or your LMS video tools) and hand back files you can publish in Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard or a conference platform.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Lecturers moving a module online or adopting a flipped-classroom design
- Researchers asked to submit a pre-recorded talk for an online or hybrid conference
- Teaching teams that need captioned, accessible video to meet institutional policy
- Doctoral researchers producing a short research explainer video for outreach or a competition
- Students preparing a recorded presentation for assessment who want coaching and feedback
Common problems we help with
- Your recorded lectures are 50-minute single files and students report skipping them
- Auto-generated captions misspell every technical term and name
- Audio has echo, fan noise or sudden volume changes
- The conference wants an MP4 of exactly 10 minutes at a set resolution and upload deadline
- Slides designed for a lecture hall are unreadable in a small video window
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Segment planning: splitting content into short videos, each with one or two learning outcomes
- Script or speaker-note development from your lecture notes, written for speaking rather than reading
- Slide redesign for video: larger text, fewer elements, space for a presenter window if used
- Recording setup advice: microphone choice and placement, room echo, lighting, camera framing and screen resolution
- Editing guidance or light editing: trimming false starts, adding title cards, normalizing audio levels
- Caption correction: editing auto-generated captions for technical terms, names, equations and speaker changes
- Transcript and caption files (such as WebVTT or SRT) for your platform
- Accessibility review: captions, transcript, described visuals, contrast and accessible slide handouts
- Conference submission checks: length, resolution, format, file size and naming rules
Not included
- Recording or presenting as you, or producing an assessed student presentation on a student's behalf
- Studio filming or on-site production crews
- Writing course content in subjects outside the material you provide
- Guaranteeing that your institution's accessibility audit will be passed; we work to the requirements you share
What you receive
- Segment plan
- A list of videos with titles, target lengths, learning outcomes and the slides each one uses.
- Scripts or speaking notes
- Scripts or bullet prompts for each segment, written in your voice for you to edit and deliver.
- Video-ready slides
- A redesigned slide deck laid out for small screens and screen recording.
- Captions and transcript
- Corrected caption files in the format your platform accepts, and a clean transcript document.
- Setup and accessibility checklist
- A short recording checklist for your space and equipment, and an accessibility check of the finished segments.
How it works
Scope
You share the course outline or talk, target platform, deadlines and any accessibility policy. We agree which segments or videos are in scope.
Plan and script
We create the segment plan and scripts or notes, and redesign slides for video.
Test recording
You record a short test. We give feedback on audio, framing, pace and slide legibility.
Recording and editing
You record the segments; we provide editing guidance or light editing, depending on the agreed scope.
Captions and publishing
We correct captions, produce transcripts and check the files against your platform and accessibility requirements.
Practices and tools
- Short segments
- Breaking longer lectures into focused videos of a few minutes each, a practice widely recommended in instructional design guidance for online learning.
- Scripting for the ear
- Short sentences, spoken signposts ('the second reason is…') and pauses at slide changes; scripts are aids, not text to read word for word.
- Captions and transcripts
- Captions include speech and relevant non-speech audio; WCAG requires captions for pre-recorded video with audio. We correct auto-captions and export WebVTT or SRT.
- Audio first
- A close external or headset microphone, a soft-furnished room and consistent levels usually matter more to viewers than camera quality.
- Recording tools
- PowerPoint recording and export to video, Panopto, Zoom, OBS Studio, Camtasia and LMS video tools in Moodle, Canvas or Blackboard.
- Accessible slides
- Readable font sizes, contrast, alt text, and describing important visuals aloud so the audio track stands on its own.
Captions that are accurate, not just present
Automatic captioning is a good starting point, but it struggles with discipline-specific terms, names, accents and formulas. Captions that say 'hetero skid acidity' instead of 'heteroscedasticity' are not accessible in any meaningful sense. We build a short glossary with you, correct the captions line by line and mark speaker changes and important sounds. The same corrected text becomes your transcript, which also helps students who prefer to read or search.
Designing slides for a small window
Viewers often watch on laptops or phones, with the video in a small window beside their notes. Text that was fine in a lecture hall becomes unreadable. We increase type size, reduce each slide to one idea, leave room for your camera image if you use one, and use builds or annotations to direct attention as you speak.
Pre-recorded conference talks
Online and hybrid conferences often ask for a video by a fixed deadline, with strict limits on length and file type, and sometimes captions. We help you plan to the exact time limit, check the export settings and file name, and produce a caption file if the organizer accepts one. Always check the organizer's latest instructions, since platforms and requirements change between events.
- Rehearse once, then record in short takes rather than one long attempt
- Look at the camera during key points, not at the slides
- Keep a copy of the final file and the caption file together
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Illustrative segment plan for one lecture
A fictional economics lecturer is converting a 50-minute lecture on price elasticity into recorded content for a flipped classroom. The plan below is invented to show the format.
Segments
1. Why elasticity matters (5 min). 2. Calculating price elasticity of demand with the midpoint method (7 min). 3. Reading elasticity from a demand curve (6 min). 4. Common mistakes in exam answers (4 min). Each ends with one practice question for the in-class session.
Captions
Glossary of 18 terms prepared (for example 'midpoint method', 'inelastic', named economists). Auto-captions corrected; equations read aloud consistently and written in the transcript.
Accessibility
Slides exported with alt text for diagrams; each diagram described aloud so the audio makes sense without the video.
Illustrative example with invented details. It does not describe a real client or course.
What you’ll need to provide
- Lecture notes, existing slides or a draft talk
- The platform or conference requirements: length, format, resolution and captioning rules
- Your recording tools and equipment, or what your institution provides
- A glossary of technical terms, names and acronyms for caption accuracy
- Your institution's accessibility policy, if there is one
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Number and length of videos
- Whether scripts are written from notes or tightened from your drafts
- Level of editing: guidance only, or light editing of recorded files
- Caption correction volume and technical difficulty of the vocabulary
- Accessibility review requirements set by your institution
Turnaround depends on
- Recording schedule, since recording is done by you
- Total minutes of video needing caption correction
- Course launch dates or conference upload deadlines
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Can you record the video for me?
No. You are the presenter. We help you plan, script, design slides, set up your recording and correct captions, and we can do light editing on files you record.
Are auto-generated captions good enough?
They are a useful draft, but accuracy is often poor for technical vocabulary, names and non-native accents. Accessibility guidance expects captions that are accurate and synchronized, so we recommend correcting them before publishing.
What length should each video be?
Shorter is usually better for engagement. Many instructional designers suggest segments of a few minutes up to around ten or fifteen, but the right length depends on the topic and how the video is used in your course.
Can you help with a recorded presentation I have to submit for a grade?
Yes, as coaching. We give feedback on your plan, slides and delivery and advise on recording setup. The content and presentation must be yours.
Which caption file format do I need?
It depends on the platform. WebVTT is standard on the web, and many platforms also accept SRT. We deliver the format your LMS or conference platform requires.