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How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck

Intrigue In Action

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06 May 2013

1 Comment

Following up on last week’s post, my friend (and storytelling/marketing expert) Andy Goodman sent me this spot and the message “Get a tissue before you watch.”  It’s powerful, emotional and beautifully done.

It’s also a brilliant model for creating intrigue.  The film pulls viewers in by getting us to play two different guessing games as we watch.

The first game is “What am I seeing?” We’re shown a face that intrigues us, but we don’t know who it is.  We wonder, trying to make sense of each headline as the video gives us more clues– and then, finally tells us who we’re looking at.

The second game is “What is the whole piece telling me?”  By drawing us into game 1, the filmmakers intrigue us enough to play game 2. Now the succession of faces, identities and unrealized futures ignite our imaginations and raise another question: what do the faces have in common?  Why are the filmmakers asking me to imagine this?

At the end, the video answers our questions.  But by raising questions instead of telling us everything up front, we’ve been intrigued from the very start.  To really understand the power of intrigue, think how much weaker this piece would be if it presented it’s final message in the first frame:  “The Anti-Defamation League says we should hate less.”  Duh.

But by brilliantly intriguing us, by making our brains work and feel real emotion, the filmmakers have involved us in a video we won’t easily forget.

 

Intrigue is the Currency of Modern Entertainment

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29 Apr 2013

Comments

Intrigue is the currency of modern entertainment.  It’s the art of making people want to find out more.

Skillful storytellers don’t get you to turn page after page by telling you what happens next.  They intrigue you– they get you to turn the page by making you wonder what happens next.  That act of wondering– of needing to know– is what makes you stay with the story.

And so it is with all video.  Intrigue keeps you tuned in.  A commercial or sales video can’t just tell you about the product.  If I open my video about, say, my really cool book with a 2 minute explanation of why you should buy it, you’ll be gone in 10 seconds.  But if I show you tips you can actually use right now to shoot better video, you’ll be intrigued enough to stick around.  And you’ll come to your own conclusions about the book’s worth.

In this Anchor Brewing Company video (from a series we created and produced with our partners at Redtail Media), the whole “plot” is intrigue– you have no idea what the characters are doing until the very end.  That intrigue keeps you wondering…and learning about Anchor Small Beer.

How can you raise questions and add intrigue to your next video?

Want a great way to teach people video at your school or workplace?  Download a free copy of my Video Bootcamp for Teachers and Trainers!  Did I mention it was free?

Target Audience: Who is Your Video For?

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22 Apr 2013

2 Comments

This was the first “all-music” video that I’ve done for Pie Academy– “How to Make a Crostata”.  I usually just blab away – do this, do that – but it was fun, for a change, to tell the story visually, minus the blab.

I really want my videos to not suck so any helpful tips are appreciated.  Just remember that even though I’m 6’5″ I still cry easily.

–Ken Haedrich, Dean of The Pie Academy

The video looks really great.  Nicely edited. It made me hungry. To really critique it, though, I have to know who your target audience is.  It’s hard to tell, which I guess (don’t cry!) is a critique in itself.

In describing your video, you talk about YOUR needs, rather than an audience’s. Do you see it as an exercise (like this one)?  If so– awesome!  You’re the target audience, you liked it, case closed.

But if it’s for others to watch–Pie Academy visitors, maybe– knowing your target audience might cause you to do the video a little differently.  To show you what I mean, let’s look at possible target audiences and how different versions of the video might satisfy each:

Crostata Makers:  If you were targeting fans of the crostata, people who want to make one right now, you might add back narration, so they can follow along.  You might slow down on the complicated stuff, and  refer us to the recipe so we can read as we go.

People interested in learning advanced techniques:  For this version of the video, you might pick one thing– rolling out crust, say, and focus on it in a short intensive.  The video might only be 45 seconds long and called something like How to Roll out a Crostata Crust  (can you tell I got an “A” in titling in college?)

Total Pie Newbies:  In this version, you might explain what a crostata is and why they should love it.  Then focus on one or two key crostata techniques that apply to all pies.  A video for this target audience might also pitch other videos to help build audience for Pie Academy.

Three approaches to the same material (and there could be many more), but all come from the way you choose your target audience.  Your shooting, editing– and web posting– decisions are a little different for each.  By aiming at a clear target, you’ll know how well you’ve succeeded.

Video Boot Camp Lesson Guide– Free Download!

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18 Apr 2013

Comments

Video Boot Camp Lesson Guide

Video Boot Camp Guide for Teachers and Trainers. Download Free!

It’s the end of the school year.  Which means end of the year projects– shot on video.  And hours of misery for viewers.  If only there was a way to make student video better.  Hmmmmm….

Wait– I’ve got it!  How about this free 5 hour lesson plan to help your students do better video?  Teachers and trainers have been downloading it in droves, and why not?  It’s free!  Nothing to buy, no email address to leave.

If you’re a teacher or trainer, or know one, check it out.  And if you HAVE used the Video Boot Camp lesson guide in your classroom how’d you do?

 

Click this link to download the Video Bootcamp PDF.

And please feel free to share the link– or download and email directly to your favorite teacher!

 Teachers:  Questions on how to use video in the classroom?  Ask them here!

For Video that’s Relatable, Tell Specific Stories

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08 Apr 2013

Comments

I am starting a video to show on my son’s bar mitzvah. The video will play at a brunch with approximately 200 people, but I worry that the main audience– the ones who will love the video and will be truly entertained– are only the closer family members.

So who is my audience? I can do a beautiful video of my son’s life that can be entertaining, inspiring and loved by 20 people, but how do I make it entertaining for 200 guests? Do I make two videos, one for each audience?

–Isaac

Great question, Isaac.  And one that comes up at weddings, graduation parties, and first communions, since all gatherings today seem to have a mandatory video moment.  Not a bad thing when the video is fun.  An opportunity to duck over to the bar when it’s not.

You’re right to be sensitive to the target audience. “Who is this video for?” is the very first question you should always consider.  The answer here is easy, since you never want to do a video 90% of the people in the room watching will hate.  Unless you’re hiring a lot of extra bartenders,  the whole crowd is your target audience.

This sounds counter-intuitive, but the key to general acceptance is being very specific about the stories you tell.  While only the most fiercely devoted great aunt will tolerate interminable soft-focus montages of baby picture after baby picture after baby picture, everyone in the room loves a great story.

If you tell a specific story about your son’s special relationship with his Grandma who taught him to make chocolate chip cookies, we’ll all relate to it because we had a grandma too.  If you show video of him telling the camera where babies come from on the eve of his sister’s birth when he was 5, we’ll all find it funny or touching because it will remind us of our kids.  If you have that video of him nursing a baby hummingbird with his mom when he was 8, we’ll all get choked up when it flies away because we tried to help an animal once too.

These specific stories make us feel something from our own lives, our own experiences. That makes them as entertaining as any TV show or movie.  If you don’t have video from back in the day, you can interview your daughter about the Thanksgiving the dog stole the turkey and your son chased him down the street to get it back.  Use more interviews, plus the photos and videos you do have, to support the tale.  Great stories = great video, every time.

My final advice:  keep it short.  You may think you need a 10 minute video.  You don’t.  Even four minutes may be too long.  You can always post the extended version on YouTube– with even more baby pictures– for the 20 relatives who want more.