Telling your own story with video – getting people to talk!

To assist clients interested in producing their own video projects, Focal Point Studios continues our series with tips on conducting interviews and the quest of good “sound bites.”

What is a “sound bites?”

It’s a statement that summarizes a thought – a “snippet” gathered during an interview that helps tell a broader story.  The best “sound bites” show emotion.  Viewers relate to them.  They remember them.

Put subjects at ease.

One of the most important parts of the interview takes place before the camera rolls. Establish a good rapport with your subject – help them feel comfortable; make them want to share their story.  “Small talk” about something they enjoy helps serve as a natural transition to the “interview” segment. This isn’t a major movie production – no need to state loudly, “rolling!” when the camera goes on.  Treat it as a casual conversation, rather than a formal – or forced – Q&A session.

Find their passion.

If you know what your subject is most passionate about, get them to elaborate on that topic.  Ask questions that help elicit specific answers, such as:  “What’s the most rewarding part of your work?”  “What do consumers rely on most?”  “Why is [a certain aspect] important to you personally?”  This lets their guard down and helps show emotion.   Emotion engages viewers; engagement moves viewers to action.

Guide your subject; ask them to restate.

“Sound bytes” need to be clear, concise and complete.  Let’s say a CEO is talking a bout his company’s customer service and says, “It’s what sets us apart from our competition and connects us with our customers.”  What sets them apart? Ask him or her to restate the thought using complete sentences.  For editing purposes, this is better: “At [company name], customer service is our top priority.  It gives us a strong connection with our customers and sets us apart from the competition.” Or, if someone rambles during an answer, pick out the part you think will work nicely and ask them to repeat just that part.

Remember that video helps sell – be it a product, service, or concept.  Messaging is purposeful and meaningful; helping craft a message during the interview makes for a simpler editing process and more effective final product!

So you want to tell your own story with video. Where to start?

With today’s user-friendly technology, an increasing number of clients want to produce their own video projects.  Focal Point Studios has decades of professional production, marketing and storytelling experience and we’d like to share a few basics.  Whether your goal is marketing or fundraising, for posting on You Tube or shown in person to small groups, creating an effective message is about telling a good story.

Consider this:
Visuals.  All stories need good visuals.  What will engage viewers and keep them watching?  Video provides a unique opportunity to “show and tell” what’s going on.  If you’re talking about a certain process, the best way to illustrate that is by showing the process.   If a company’s history begins with a sketch of a product on cocktail napkin 50 years ago – find that napkin and show it!  Use narration or interviews to describe what’s on screen and reinforce the message. 

Memorable Moments.  What will viewers “take away” or remember most from the production? This is your chance to be creative.  Look for something unique about your company or its message to showcase.   What makes you stand out among the competition?  Think about how to illustrate that.

Personal Stories.  Use personal accounts to tell a larger story.  Is it someone who benefits from your product or company’s work? The person who founded the company?  Someone whose life was saved through the use of a specialized medical device?   Interviews with key subjects give viewers someone to connect with, bring emotion to a production and help move viewers to action.

Keep it Simple.   In nearly every beginning journalist classes, students learn to “Keep It Simple, S*&^&%!”  Identify your key points, and then stick to them.  The average viewer has a short attention span and limited ability to process too many details. Think of how headlines simplify a newspaper story.  Create three headlines and make them the focus of your production.  Use printed content for additional details.

This is the first in a series. 
Watch for our next newsletter, when we’ll share tips on conducting interviews and getting that perfect “sound byte.”
interviews to describe what’s on screen and reinforce the message. 
details.

Welcome

Welcome to Focal Point Studios and thank you for taking the time to learn more about our business. I would like to take a moment to introduce my company and myself. My name is Brien Richmond, President of Focal Point Studios. We specialize in multimedia production and commercial photography. We are committed to producing engaging images and presentations that inspire and impress our clients as well as their clients and prospects. If you are looking to get noticed Focal Point Studios can help you achieve your goal.

Personally, I have over 25 years of marketing and communications experience combined with a strong business acumen, which provides me with the insight to recognize the value of your marketing message.

During my career, I have had the pleasure of partnering with clients such as; Indiana University, Wiley Publishing, The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, The Indiana Chamber, WISH-TV, Goodwill Industries, Lauth Property Group as well as various other companies on a variety marketing and communications projects.

We pride ourselves on relationships. Focal Point Studios values the business relationship and forms a true partnership with each and every client. This allows us to interact with our clients on a personal level and truly understand their daily challenges and deliver outstanding creative with results.

If you would like to learn more about Focal Point Studios I would be happy to set an appointment and meet with you. Please feel free to contact me directly.

Sincerely,


Brien J. Richmond
President
Focal Point Studios
brichmond@focalpointstudiosllc.com
www.focalpointstudiosllc.com
317.710.6454 direct

Starting Your Day with a Bang!

WOW!  Nothing like a bomb going off in your backyard while pressing a razor to your face in the morning.  While getting ready for my day I heard a rumble that sounded like a delivery truck outside the house.  Paying little attention, I continued to make myself presentable. Then it happened.  Lightning struck the tree in our backyard.  The whole house shook, the lights flashed and the smoke alarms went off for a minute or so.  Seconds later my son comes flying into the room saying “Dad we just got hit by lightning!”  I walked to the back of the house to see what the damage might be.  The backyard was littered with wood fragments and our tree was stripped of all its bark.  I have seen the damage lightning can cause to trees in the past but I have never seen a tree explode like this one did.  Fortunately, the house was not hit directly but it is amazing to me how powerful nature can be.  While the strike did not hit the house directly it did make it’s presence known through the damage caused by the bark flying through screens and putting holes in our siding as well as a number of electronics within the house that were zapped by the power surge.  The tree will need to be removed which is a shame since this tree provides a lot shade for us during the summer.  We will be looking for a replacement tree, however it will be several years before a new tree can deliver the same shade we experienced with this tree.

While I could try to align this story in some way to my business or industry I will refrain from doing so.  I just thought I would share an interesting event in my life this month.

More images of the lightning strike can be viewed @ www.focalpointstudiosllc.com/lightningstrike

Focal Point Clients, Westpoint Financial

Focal Point Studios recently had the opportunity to work with WestPoint Financial Group to produce new marketing images for use on their new web site design.  The new web site is currently being designed and developed by Spinweb and will be launched in the coming months.

Included in the project were several office interiors and executive portraits.  Crew call was at 6:15 am so we were able to capture the WestPoint Financial marquee conference room during the beautiful sunrise presented to us.  We could not of asked for a better morning.  The morning light provided photographer, Brien Richmond with an incredible opportunity to capture some great images.  Marketing Director, Rachel Mahl said “ I can not believe how well the photographs turned out.  Our main conference room looks like an office in New York City and our lobby looks so warm and inviting.”

We would like to thank WestPoint Financial Group for the opportunity and for all their cooperation in the planning and execution of the on-location shoot.

Focal Point Clients, Modernfold, Inc.

What’s in a wall?   A lot more than you may imagine:  think texture, color and
design.   Together with its parent company, Modernfold, Inc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of moveable walls and Focal Point Studios is proud to have had the recent opportunity to work with the company based in Greenfield, Indiana.

Modernfold designs and manufacturers operable partitions, movable glass walls and accordion doors.   Focal Point Studios captured images of its product samples at our studio in Fishers.  The most important part of this shoot was lighting techniques – critical for helping capture texture and color,  carefully making sure that we maintained the correct color balance with both the capture and post production processes.

Modernfold will use the images for its new sales brochure.  It was our honor to work with this global corporation and look forward to the opportunity to expand our services in the future.

Focal Point Clients, Prairie View Golf Club

I could not be more pleased with the opportunities presented to Focal Point Studios in the month of May.  One brought us to Prairie View Golf Club in Camel, Indiana.  Shelley Hendricks, Director of Sales & Marketing asked us to produce a number of marketing images for their new web site, currently under development, and other marketing collateral.

We spent 2 days on location to capture images of their fabulous clubhouse, pro shop and training academy as well as the course itself.  What a great track, challenging and beautiful!  The great thing about Prairie View is the seclusion the course offers.  Being on a beautiful golf course at sunrise and at sunset is a great place to be.  We enjoyed every minute of this shoot. 

Shelley had this to say about her experience with Focal Point Studios.  “In looking for a photographer for our interior, golf course, training academy, etc., I wanted to find someone that would be able to capture more than one feel for many different uses of the photos.  Brien Richmond and Focal Point Studios were able to achieve this.  It’s nice to have a partner for our business that we can trust.”



You can preview the images from the shoot @ www.focalpointstudiosllc.com/prairieviewgallery