Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 6933cd70c3f392179f6645d994f8772557b1e6231de90d01e9528b2b73c8a673

# Create-A-Video

Small teams storyboard, rehearse, and record a short video answering a specific organizational challenge, then screen and debrief the results.

**Time:** 90 minutes. Source suggests 60 to 180 minutes. UWT standard format is 90 minutes.
**People:** 4 to 24. Small teams of 3 to 5 participants

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Synthesize and communicate a shared response to a specific work challenge using visual narrative under a tight deadline.
**Use it when:** Use during a retreat, alignment session, or project kickoff when a group needs to clarify priorities, summarize upcoming work, or articulate hurdles in concrete terms.
**Skip it when:** Skip if participants lack basic recording tools (such as smartphones), when time is shorter than an hour, or when the group contains significant interpersonal conflict that prevents collaborative play.

## Materials and tools

- 1 printed storyboard template per team
- 1 flipchart pad or large 11x17 paper pad per team
- 4 black chisel-tip markers per team
- Smartphones or tablets with video recording capability (1 per team)
- Projector, display monitor, or shared online video folder with HDMI/cables for playback
- Optional household props (markers, sticky notes, hats, paper cups)

## Before participants arrive

1. Select one explicit challenge prompt for all teams before the session starts.
2. Set up screening equipment (cables, casting, or shared cloud drive folder) and verify video playback works.
3. Place storyboard templates, markers, and paper on each team table.

## Say this to open

Today each team will make a short video of two minutes or less that answers this prompt: 'Explain the hurdles our team must overcome to succeed in this next phase.' You will brainstorm alone first, combine ideas into a visual storyboard, record your scenes with a smartphone, and screening will happen right here. Acting, narrating, holding up drawings, or doing a voiceover are all welcome. You do not need polished editing. Raw single-take clips work great. Let us begin.

## How to run it

### 1. Brief and individual brainstorm (10 minutes)

Deliver opening script and post the chosen challenge prompt where everyone can see it. Give participants 4 minutes of quiet individual writing to list key points, metaphors, or messages. Then give teams 5 minutes to compare ideas and pick one core angle.

### 2. Storyboard the narrative (20 minutes)

Teams map out their 60 to 120-second video on the provided storyboard sheet. Each group must draw or describe 4 to 6 specific scenes, noting who appears on camera, who operates the device, and any visual props or signs needed. Stop when all teams have a sequence ready.

### 3. Rehearse and record (30 minutes)

Teams move to their designated recording spots. They rehearse once and record their video using a smartphone or tablet. Videos must remain under 2 minutes. Teams submit or air-drop their finished video file to the facilitator's playback machine at the 30-minute mark.

### 4. Screen the videos (20 minutes)

Gather everyone back together. Play each video once without interruption on the main screen. For a room of 24 (up to 6 teams), screening takes about 12 to 15 minutes. Save commentary for the debrief.

### 5. Debrief insights (10 minutes)

Facilitate a structured debrief focusing on the themes surfaced across the videos. Call on 2 or 3 participants to share patterns they noticed before closing the session.


## Debrief questions

- Which hurdles or core messages appeared across multiple videos?
- What was easy to convey visually that usually gets lost in long text documents?
- What is one clear priority from these videos that we must protect in our actual work plan?

**Finished output:** A set of completed short video clips (under 2 minutes each) capturing key priorities or hurdles, alongside filled physical storyboards.

## Remote

Run in video breakout rooms of 3 to 5 people. During storyboarding, teams use a collaborative digital whiteboard. For filming, teams can either record a live scene in their breakout room (using screen recording or the platform's cloud recording feature), assign one member to record slides with voiceover, or stitch mobile clips. Submissions are uploaded to a shared drive folder and screened via facilitator screen share with computer audio enabled.

## Hybrid

Form distinct remote-only and in-person-only small teams. Remote teams record via meeting software or uploaded mobile clips, while in-person teams film on site. Everyone gathers in the main physical room and virtual room simultaneously to watch all videos through the shared projector and stream screen share.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may take non-acting roles such as scriptwriter, storyboard artist, camera operator, prop maker, or timekeeper.
- No participant is required to appear on camera; voiceover, narrated sketches, or text slides are fully valid video formats.
- Participants who prefer not to participate in filming may choose to work as an independent reviewer and help manage playback logistics.

## If the session gets stuck

**A team spends 40 minutes debating ideas and has not filmed anything with 10 minutes left.**

Interrupt the team, ask them to select one single idea from their notes, and direct them to record a continuous one-take interview or narration without costume or prop changes.

**Technical issues prevent exporting or transferring a team's video file to the screening screen.**

Have the team plug their device directly into the projector via HDMI adapter, or hold the phone camera up to the room audio/screen, or project via screen share from their mobile device.


## Terms used here

- Storyboard: A series of simple sketches or panel descriptions showing the planned sequence of shots in a video.

## Participant material: Storyboard Planning Sheet

PROJECT PROMPT: [Insert prompt here]
VIDEO TARGET DURATION: 60 - 120 seconds

PANEL 1
Visual Sketch or Description:
Narration / Dialogue:
Speaker / Actor:
Props / Text signs:

PANEL 2
Visual Sketch or Description:
Narration / Dialogue:
Speaker / Actor:
Props / Text signs:

PANEL 3
Visual Sketch or Description:
Narration / Dialogue:
Speaker / Actor:
Props / Text signs:

PANEL 4
Visual Sketch or Description:
Narration / Dialogue:
Speaker / Actor:
Props / Text signs:

PANEL 5
Visual Sketch or Description:
Narration / Dialogue:
Speaker / Actor:
Props / Text signs:

PANEL 6 (Conclusion / Call to Action)
Visual Sketch or Description:
Narration / Dialogue:
Speaker / Actor:
Props / Text signs:

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, page 116. Original individual author not stated.

Retained the core mechanic from Relationship Makers Handbook: individual brainstorming, storyboarding on paper, rapid video creation under 3 minutes, screening, and debriefing. Set a concrete 90-minute agenda fitting UWT standards, designed a 6-panel storyboard template, established explicit non-acting options, and specified technical steps for remote and hybrid environments.

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/create-a-video/