Developing students' scientific literacy requires teachers to use a variety of pedagogical approaches including video as a form of instruction. In addition, using video is a way of engaging students in science ideas not otherwise accessible to them. This study investigated the merit of video clips representing scientific ideas in a secondary science classroom as one component of a science program. Drawing an interpretive approach framed as authentic participant-centered inquiry, the analysis used cogenerative dialoguing to generate collective perspectives on the affordances and constraints of learning from video. We found that the structure of a video in terms of complexity of the content delivery and its length shaped students' viewing experiences and access to science ideas. We argue that structures of the learning context afford and constrain students' opportunities to learn science from video.