Shoot it on the phone you already have
A hands on social media video course for marketing teams. Planning, filming and editing short form vertical video for TikTok, Reels, Shorts and LinkedIn, made on the day with the equipment you own. Half day £1,200, full day £1,800 for up to six people, excluding VAT. You leave with finished videos, not notes about video.
What kind of video does this course teach?
Short form vertical video for social platforms. TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn. The kind a marketing team needs to make weekly on a realistic budget, not the kind that takes a crew and a fortnight.
Two things this is not, said plainly so nobody books the wrong day. It is not a film school course in cinematography or colour grading. And it is not us producing corporate training videos for you, which is a service rather than a course and something people occasionally arrive here looking for. This teaches your team to make their own social video.
Do we need a proper camera, or is a phone enough?
A phone is enough, and for social video it is often better. Modern phones shoot vertical natively, they are fast enough to catch something happening, and nobody performs differently in front of one. The gap between phone footage and camera footage on a feed, at the size people watch it, is smaller than the gap between a good idea and a dull one.
Where a small amount of kit does earn its place is sound and light. A clip on microphone and a cheap LED panel will improve your videos more than any camera upgrade, and we will tell you exactly what to buy and roughly what it costs rather than sending you to a shop.
What does the course cover?
1. What to make
Video formats that work for your sector, and the honest reason most brand video gets scrolled past in the first second.
2. Planning a shoot
Scripting for vertical, shot lists and getting a month of content out of one afternoon of filming.
3. Filming
Framing, sound, light and stability on a phone. Hands on, filming real content for your channels.
4. Editing
Cutting, captions, text on screen, pacing and music rights. CapCut, InShot or Premiere depending on what you use.
5. Platform differences
Why the same cut underperforms on LinkedIn and lands on TikTok, and what to change rather than reshoot.
6. Captions and accessibility
Most social video is watched on mute. Captions are not optional and burnt in beats auto generated.
7. Publishing and testing
Hooks, thumbnails, posting rhythm and reading retention rather than views.
8. Where AI helps
Scripting, captioning and rough cuts. See AI for social media content.
What does the day look like?
| Time | Block | What comes out of it |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Your video, and your competitors’, reviewed honestly | An agreed view of what to make more of and what to stop |
| 10:15 | Formats and hooks | Six video ideas scripted for vertical |
| 11:15 | Filming, hands on | Footage in the bag, shot on your own phones |
| 13:15 | Editing, hands on | Two or three finished videos, captioned and ready |
| 15:00 | Platform versions | The same edit cut properly for each channel |
| 15:45 | A filming routine you can keep | A monthly shoot day in the calendar with owners |
Half days keep the formats work, the filming and one edit, which is enough to prove to a sceptical team that they can actually do this.
Can you teach video editing for social media specifically?
Yes, and a good number of bookings are exactly that. Some teams already film plenty and the footage sits on a drive because nobody is confident cutting it.
An editing focused day works in whatever software you already have. CapCut for most teams, InShot on phones, Premiere or Final Cut where there is a designer involved. We would rather make your team fast in the tool they own than sell them a workflow that dies when the trial ends.
Do you train photographers and creatives?
Regularly. Photographers, videographers and studio teams who are technically excellent and find social a different problem entirely. The craft is not the gap. Consistency, formats, captions and knowing what a platform rewards are.
For that audience the day tilts towards turning existing work into social content, building a posting rhythm that survives a busy month, and using video to win commissions rather than just to show them.
Who runs the day?
I am Chris Norton and I run most of these sessions. I founded Prohibition, the PR, social and content agency behind this site, I have worked in public relations for more than twenty years, and I have been running training since 2009. I co-authored Share This Too, the social media handbook published by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
For the video days a producer from the agency comes with me. We shoot and cut social video for clients every week, so the examples used are ours, including the ones that did not work. Everything taught on the day is something we do on live accounts, which is not true of most video courses.
Who is it for?
Marketing teams
Teams who know they need video weekly and keep not making it because it feels like a production.
Comms and press offices
Where video is now expected for announcements, internal comms and stakeholder updates.
Photographers and studios
Technically strong, socially inconsistent. A different emphasis, same day.
No editing experience is assumed. If half the room has never cut a video and half use Premiere daily, that is a normal booking and the exercises stretch.
Social media video questions we get asked
How much does a social media video course cost?
Half day £1,200 and full day £1,800 for up to six people, excluding VAT, priced by the group. Around £200 to £300 a head. Open video courses in the UK typically run £300 to £700 per person, so for a team private training costs less and you film your own content.
Do we need to buy equipment first?
No. Bring the phones you already have. If you want to spend something afterwards we will tell you what actually improves the output, which is a microphone and a light rather than a camera.
Which editing software do you teach?
Whatever you use. CapCut for most teams, InShot on phones, Premiere or Final Cut where a designer is involved. We teach the tool you own rather than the one we prefer.
Will we actually film on the day?
Yes, and edit. You leave with two or three finished captioned videos ready to post. Sessions where nothing gets made change nothing.
Do you produce training videos for us?
That is a different thing, and people do arrive here looking for it. The agency can produce video for you, but this page is a course teaching your team to make their own. Ask and we will point you to the right conversation.
Is this a film school course?
No. There is no cinematography or colour grading. It is about making social video that performs, quickly and repeatedly, with what you already own.
Can you focus on just editing?
Yes, and a good number of teams book exactly that because they have footage sitting on a drive that nobody is confident cutting.
What about music rights?
Covered, because it is where brands get caught. Platform audio libraries, what a commercial account may and may not use, and why the trending sound that worked for a creator can be a problem for you.
How many people can attend?
Six is ideal so everybody films and edits. We will run up to twelve but people start watching rather than doing.
Where does this sit with our other training?
You are here
Social media video training. Planning, filming and editing short form vertical video.
TikTok
Channel strategy rather than craft. See TikTok training.
Content marketing
The wider content plan video sits inside. See content marketing training.
Bring your phones and a month you need filling
Half day £1,200, full day £1,800, up to six people, excluding VAT. Delivered UK wide or online.
Part of every social media course we run, delivered in Leeds, Manchester, London and UK wide. Last reviewed August 2026.
