Tag Archives: storytelling

It’s easy to lose focus while producing a video. During the shoot you’ll see things you didn’t think of in advance, ideas will flow while creating a script, and all sorts of innovation can take place during editing.

All of those things can go a long way to improving a video, but don’t let them be a distraction either. Every time something new is added to the process, ask yourself something.

How does this further my message? Is this necessary? Does this benefit the audience or is it just for my glory?

Keeping your focus can be a painful process. Leaving out a great shot, killing a terrific sound bite, tightening up the editing… all hard to do.

Focus on the message. Your video will turn out better.

–Tony Gnau

I saw the following video not too long ago on the Facebook page of PR pro Stephanie Krol, and it really caught my attention.

VIDEO: Y-ME Hotline

The Y-Me Hotline is a breast cancer telephone support service. As a video producer, I look at an organization like this and start thinking of the shots we would get. Women with their families, telephone banks, mammogram images… all things that come to mind.

You won’t find any of them in this video, and it still works. When you have a good story, sometimes it can simply stand on its own. Hearing these women talk about their experiences, all the b-roll I mentioned seems pretty trivial.

Now, this isn’t a recommended technique for everyone’s video, but it is a good reminder that if you put the story first your video will turn out well.

–Tony Gnau

Communication is easy… write something down, open your mouth, give someone a dirty look. Everyone is communicating something. The tough part is doing it effectively.

That’s why storytelling is so powerful. Anyone can list facts and figures, but they’re unlikely to grab people on an emotional level. That’s what storytelling can do.

Simply producing a video isn’t good enough. Add storytelling to video and you have a combination that’s really going to grab your audience.

–Tony Gnau

I went to the PRSA Chicago luncheon yesterday and got to hear a terrific presentation by Rob Biesenbach. He’s a PR veteran with acting experience and does a great job of blending insights from the two disciplines.

His book is Act Like You Mean Business: Essential Communication Lessons from Stage and Screen. I haven’t read it yet, but after seeing his program it’s officially on my must-read list.

Some of the themes he touched on for good PR… storytelling, less is more, knowing your audience. Sound familiar? I told my wife afterwards that I felt like I was hearing the T60 blog read back to me, or maybe what I must sound like at client pitches.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the luncheon and I’m excited to start following Rob via social media.

–Tony Gnau

My friend Jeremy Nichols turned me in to the following video. It was produced for the University of Wisconsin… and it’s terrific.

Video: Wisconsin Football Experience

One of the things I try to get through to clients is that you can communicate a lot without saying much. Video is about emotion. If you have great visuals, all you need is music and a storyteller who can weave everything together.

This video is a great example. There’s a little gameday audio, but not much. The rest is well-shot video, music and atmosphere.

You want a corporate video that paints a picture of your business? Don’t get hung-up on the company “script.” The more you script, the more it sounds scripted.

The less you script… the better your video will feel.

–Tony Gnau

I hope everyone had a nice New Year’s celebration, and I thought I’d keep the party going by starting 2012 with a look at a good video.

General Electric has all sorts of stories at its YouTube channel.  This one jumped out as a perfect example of a couple of things I wished more businesses did… highlight employees and give viewers a behind the scenes look at the company.

I love the way the video is about GE but doesn’t reek of self-promotion. It’s about an important job and the people who get it done. Every business with passionate team members can produce this sort of video. You might not build jet engines, but you do something your customers value.

Show them how much you care about your products and/or services by telling your stories.

–Tony Gnau

Great example today of a storyteller versus a corporate video production. Both center around the same story, but they are not created equal.

American Airlines produces a lot of videos for its YouTube channel. Some are clearly done by pros… others… not so much.

On this occasion, they produced something on their annual charity… The Snowball Express. WTVF Newschannel 5 in Nashville also covered the story. What a difference!

WTVF’s story is well-shot, well-edited, and tells an excellent story. The American Airlines version… well… you be the judge. Watch the WTVF story first…

• VIDEO: WTVF-Snowball Express
• VIDEO: American Airlines-Snowball Express

This is a missed opportunity for American. They had the right idea to highlight their charity effort. It’s a wonderful cause, but they fail to tap any emotions.

Shooting and editing some video isn’t good enough. This is a great example of why businesses need to find quality storytellers for their content.

–Tony Gnau

CBS’s Steve Hartman is my favorite features reporter. He also happens to be one of the generous journalists whom I consider a mentor… offering a young reporter all sorts of critiques to improve their storytelling.

Every year Steve follows around Secret Santa. You can see the 2011 story and a few from past years at the following link to cbsnews.com. All of them are AWESOME!

Here’s the thing to keep in mind while you watch them… you have generous people like this working at your company. Whether they donate their time or money, your employees are giving back at this time of year… so help them.

Producing a video that highlights their efforts can help their cause. Your business can share the video with its followers, the employee can share it with their friends, and the benefiting charity can share the video with its supporters.

Today’s video serves as your reminder to spotlight the people doing good at your company.

–Tony Gnau

No Lords ‘o leeping… no maids a milking… and no partridge. Instead, this week you’re going to get T60’s Five Days of Christmas Videos.

Some may be corporate videos, others might not, but the idea behind all of them is to demonstrate how video is about stirring emotions. The holidays provide a perfect example. They tend to stir emotions by themselves, so tapping video as a medium to communicate their stories brings out the best in us producers.

I can’t think of a better video to start with than Brad Houston’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” Brad shot and edited this Emmy award winning TV news story while working at KUSA-TV in Denver. It’s flat-out, one of my favorite stories of all-time. I watch it every December.

I’m not sure what year it was created… certainly pre-911… so probably the late 1990’s. Regardless, this is a timeless example of stirring emotions through video.

–Tony Gnau

Wouldn’t you love a million hits on YouTube!? Of course you would, getting your videos in front of as many people as possible is the goal of many businesses.

Reality check… it probably isn’t going to happen… and you know what? It’s okay. You don’t need to get your videos in front of as many people as possible. You just need to get them in front of the right people. Prospects who are interested in your products or services.

Find that audience, give them quality storytelling, and your videos will do their job… even without a million hits.

–Tony Gnau