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.