Humanizing your video stories

How do you tell a good story on video?

It’s a simple enough question — but with a medium that seems to require a hundred different choices about everything from concept to length to casting.

It’s easy to get bogged down before you’ve even started.

We get really obsessed by detail: what's the camera? What's the grade? What sound design do we need on this?

But we don't talk about why we should care. How's it going to make me feel?

Here are a few tips...

Tap into basic human instincts

All stories start with something large.

Love. Hate. Greed. Surprise. Anxiety. A funny moment.

You need conflict.

You need a point at which there is an emotional change.

If you've got a situation or character, and they are feeling a particular way, something needs to happen to change their emotional state. That is live action. If there is a strong enough emotional change, your audience will feel connected and interested, because it's a shock.

To get there, go back to basics.

Look at the brand's brief, look at the situation and think in emotional terms. How can we communicate with the specific audience that we're looking to talk to?

What this means in principle is boiling it down to a key idea or feeling. When you’re working with a brand, you need to understand who they’re appealing to.

If you've got an Adidas commercial, it's unlikely that it's going to feature two pensioners talking at a table.

The tone and the world of the brand immediately gives you a steer.

After that, ask further simple questions.

What genre is this? Comedy? Horror? A realistic slice of life?

Don't go deep until you've got the big top lines. Stick with creative development that feels real and has a big idea. You shouldn't have to explain it when you come to pitch your idea to the client or the creative director.

Draw on the real experiences of real people

People, emotion, connectivity.

What does this mean in practice?

Really, it’s about just being empathetic. After you’ve agreed on your core emotions and tone, it’s time to make it meaningful.

To create good video content, what you need to do is understand people.

This is less about being a storyteller than it is about being a perceptive person who knows what makes others tick.

Speaking to people with diverse experiences and understanding their point of view is one of the best ways to create content that will resonate.

Mirror how an experience feels

The real challenge is to capture the experience around why we feel certain emotions in a way that will resonate.

The way people connect is if the character behaves in a certain way that is relatable.

The story must feel multi-layered; we don't just say ‘I feel angry.’ The interesting question is: why do you feel like that?”

It’s all about reaching for the feel of that feeling.

Tap into highly emotional milestones that may feel nostalgic.

Here’s an example of Bose’s ‘Bliss’ adverts, which center on moments of real feeling connected to music.

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Shot one...

There’s the silhouette of a teenage boy walking down a high school corridor with the music of the dance playing in the background. Perfect.

Shot two...

They cycle their bike home in the fading light.

Shot three...

They're wearing headphones, they start to smile.

And you see that they have a lipstick mark on their cheek. And I can't remember what the strap line is. But that moment is done.

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As video marketing continues to grow, you don’t want to just add more video noise to the world. Instead, create a video you can be proud of, one your audience will love to watch and share, and one that’ll convert into sales.

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Need help?

If your business hasn’t capitalized on video storytelling, or not sure where to start, get in touch.

Source: D&AD