Set Up Video Mode
Video is the bonus Lesson mode, and this article shows Content Developers and Instructional Designers how to set the mode up, write the voiceover script for each step, download the screens and audio Skyllful produces, and upload the finished video.
What is Video mode for?
Video mode plays a video to the Learner instead of running the workflow in Skyllful Simulator. Use it when Learners need context around a workflow rather than practice in it, such as a change announcement, a message from a leader, or the reason a process is changing.
Video is the bonus Lesson mode. It is the most technically advanced mode to build, and it is used as an exception rather than as part of every Lesson.
Why is Video the bonus mode?
The other five modes are built and finished entirely inside Skyllful. Video is not. The video itself is always made somewhere else, and Skyllful delivers it. That extra step outside the platform is why Video sits apart from the rest.
If what you need is for Learners to watch the whole workflow, use Set Up Talkthrough Mode instead. Talkthrough plays the workflow with narration and captions, and it is built entirely in Skyllful. Reach for Video when the message is about context or change, not about the clicks.
Where does the video come from?
There are two ways to get a video into a Lesson, and both end the same way, with a finished file uploaded to Video Lesson Mode Settings.
Source |
When to use it |
|---|---|
| Built from Skyllful assets | You want the video to show the workflow. Skyllful produces every screen and a voiceover for every step, you download them, and you assemble the video in a video tool. |
| A video you already have | You have a finished video, such as a message from a leader, a vendor video, or a recording from another team. Upload it and Skyllful delivers it to Learners. |
Note: A video you already have does not need a VO Script. The script and the downloads matter only when you are building the video from the Lesson's own screens.
What is built on the General tab, and what is built on the Video tab?
The foundation of every mode is built on the step's General tab. That is where the step's name, description, and the control the Learner acts on are set.
Video is then set up on the step's Video tab. That is where you write what the voiceover says for that step, choose how it sounds, and leave instructions for whoever builds the video.
Who are the Instructions for?
Instructions is for the person building the video, when that person is not you. Many teams hand the assets to a video producer, and this is where you tell them what to do with the step.
Write what the finished video should show, not what the Learner should do. For example, "highlight the Enter tab", "hold on this screen while the voiceover finishes", or "zoom in on the confirmation message".
The step's screen and its voiceover only show what happened. Instructions are how you get emphasis, timing, and framing into the finished video.
How do you set up Video mode?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the Lesson in Lesson Builder. |
| 2 | In the View Steps row, choose Video. The Video Lesson Mode Settings panel opens, and every step switches to its Video tab. |
| 3 | Complete the Video Lesson Mode Settings, including the background image Learners see in Skyllful Simulator and a description written for this mode. |
| 4 | If you are building the video from the Lesson's screens, go on to step 5. If you already have a finished video, skip to step 10. |
| 5 | On each step's Video tab, confirm Include in lesson mode, then write the VO Script. |
| 6 | In VO Phonetics, fix any word the voice says wrong and set the pacing, then choose the voice. |
| 7 | Add Instructions on any step that needs them, if someone else is building the video. |
| 8 | Select Update to save your changes, then download the screens and the voiceover files from the Lesson's ... menu. |
| 9 | Assemble the video in the video tool of your choice, or hand the assets and the Instructions to whoever is building it. |
| 10 | In Video Lesson Mode Settings, upload the finished video. |
| 11 | Select Update to save your changes. |
Note: Build the video last. Produce it only once every step is accurate and final, so you do not have to rebuild the video after a step changes.
Note: Update stays unavailable until you change something, and your work is saved only when you select it. Leaving Lesson Builder without selecting Update discards your changes.
What is in Video Lesson Mode Settings?
These settings apply to Video across the whole Lesson.
Setting |
What it does |
|---|---|
| Skills Covered | The skills this mode builds. |
| Background image | The image Learners see behind Video in Skyllful Simulator. Choose or upload an image, or select Generate Thumbnail to create one. Images cannot exceed 5 MB. |
| Mode Name Override | Renames Video for Learners. |
| Title Override | Replaces the title Learners see for Video. |
| Description Override | The description Learners see for Video. Write it for this mode rather than reusing the Lesson description. |
| Video | The finished video. Choose or upload a video file. Videos cannot exceed 1 GB. |
Note: Video is the one mode with no estimated time setting. The other four modes ask how long a Learner needs, because Skyllful IQ tracks it. A video's length is already known, so there is nothing to estimate.
Note: Videos used in Lessons are held in the Learning Program's Video Library, on the Lesson Videos tab. You can upload the video there or here, and the same file is available either way.
What can you set on a step?
Setting |
What it does |
|---|---|
| Include in lesson mode | Whether this step is part of Video mode. |
| VO Script | The words the voice reads for this step. |
| VO Phonetics | How the line should be spoken, covering both pronunciation and pacing. |
| Voice | The country, gender, and voice used for this step. |
| Instructions | Notes for whoever builds the video, such as "highlight the Enter tab". |
Where does the script text come from?
The VO Script starts empty on the Video tab, so you write it yourself.
The step's description on the General tab is the natural place to start. It is usually written as an instruction, because that is what the General tab describes. A video is watched rather than performed, so reword it for someone who is listening.
What you write here changes nothing else. The step description still feeds the Walkthrough prompt and the Practice feedback exactly as written.
How do you change the way the voice reads a step?
VO Phonetics, below the script, is where you shape the delivery. Type the line the way you want it spoken, and the voice follows what you typed instead of the script.
It does more than fix pronunciation. Most of what makes a voiceover sound natural is pacing, and pacing comes from punctuation.
What you want |
What to type |
|---|---|
| A word said correctly | Re-spell it the way it sounds, so "Skyllful" becomes "skill full". |
| A short pause | Add a comma where the voice should breathe. |
| A longer pause | Start a new line. |
| A full stop | End the sentence with a period, even where the script runs on. |
| An acronym said letter by letter | Put spaces or periods between the letters. |
| A long number said in groups | Break it into groups, so "10475" becomes "one oh four, seven five". |
Select the speaker icon beside the field to hear the result. Change one thing at a time and listen again, because a fix that helps one word can change the rhythm of the whole line.
Note: Read the line out loud yourself first. Where you pause naturally is where the voice needs a comma or a new line.
Which voice reads the script?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | On the VO Phonetics row, choose the country, then the gender, then the voice. |
| 2 | Select the speaker icon to hear how it sounds. |
Note: To keep every Lesson in a Learning Program on the same voice, set the default there instead. On the Lesson Defaults tab of Learning Program Settings, find the Default Voice Over section for the language and choose the country, gender, and voice. See Set Default AI Voiceovers.
How do you download the pieces Skyllful produces?
Open the Lesson's ... menu, to the right of the View Steps row, then choose Download.
Download |
What you get |
|---|---|
| All Screenshots | Every screen in the Lesson, in order, as image files. |
| VO in 1 File | The voiceover for the whole Lesson as a single audio file. |
| VO Script | The script text for every step. |
| All HTML Files | The HTML captures behind the Lesson's screens. |
Note: To download the audio for one step on its own, select the download icon at the right of that step's VO Phonetics row.
How do you know a step is included?
Each step carries a tab for every mode. A tab with a crossed out eye means that step is excluded from that mode.
To include a step in Video, open its Video tab and select Include in lesson mode. A step you leave out has no screen and no voiceover in what you download.
How do you preview your work?
Preview works differently in Video than in the other modes, so it is worth being clear about what each control shows.
Control |
What it shows |
|---|---|
| The speaker icon beside VO Phonetics | The voiceover for that one step. |
| Preview in the bottom bar | The finished video you uploaded, played as a Learner sees it. |
In the other modes, Preview runs the steps. In Video it does not. The steps are not what the Learner watches, the uploaded video is, so that is what plays.
This has a practical consequence. Until a video is uploaded there is nothing for Preview to show, and no way to see Video mode as a Learner will. While you are writing scripts, the speaker icon is your only check, so use it on every step.
Once the video is uploaded, watch it in Preview end to end. Check that it matches the steps as they now stand, since a step that changed after the video was produced will not match, and nothing in Skyllful will flag it.
What if Video mode does not work as expected?
Symptom |
What to do |
|---|---|
| A step is missing from what you downloaded | The step is excluded. Its Video tab shows a crossed out eye. Open that tab and select Include in lesson mode. |
| The voice mispronounces a word | Respell the word the way it sounds in VO Phonetics, then select the speaker icon to check it. |
| The voice runs sentences together, or sounds rushed | Add commas and periods in VO Phonetics where the voice should pause, or start a new line for a longer break. |
| The voice reads an acronym as a word | Put spaces or periods between the letters in VO Phonetics. |
| The script reads like an instruction instead of an explanation | Reword the VO Script for a Learner who is watching rather than doing. |
| The voice sounds wrong for the message | Choose a different country, gender, or voice on the VO Phonetics row. |
| Preview shows nothing | No video has been uploaded yet. Preview plays the finished video, not the steps, so there is nothing to show until you upload one. |
| The video will not upload | Videos cannot exceed 1 GB. Compress the file or shorten the video, then try again. |
| A step changed after you produced the video | Update the script, download the pieces again, and rebuild the video. The video is a finished file, so it does not pick up changes on its own. |
| A mode tab is red | Something on that tab is missing or needs fixing before the Lesson can be updated or published. Open the tab and complete what is flagged. |
| Your changes disappear | Changes are saved only when you select Update. |
Where can you get help?
If you need help, start with your manager, then your Local Administrator. If additional assistance is needed, your Local Administrator can submit a support ticket to Skyllful.
Skyllful Knowledge Base | Content Developers, Instructional Designers