Video Brainstorming For Beginners...
Everyone loves a good brainstorm right?
No?
Well whether you like it or not brainstorming is a really important part of the video process.
When done well it ultimately determines the framework, tone, and strategy for your videos.
That’s why it’s critical that the you and your visual content team (be it an internal team, agency or production company) gets on the same page and stays focused, yet creative enough, to accomplish the task at hand.
Over the last twenty something years of making video content all around the world, I’ve noticed that some brainstorming scenarios are vastly more effective than others and create much better results both for creators and clients.
By studying those commonalities of the best of these brainstorming session I have slowly evolved and refined my brainstorming process to the type of video brainstorming process that works best for me.
So today I'm going to share some insights into my brainstorming process and hopefully you will find that these tips work well for you in yours as well.
Step One: Prep the team
No one on your team should enter the brainstorm without at least a little bit of knowledge on the goal(s) and strategy behind the video you are ultimately hoping to create.
Make sure you always distribute a project brief of some kind to anyone attending the brainstorm so no one’s playing catch up.
This doesn't have to be a full brief could be some dot points in an email... A scribble on a white board or a note on the back of a napkin or beer matt.
Having a basic brief will allow you to quickly recap the scope of the project at the beginning of the brainstorm and get to the creative ideas much faster.
Step Two: Put someone in charge
Everyone wants to come to the brainstorm and everyone wants in their own way to lead and drive it... But just like a video set there needs to be a director.
It’s important to designate a brainstorm leader who’s in charge of keeping the ball rolling, recording ideas, and keeping an eye on the clock so they know when it’s time to move on.
This isn’t a dictator who rules the brainstorm with their iron first, but rather someone who coaches and nudges the team along when things get stalled, sidetracked, or if they end up spinning off the rails completely.
By clearly establishing who this person is beforehand, the rest of the group can also focus on letting their biggest business video ideas flow rather than keeping the house in order.
Step Three: Bring an idea to the table
Everyone.
Repeat...
Everyone is responsible for bringing at least one idea to the table.
It doesn't matter how formed the idea is.
It could be a fully developed concept idea, a hook, a character, a seed or germ of something, or even a shot-by-shot remake of Crossroads with Britney Spears.
It’s a lot easier to get everyone involved if the whole team has something to contribute from the start.
Even if you only have a few words for your “idea” that may be enough to spark the creativity of someone else who can make it grow into a keeper.
Step Four: Be prepared to kill your darlings
Once you share your idea with the group, you have to let it spread its wings and fly.
You need to give up ownership of that idea and trust the group to either make it better or put it out of it's misery.
When someone becomes too attached to an idea, they limit its true potential.
This is often one of the most difficult rules to follow because a brand film or corporate video idea seems so clear in your head that you don’t want it to get “ruined” by someone else.
It’s okay to state your full vision of the idea, but you need to let it play out naturally during the brainstorm.
Step Five: Make sure you record the ideas
This probably shouldn't need to be written down because it seems really obvious...
Like a no-brainer in a brainstorm...
But I've seen it happen where people don't write stuff down (in fact I still even see it sometimes today)...
Once you leave the brainstorm...
People can forget real fast what ideas were good and what ideas were not.
It is important to plan out how you’ll get everything down in rapid fire.
Sometimes a few ideas come out at once or take vastly different routes from their inception- so proper and accurate notation is essential.
Someone, or a few people, need to be actively listening and scribbling those amazing video ideas down as quickly as they come out.
Because I don't like to frivolously waste paper I like to use whiteboards or glass windows (so I can have a beautiful mind moment in every brainstorm) for note taking in brainstorms and then just take photos to share afterwards.
You can use giant post-it notes and big chunky markers, so everyone can easily see all the ideas that have been shared but keep in mind you are using a lot of paper via this method.
Step Six: Unplug
It’s crucial to stay focused on the task at hand during brainstorming.
Since it’s so early in the video development process, the work done in this session will determine the next few weeks of work.
All you really need during your brainstorm is the whiteboard or window and some pens.
So no phones, unless you’re the timekeeper who will take a snap of your brainstorm and send it out after the meeting.
And be sure not to bring your laptop, tablet or any other device so that you can step away from your inbox for a while…
Pretty much a brainstorm should be like going on a plane before they had wifi.
STILL NEED MORE HELP?
Reach out to me and the team at APV!
We’d love to talk to you about how you can better brainstorm and develop your video content for your brand, business, organisation or institution and to find out more about the story you are looking to create and share with your audience!
Thomas J Elliott is the Creative Director for APV an advertising agency specialising in video and animation with offices in Wan Chai Hong Kong.
He is a winner of numerous international awards for video and animation and the author of five books on visual content.
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