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Subject:QUESTION: Corporate videos and technical writing. From:Cary Watson <CWatson853 -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 13 Nov 1997 21:11:28 -0500
I am moving into the technical writing field from a background in writing
corporate video scripts in the areas of marketing, training, promotion, and
policy. Many of the scripts I've done have essentially been technical
writing documents written for the small screen.
My question(s) for the listserv is about where the line is drawn (if there is
one) between video writing and technical writing. Do or should technical
writers use videos to complement or replace documents? Are videos considered
too expensive to produce? Is the writing of videos deemed to be outside the
purview of technical writers? What is your experience with videos?
The company I work for is very uncertain when it comes to the idea of
producing videos; some think they are somehow too "arty"; others worry about
the expense; and others aren't sure how effective a video is in educating or
influencing an audience.
I'd welcome some help with this issue, and feel free to quiz me if there are
some things you'd like to know about writing corporate videos.