Tag Archives: politics

Courtesy: brucerauner.com

Probably the most popular video we and other companies produce is the classic About Us video. It’s something every business should have at its website… a basic introduction to who you are and what you do. Anyone can produce one of these, but it’s quality storytelling that can make yours standout.

Or… not. I recently saw a political video (VIDEO BELOW) about a man, Bruce Rauner, who is running for Governor here in Illinois. It’s… fine. And frankly, fine isn’t good enough if you’re trying to get noticed.

Tell your story

Here’s my problem with it. It’s nearly 3-minutes long, and the first 2-minutes basically puts forth the case for why Illinois needs new leadership. Then… less than a minute on Rauner.

Rauner might be known in some circles as a successful businessman, but he’s probably unknown by most Illinoisans. This is his official introduction to them, but all we get is him standing in front of green screen reading a scripted message.

This isn’t a critique of the message or the politics. It’s simply the execution behind the storytelling and the video. It’s just uninspiring. It’s kind of funny because Rauner tags himself as a political outsider, but his video is cookie-cutter political stuff.

What good storytelling can do

Video is all about emotion. It allows viewers an opportunity to feel like they’re getting to know a person. I actually watched the video because I was curious to learn about him, but I didn’t get that.

Green screens and scripted messages rarely allow that to happen. They aren’t authentic and audiences pick-up on that. It’s why I often council our clients to allow us to shoot in natural environments for their company videos, and to interview people who speak from the heart instead of rehearsed sound bites.

There’s good storytelling… bad storytelling… and “ho-hum” storytelling. Which do you want?

–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 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url

Politics of Storytelling.

That was a CNN headline yesterday scrawled at the bottom of a TV screen that caught my attention. I didn’t get the full story, but the subhead said something about how important it is for politicians to tell their story and not let someone else define who they are.

Business Needs storytelling too

Anyone think that’s exclusive to politics? Of course not. Corporations… brands… small businesses… they all need to be doing this, and video happens to be one of the best ways.

Why? Because seeing is believing.

Video lets people see for themselves and form their own opinion. Whether you’re simply setting the everyday tone for your business, or you’re a company doing damage control, video gives you the ability to deliver your story in a way that will capture an audience’s attention.

Let them see and believe you.

–Tony Gnau

As the election draws closer, I’m sure I’ll be blogging more and more about the candidates’ web videos. The good, the bad… the pointless. Today, we take a look at the latest Obama video.

I have to say, it’s a letdown. President Obama’s videos during the 2008 election were pretty darn good. Okay, they were great. He clearly has some talented storytellers working for him. I think that’s why this one surprised me.

It’s titled, America the Beautiful. The White House rolled it out for Independence Day, but it’s just a hodgepodge of clips set to music. It’s like they couldn’t decide if it should be a campaign video or just something patriotic for the holiday.

It’s a good lesson though. You should have a clear vision for your story. Once you do… commit to it. You might have some great raw video, but if it doesn’t support your story it doesn’t belong in the final product.

Commit to the story and stay away from the hodgepodge.

–Tony Gnau