Changeworksblog.com

video is storytelling

Online video is now the most popular of the social media tools with 62% of communicators recently agreeing that video is relevant to their role.  Runners up were RSS and web feeds, but this just shows the popularity of online video.

We live in a world of information overload, bombarded with news every minute of the day. And video is relevant, has a direct impact and delivers a consistency of message that makes it ideal for thought leaders, CEOs and to help organisations tell their story.  Video lets our clients talk directly and consistently to their intended audience, and it brings their story to life. 

For organistions or leaders communicating with their employees or publics, video is a powerful tool for a geographical diverse business.  And of course, it can help you communicate with the press in a direct way; your client talking direct to them.

Video can be used for:

• CEO or leader presentations
• training
• storytelling – support case studies and press releases
• product introductions and updates
• quarterly presentations and stakeholder/sharehold presentations
• news desk

The challenges of video production often lie in the delivery method. For example, if the video is intended mainly for internal use within the organisation, most internal networks, even now, can’t handle video. At the outside, you will have to render or convert to .flv format at a certain pixel aspect ratio and resolution. You will really need to understand the bandwidth limitations of your current technical solution.

But good video is not an easy art.  There is a thought process to be considered before anything else.  You are moving from face to face presentation to the virtual world so think short, snappy TV shows, for a starter.  Make sure you tailor the content of your video to the audience, for the presenter or talking head, use the person who has the most impact.  This is likely to be the CEO or head of division/department.  

Then tailor the content of your video to the audience. Make sure this is ‘front loaded’ with the majority of the impact of the message in the first 3 to 4 mins of the video.  Whether you are producing casual or more formal interviews remember the following tips:

1. Keep the general tone informal – it helps convey the message
2. Keep the messages and sections short and sharp – to keep attention
3. Have a variety of views of speakers or presenters
4. Think about the setting – people want to see the environment of the film to set the context

anyone can make videos

Also, you will need to consider production values. Video is now so widely available and anyone, virtually,can make a video. To exacerbate the problem there is free video editing software and video can be recorded on phones, cameras, webcams etc, so people can be led to believe that poor quality is ok. We have had clients ask us to use webcams to record the CEO on video, or if we are tight on time, clients have offered to try some editing on their free software.  This only highlights the ignorance there is around the art and skill in producing video. 

Whilst video does not have to be expensive these days, there is a big risk in doing it too cheaply.  

• don’t use webcams, phones etc to produce video to communicate your messages
• Don’t use cheap software to edit

Video has to be professional, yet engaging, to be believable and impactful. Finally, consider where it will be consumed or watched (internet or intranet or via DVD? For a short form film aim for around 3 to 5 mins. And for those ‘talking heads’ remember the:

• frame
• lighting and use of shadows
• background

There is so much to good video making.  More to follow in future posts.