How do you create clear and creative video stories?

I always start with a reason to create the video - I research what is already out there, and I think about ways I can make my content better by being more accessible, or more up-to-date. I also read comments to see what people want to know more about. You have to decide what value you are giving to your audience too - are you looking to entertain, inspire, inform or educate them? This is your main purpose.

What story are you trying to tell? We are storytellers by nature. It’s how we connect with an audience. No matter if we’re selling a product, delivering a message or promoting a cause.

"Clear" always comes before "creative". If you feel like those two are conflicting, maybe you're just not using creative methods right. Because after all, creativity serves for delivery of the message (aka clarity).

Digital platforms often require shorter, more focused video content due to time constraints and viewer attention spans. While the traditional three-act structure offers a coherent narrative, it may not be practical for quick clips or social media posts. In such cases, prioritize delivering a strong message or call-to-action rather than attempting to fit in a full setup, conflict, and resolution.

Three-act structure can be changed and reversed to serve your needs better. For example, this is what we do in news: a typical news video often starts with a climax because that is news and we want to give it to our audience first. On a day when the war has started, news videos don't begin with a setup such as "once upon a time, there were two nations with a century-long territorial dispute". News videos would start from a climax, which would be: "a country A has started a war against a country B". Then, news videos would probably come back to the setup telling you the background of the conflict. And most probably, they will drop the resolution because in reality it hasn't happened yet.

Always plan a shot list for your shoot days as well. Film shoots can be a fast pace high stress environment and many time we don't have as many hands-on board to be able to focus 100% on the shots. Creating documents such as a shot list that allows you to be organized and stay on top of what you need to capture can give you peace of mind. You don't want to realise you forgot to capture a necessary shot during the edit, that's a terrible feeling to go through.

Involve your client on this process as well. Otherwise they might catch you by surprise during revisions. Make sure your first draft looks great. Many people are being lazy with their first drafts today and you want to stand out. Learn color grading and sounds design, they are the two things that will help you massively to level-up the production value of your videos.

You want to test your video with your audience, and get feedback from family and friends at every possible stage of production before you publish the video. This can ensure all your hard work is worth it on release day!