What is Video Branching? How do I use Video Branching?

What is Video Banching?

Video branching refers to a type of interactive experience that allows viewers to make choices during the video, leading them down different "branches" or paths. Each choice can lead to a different sequence of video content, creating a personalized viewing experience.

This technique is often used in e-learning to simulate different scenarios based on the learner's choices, in marketing to tailor content to the viewer's preferences, and in storytelling to create interactive stories where the viewer can decide the direction of the plot.

Video branching is often referred to as "Choose Your Own Adventure" and has been used by companies like Netflix to create engaging experiences.

You can see an example of Video Branching here.

How can I use Video Branching on Mindstamp?

There are two ways you can create branching experiences on Mindstamp.

Use the Switch Video click action

An interaction that uses the Switch Video click action will instantly change to the specified interactive video when clicked:



Imagine you are health coach and you ask the viewer a multiple choice question:

What is your biggest priority when it comes to health?

You provide 4 answer buttons that each switches to a different interactive video:

Answer 1: Lose Weight --> Switch Video to "Weight Loss Overview"
Answer 2: Gain Muscle --> Switch Video to "Muscle Building Overview"
Answer 3: Feel better --> Switch Video to "Wellness Overview"
Answer 4: I don't know --> Switch Video to "General Services Overview"

Use the Change Time click action

The Change Time click action allows you do branching within a single video. Rather than switching to an entirely different video, you are simply moving the viewer around to different sections within the same video:




For example, you may discuss different topics during different sections of the video. By using Change Time, you can quickly "branch" them to the relevant section of the video.

What is the difference between the two types of Video Branching?

Both Switch Video and Change Time will allow you to branch your viewers to new content on demand, but each have their benefits and drawbacks.

You should use Switch Video if you:
Have your content split up between multiple video files
Want analytics on exactly what content people are seeing

You should use Change Time if you:
Have one large video file with multiple sections in it
Don't need branch-specific analytics
Don't have space in your Mindstamp video library to host all the branch videos you need

Since each video has a distinct report / analytics on Mindstamp, using the Switch Video will provide more granular, structured reporting data as opposed to Change Time, since all of the branching will occur within a single video when using the Change Time option.

Updated on: 03/01/2024