Show and Tell (but how much of each?)

Asked to give feedback on a draft Kickstarter video, I told the producer:

SHOW everything you can and only TELL the essentials that you can't.

This was always a good rule in TV News, but it's never been more vital in the mobile age. Video on your phone is a pain. It can be slow and expensive, we often watch while doing something else and listen in noisy environments. 

So if you're making video for a mobile audience (hint: that's everyone except your Grandma these days), as yourself these questions:

How could you make it shorter? Anything over 6o seconds is a big ask. Take a red pen to your script and strike out any words you don't absolutely need.

What's the heart of your message? And how can you get it across in the first ten seconds? Because that might be all you get before we swipe.

Does it work in a noisy environment? Can you use on-screen graphics to hammer home your key points? Is your voice REALLY clear and your script REALLY simple? Should you even be using music?

It's always better to show than to tell, so get some good video of your product/prototype in action and let those pictures do the talking. Your script only needs to fill in the gaps with context, such as price, company history and suchlike. You don't need super-high production values: just keep it well-lit and in focus (for proof, revisit the early days of BlendTech's Will it Blend? videos).