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I just finished a demo for a mobile application for a client and the good news is that he is really impressed. This demo was to introduce people to a particular feature in a mobile phone. It also had to cover the steps to use the feature. The objective was to make an impact and to draw people’s attention to a cool mobile feature.

I am happy with the success of this particular demo. There was also so much learning that it prompted me to write this post.

Before we proceed here is a sample demonstration of a mobile application:

The video above is a nicely done demonstration for Gmail for Mobile. The demo has a host and captures actions done on the real mobile. You can also see fingers pressing the mobile key. I was very impressed with this demo for Gmail for Mobile.

I have done a lot of tutorials and demos for software applications. With tools like Camtasia, you can very easily capture tasks done on a software application. When I was given a mobile application, I was a little uncomfortable because I had to do a demo for a physical application. I wanted to do something like the Gmail for Mobile demo but then budget was a constraint. Also I was worried about executing any idea that I had only because  of the fact that it was a physical application.

My Experience

With all the constraints in my mind, the first question that came to my mind was “How do I shoot the movie?”

Some options were:

• A camcorder
• A web cam
• A SLR

We did actually shoot a real movie using a camcorder. The quality was really poor. I was not convinced.

Then I discovered that there is something call emulators for mobile phones. Using the emulator, you can project the mobile screen on your computer screen and you can use your keyboard keys to control the keys on the mobile phone. This sounded amazing.

I suggested to my client that we ditch the movie taken using camcorder and try using an emulator.

My client agreed and finally gave me the mobile screen captures in the from of avi videos. My plan was to use Camtasia to edit the avi videos and include my voice narration.

When I saw the avi videos, I discovered that the videos showcased only the mobile screen. Something like shown in the image below:

It did not make any sense just to show the mobile screen. I had to show the entire mobile. “Now how do I do this?” –  This was my next question.

I had raw avi videos and some ppt slides. I did not think about execution first. It was important to plan the video before anything.

How  my Instruction Design skills helped me

My Instructional Design skills helped me visualize and plan the video well. I decided to use the powerpoint slides as my introductory slide. I displayed the output in the beginning itself. Then I showcased the steps to achieve the output. The feature was about transferring a particular image from one phone to another. So I made sure the workflow was right. I made sure every action and the expected result was placed one after the other. I removed all unnecessary portions of the video and focused on what is most important. I had to keep in mind that the video had to be not more than 2 minutes.

Execution

After I was sure about the storyboard, the next challenge was the execution part. I edited all the raw avi videos using Camtasia. I recorded my voice also using Camtasia. Since this was my first  voice recording, there were lot of retakes and it was lot of effort to achieve perfection.

I decided to use a static background image of a mobile phone and wanted the movie to play in the mobile screen area. Something as shown below:

Crescent Shopping Centre Mobile Application by MobaNode from MobaNode on Vimeo.

 Camtasia failed me here  because it did not allow me to include any background image. I realized that rapid e-learning tools have their own limitations.

Finally I got my friend, a graphic designer to help me. I sent him the voice over files, the avi files and told him what he needs to do.  The video that I edited and exported using Camtasia did not play in my friend’s machine. That was the camtasia codec problem.  Despite downloading the codec, the problem persisted. Then I settled for taking screenshots from the avi video and sent all the images to my  friend. He used Flash to execute the whole video.

The output was fantastic.  The demo was simple, appealing and the message was very clear. All our efforts got paid. I was happy with the design of the demo and surprisingly my voice was not  bad at all.

Lessons Learnt

• Rapid Elearning tools have their own constraints
• Quality need not suffer because of budget
• You do not need a professional artist for voice over all the time
• It helps to visualize and plan your video
• Coordination skills help you execute well

Please check the demonstration that I created below:

Please visit: http://aquilonis.com

Meanwhile, please leave your thought