Tag Archives: storytelling

Want to know the best way to get good at video? Watch a lot of videos. Preferably good ones.

When I was a young TV news reporter, I used to watch as many great stories as I could. The kinds of stories I wanted to report.

In those days, my friends and I would exchange video tapes featuring award-winning stories from the National Press Photographers Association. What a difference a decade makes. Now all you need to do is click on YouTube of Vimeo.

Start noting the videos you like and re-watch them from time-to-time with a critical eye. Dissect them. Look at the shooting style, how they use music and natural sound, the way they’re edited. Think about how those same techniques could improve your storytelling.

The more you evaluate, the better you’re own videos will become.

–Tony Gnau

Video is becoming a strange animal. It used to be nobody had a video camera, so if they wanted video they had to either hire someone to shoot it or go to the time and expense of buying their own equipment.

These days everyone has a quality video camera built into their phone.

This may be why some people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the cost of producing video. We occasionally have people who contact us for proposals who are surprised their project will cost thousands of dollars.

I think they’d be even more surprised if they shopped around only to find out there are companies charging a lot more than us.

I understand we all have access to quality video cameras, but that’s no longer what you’re paying for when you have a video produced. You’re paying for the skill it takes to operate that camera and tell a compelling story.

Anyone can shoot video, but takes a highly trained and skilled artist to create a video people will want to watch.

–Tony Gnau

I get it. I really do. If you’re working at a small business and you don’t have the money to commit to a professionally produced video, I understand.

What I don’t get is when a major corporation puts a video out on the cheap. I just watched one by Subaru. I looks like an amateur production, but it’s a good teaching tool.

I love Subaru vehicles. My wife and I were recently talking about what we’d consider for our next car and I mentioned the Subaru Outback. So… I went to YouTube to check out some video and came across this one on the company’s channel… Subaru and United by Blue’s Cooper River Cleanup.

I love that Subaru is giving back. I love that they decided to put out a video about it. The problem is the video just isn’t compelling.

Pay attention to the way it’s shot. I counted one… that’s one… tight shot. Videos need a mix of wide, medium, and tight shots. That mix stimulates the eye. Virtually every shot here is a medium shot.

The same could be said for the interview shots. Everyone is framed up on a medium shot right in the center of the picture. There’s no visual interest in that sort of framing.

These are basic shooting mistakes. I would have loved to have seen this story in the hands of a video pro.

–Tony Gnau

When you’re fiercely loyal to your audience, you have to kill shots you love. Actually, the tougher thing is to kill shots your client loves and trying to explain it to them.

I’ll give you an example. I’ve had to shoot video for a bunch of ribbon cuttings. Clients love them. To them, a ribbon cutting is a big deal. The event signifies something major for the company. The audience on the other hand… could probably care less.

I usually find a way to incorporate the actual ribbon cutting… 3, 2, 1, cut!… but that’s about it. Questions typically follow… why didn’t you include the speech from event chair, the executive or the mayor?

Why? Because those speeches rarely impact the audience.

That’s why I start most video consultations with the question… who is this video for? If the answer is our clients/prospects/general public, then we need to make sure everything in the video speaks to their interests.

Remember, video is for the audience… not a company’s ego.

–Tony Gnau

American Airlines has produced some good videos in the past, and they keep up the tradition with their latest offering. It’s called, “New York Subway Station Domination.”

The airline must have some solid market research showing that subway advertising works for them because this is the second video they’ve based around the subject.

I love the fact that neither uses sound bites or narration to drive the story. They’re made up entirely of music, images, and solid editing. American clearly works with some talented producers because in their hands… that’s all they need to tell a quality story.

That first video is flat-out one of my favorites. This latest video isn’t quite as good, but it’s a solid effort. I think it would have been even better had they chopped it down by a minute. Running nearly two-and-a-half minutes, it’s way too long. The music and editing deliver terrific pacing, but it just keeps going and going.

Other than that… I love it. Can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Maybe they’ll put ads on subway passengers?

–Tony Gnau

You can’t hold on to preconceived notions. You might think a video is going one direction, but you have to be willing to go with the flow if things don’t go as intended.

I got a good reminder of this while completing a project for Yellow House Children’s Services. It’s a terrific non-profit raising money for kids with disabilities in Kenya.

We knew we weren’t going to get great b-roll since we weren’t going to Kenya to shoot. The organization had a few amateur videos shot there, but after viewing them we decided they didn’t really add value.

So… we had some photos we could use and we had a fundraising party we could shoot. Based on that I thought we’d focus our efforts around the party, and figure out a way to base the video around that.

During most shoots, I get into a rhythm. The story just seems to come together. Not this time. I didn’t like my original plan. I liked it even less days later as I logged the sound bites.

That meant shifting gears… and it worked. Once we created the script and started editing the video, it all came together. Instead of focusing the video on the fundraiser, we used it as a jumping off point to draw people to the photos.

I was really happy with how it turned out. We didn’t have much to work with, but thanks to being flexible the story came into focus.

–Tony Gnau

Here’s one of the big problems that plague clients and their video producers… competing visions.

The client envisions the video going one way, the producer sees it in different light, and they end up getting on each other’s nerves. Who’s right? Neither.

See… it’s not about you. It’s about the audience.

Video is a tough thing because it’s art that serves a business purpose. In other words, it’s a completely subjective medium that’s carrying a corporate message. The client wants to control that message, the video producer is usually more interested in the story that’s delivering the content.

The trick is for neither party to get so wrapped-up in what they’re doing that they lose sight of the most important piece of the equation. The audience should dictate which direction the video goes… not the client… not the producer.

Whenever there’s competing visions, someone better step-up and ask what’s most important to the audience. They’re the ones you need to consider. After all, it’s their video… not yours.

–Tony Gnau

I often talk and write about un-scripted videos being far more authentic than scripted stories, but I’ve never really gone into “why” they’re more authentic.

The reason is simple. When you allow real people to tell the story, it comes off as much more genuine than if someone sat at a computer and typed it out.

Real people stumble when they talk. Real people talk in run-on sentences. Real people sound like what we listen to in person everyday. When you put those things into a video, it sounds like real life… not some corporate marketing message that’s been tested by focus groups and approved by attorneys.

It sounds… authentic.

–Tony Gnau

Here’s a big reason why I prefer non-scripted videos over scripted… they’re authentic. I know, I know… that’s a term getting overused these days, but I have a different take on it today.

Authentic videos are good for a lot of reasons, but one that’s often overlooked gets right to the heart of why they’re better than scripted videos.

It’s hard to mess-up authenticity. I recently saw a video promoting Chicago’s Ribfest. Now, I LOVE Ribfest. The event is in T60’s neighborhood, and the date is marked on my calendar every year. The video though… I don’t love.

In truth, there’s a lot to like about it. It’s professionally produced, has a clear story, and accomplishes the goal of promoting the event. The problem is it’s a mock movie trailer that’s supposed to be funny… and it isn’t. Mildly amusing… maybe. Funny… no.

I don’t fault Ribfest or the video’s produces. They had an amusing concept and they went for it. The thing is that scripting something great is HARD. Some of the most talented people in Hollywood get paid millions of dollars to produce “funny” and even they fail more than they succeed.

Authenticity… when you have it… it just works.

–Tony Gnau

Surprises are a magical thing. The problem is too many storytellers can’t help themselves and rush into them too quickly.

A good surprise within a story is a great device to reinvigorate interest in your video. Just when the audience thinks they know where the story is going, you zing them with something they’re not expecting.

The key is to build up to the surprise. There’s no rush. The build up actually makes the surprise that much more effective.

It also doesn’t have to be anything earth-shattering. Sure, it’s better if it is something significant, but ultimately anything that’s going to take viewers off-guard is going to work. Whether it’s a piece of video or a tidbit of information.

A good surprise will make your videos much more memorable.

–Tony Gnau