Don’t Add Too Much To Your Video Content
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There’s an old journalism joke… don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story. Well… that goes for video content as well.Of course, that old joke is supposed to allude to being dishonest in some way to further the story. In the case of video content, it simply means sometimes you need to hold back some of the truth so that it doesn’t get in the way of the story. Something that could have happened in one of our latest videos.
Video content case study
I love sharing client success stories. I feel like they’re good case studies that everyone can learn from, and the story of Chicago Design and Construction (CD+C) is no different.
CD+C is a one-stop-shop for anyone who needs a commercial or residential building. It’s run by a team of architects who design the building, then oversee its construction from the ground up. The company’s partners are stepping-up their marketing efforts, so they wanted a video as a part of their greater strategy.
No surprise, they wanted to highlight a bunch of projects they’ve completed. Houses, condo buildings, businesses… you name it, they have examples to show. They actually fell into the same category as a lot of business leaders producing their first marketing video. They wanted a short video, but they also wanted to show-off what they can do.
It can get tricky. Cram all of that material into your short video and it becomes too much for viewers to focus on. Expand the length of the video to comfortably add all the material and you risk your audience losing interest.
In the end, we had the same discussion with them that we frequently have here. I explained that video isn’t about the information or the materials (the facts), it’s about emotion. Video is about getting the audience to feel good about them… the partners. In the end, what they say and how they say it is more important than showing dozens of construction examples, especially when those examples can also be found in other places at their new website (coming soon).
How to juggle all the materials
We have to let the story dictate how many completed projects we feature in the video. A story that’s going to connect with people, and one told in a way that’s going to inspire confidence in the men behind the company.
To their credit… they got it. They cut down a list of completed projects to a handful for us to shoot. We also shot video of them doing the work they love. Most importantly, we heard from them in interviews about their passion… design and construction.
They didn’t let the facts get in the way of their story.
–Tony Gnau
Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.