Welcome to the VideoStory Blog
We are glad you decided to visit. We hope you will subscribe to the page, our newsletter, and download some of our articles and white papers. With nearly 35 years experience, we bring a wealth of knowledge, ideas, and security to your communications needs. We look forward to talking with you soon.
-
Are Audiences Stupid? Why Dumbing Down is a Dumb Thing to Do
Posted on July 21st, 2010 No commentsIn my decades-long video and meeting production career, there was one phrase that sent chills down my spine:
“Close enough for government work.”
This was another way of saying, “Good enough for those stupid people”, or “This audience doesn’t deserve my best work, or “I want to go home.”
What it said to me about that employee or colleague was that he or she didn’t care– about the audience or their own integrity. And that shortsightedness came from a stereotype of the average viewing audience: They’re impatient, stupid, and need everything spoon-fed.
Wow.
I mean, wow.
Is there any chance that these producers were right? Simply, are audiences stupid?
Look in the mirror. Are you?
The answer is no. Just because an audience doesn’t know the difference between a Red camera and a DVcam; Klieg lights vs. Kino-flo’s, or iambic pentameter from Mother Goose doesn’t mean they don’t know what is good. They are the audience. They are the biggest group of critics around, and they know what they like.
They like stories.
In Hollywood, they approve with their dollars. In business, they approve with action, commitment, or a bit of both.
They are us; we are they– if it’s too complicated for us, its too complicated for them. If it’s intriguing to us, it’s intriguing to them.
Examples? Christopher Nolan; Orson Welles; M. Night Shyamalan. Their work challenges the audience and keeps them intrigued.
Corporate examples? Videos that don”t preach, meetings that don’t pander, speeches that reduce the PowerPoint to clear, illustrative, intriguing pictorial elements.
Why simply say “We need better customer service” in a video, when kids in a Lemonade Stand can better or more arrestingly tell “the story?”
Why preach about miscalibrated machining equipment and the resultant costs when you can produce a film-noir-like mystery?
Why have the CEO of a corporation sit at his or her desk and lecture on building brand loyalty when interviews with real customers can make that case more convincingly and more humanly?
It’s the story, stupid.
Even the stupid audience knows that.
-
Video in Emails ups Click-Through Rates 2-3X
Posted on May 13th, 2009 No commentsHere’s some research published on MarketingVox that states that using a video in your email will up clickthroughs by 2 to 3x. Yes, many isp’s and corporate nets block videos in email, but there are plenty of ways to get around that without upsetting the IT department masters. Read more here, and call us at 908-213-8705 if you’d like to try it out for yourself. It’s an inexpensive investment that can triple your direct email effectiveness.
-
Bad Ideas #1: Defining an Open Creative Position by the Equipment that Should be Used
Posted on May 12th, 2009 No commentsI was sent a help wanted listing by a business associate recently. They thought I’d get a kick out of it because it was for a listing for a video producer position at a business that makes products that I love (I can’t go into any more detail than that out of fairness for all parties involved.)
No, I’m not looking– but since I have done my share of hiring in the past few decades I am always curious as to the expectations set by help wanted ads for creatives.
Let’s forget for a second the impossible expectations and laughable language used in such ads (“Must eat, breath and live advertising”; “You don’t think outside the box, you are the box”, etc.
What interests me is that in a video and web driven world, creativity is often defined not by writing, design or storytelling capability, but instead by the software and hardware employed.
This ad said (paraphrased), “Video producer wanted to produce web videos for our catalog pages and web site. Knowledge of Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, and After Effects required.”
Uh… why? Does a knowledge of these particular programs guarantee that you know the basics of design, writing, creative direction, photography, photo touch-up, shooting and editing?
This was followed by “Windows platform preferred.”
I can see the Windows platform (or Mac platform) preference as perhaps reasonable, since the company may have standardized on and invested in plenty of hardware that is single platform centric. That’s a business decision.
But eliminating perhaps 70% of your creative applicants because they use some other software than what you like or know is like a curator at the Met, MOMA, or Guggenheim who only hangs paintings that use a #12 Kolinsky Red Sable Art Brush.
The talented and driven can and will adapt to almost any software or hardware. That’s easily learned. What can’t easily be learned is what is done with the tools, whether they are using typewriters, yellow legal pad, or Final Cut Pro or Microsoft Word or Final Draft.
It’s the story, stupid. And that’s the basis on which you should hire.
-
Swine Flu 2: Electric Boogaloo (more spots)
Posted on April 28th, 2009 No commentsHere’s a few more samples of the spots we did for the 1976 Swine Flu panic (actually an album of all three) from our Vimeo album.
-
How to Make Your OnLine Video Go Viral
Posted on March 30th, 2009 No commentsAd Age Digital has an insightful article on making your video viral, especially in terms of big campaigns.
-
GM Needs Branding, Not Just a Bailout
Posted on December 6th, 2008 No commentsBranding guru Al Ries takes GM to task. A good read, with lessons for all kinds of companies, large or small.
-
The Video Script– More than just Words
Posted on September 21st, 2008 No commentsThere are two ways to approach writing a script for a video: before you shoot, and after you shoot.
Before you shoot is where the majority of corporate and event videos
land; after you shoot usually indicates that you’re conducting
interviews and won’t know what material you’ll have until after the
interviews.Let’s look at the first, and most traditional, method.
Scriptwriting is the art and craft of extrapolating a creative
approach into a working creative plan. A script is more than just the
words. It is the blueprint that indicates the structure or flow of your
video, what kinds of shots are necessary, what kinds of graphics are
appropriate, and what types of music might be used or created.My first business partner couldn’t do wordplay worth a damn, but he
actually was an excellent scriptwriter, because he knew how to pace a
piece of communications. So whether you think you’re a writer or not,
let’s look at the basics of how you can craft your creative blueprint.The Creative Plan
Before you begin writing, you must know what your strategy is.
Whether you’re selling widgets or telling the life story of Uncle
Teddy, you must know your beginning, middle and end.I believe all creative plans follow some essential rules of marketing, and often follow the same basic outline for the script.
Marketing RulesThese hardly ever vary. They are called many things, have sold a lot of books, and been rehashed over and over.
But they work. It’s all centered around the person you’re trying to
sell. It’s called the USP, or unique selling proposition. Ya gotta have
one!From the USP comes the ability to do the following:
- State a clear benefit.
- Offer proof.
- Have a unique angle.
- Show the solution.
- Eliminate objections.
- Ask for the sale (or the demo).
In the video script world, this might look like:
- Introduction or Premise
- Who we are
- What we do
- Why we’re different
- What’s in it for you
- Ask for the sale
Really. That’s about it. Remember, this is not a brochure. People’s attention spans are short.
Now, let’s say you want to create buzz so that MyCO, your new
computerized inventory management company (and its new product, “The
Docufab 5000”), can look large enough to compete with the big dog in
your field— we’ll call them BigCo.BigCo owns the market, but they’re— big. Slow to innovate, slow to
respond to customer requests. They haven’t revised their product
offering in 5 years.You want to eat their lunch (or, if you’re starting out, any lunch at all), and you have just the product to do it.
You have just enough money to make a video, which you figure you’ll
show to customers on your laptop, in your trade show booth (a massive
8’x10’ with a table), and on your website.
Video OutlineLet’s look at the questions to ask yourself.
- What outcome do I want from this video?
- What unique thing does my company offer?
- How does this product embody that unique feature (or philosophy)?
- What’s in it for the customer?
- What hang-ups does the customer have?
- How do we move to the next step?
In this case, the next step is being put on the bid list, being
asked to make a presentation to upper management, or being asked to
make a proposal. This is also the outcome you want.You are sensitive to the needs of the industry and are a house of
ideas, moving fast, developing solutions, adapting your patented
technologies to companies large and small.Your product offers ImageFast, a revolutionary way to reduce scan time and speed document flow over traditional Cat5 wire.
This will offer the customer a direct impact in greater
productivity, faster shipping turnaround, less time spent running
around looking for manuals, and allow the company to sell and ship more
of whatever it is they do. (The hidden bonus is the hero factor— the
person that buys this product will introduce such productivity and
profit to the company that he or she will get a raise and a corner
office— of course, this is implied, not stated.)Now think it through— you’ve got a better product than BigCo— is
there anything that would make a potential customer NOT buy what you’re
selling?Yes, you’re young enough to look like you just came out of high
school. Your track record is neither good nor bad— it’s empty. So you
get an endorsement from your Uncle Don who’s a well known civil
engineer (or a past customer, if you’re well established). Maybe you
grow a beard.And you offer a guarantee.
The Final StructureSo now, let’s look at our final outline:
- Document management is slow, and industry leaders are not keeping up with bandwidth demands.
- You have a solution that’s unique to the industry.
- You are MyCo, a company dedicated to R&D and solutions that provide productivity and profit. You never stop innovating.
- The Docufab 5000 blows the competition away. You proceed to tell how. (features)
- The Docufab 5000 will change your company for the better, is upgradable, etc. (benefits)
-
Let us demonstrate our system and give you a quote. If you’re not 100%
satisfied, we’ll (fix it, refund your money, whatever…)— we believe in
our product and good old-fashioned customer service.
Okay, now you have to add spice, or the hook— the unique angle.
You’re dedicated to productivity, speed, and service. For a fraction of
what BigCo might quote for a new system, you will revolutionize the
customer’s business with profits, productivity, and volume.All the customer has to do is— “Do the Math.”
That becomes your hook. It’s a good one, because it de-emphasizes
being big, established, safe, etc. It says, “If I can offer you my
unique solution to save you this much money— will you take a chance on
me?”We’re skimming the surface, but at least now you’ve thought through
goal setting and creative planning for almost any video project, at
least those that are written before the shooting begins.Now, HOW to write the words is another story, and one we’ll tell soon.
Want to see the video this story was actually based on? Go to http://www.vimeo.com/806538.
-
Fellow Producers, Wake Up! A Beer Company is your Newest Competitor
Posted on August 21st, 2006 No commentsWhat goes around comes around– and around, and around.
Anheuser Busch, according to this article in Ad Age, is getting into the short form content business– IE, web videos, virals, videos, etc.
Those of us who’ve been in video a long time have learned that today’s client can be tomorrow’s competitor. Many major corporations created in-house production companies as an economic move once they were producing high volumes of av communications.
But that was a reaction to cost, and much of the creative element– scripts, direction– was still sourced from the outside.
The web is changing that. The sheer volume of opportunity– combined with a mass marketing of video production tools– means the experienced video or multimedia producer is now competing with Ad Agencies, design firms, in-house departments, PR firms, and the marketing director’s cousin who has a camcorder.
