Using The Hero’s Journey As A Guide This is a 2 part post about using the Hero’s Journey as a guide to become a better storytelling. The Hero’s Journey is a model for creating a stories that is often used to create compelling story lines. It can be a pattern as well as many myths from different cultures throughout history. It isn’t the only method to tell a narrative but, as it has a very ancient lineage; stories based on this model seem to be especially satisfying. Let’s check out the first 6 Steps in the hero’s journey: The Ordinary World Since the target audience usually experiences the Journey over the Hero’s eyes, we have to be able to relate with him. The Ordinary World offers us the chance to identify with the Hero’s urges, drives, as well as problems,…
Break Through The Clutter With A Specific Target Market A big drawback to the myriad information available on the Internet these days is that the majority of markets are saturated to the point where the competition is so high it’s difficult to break in unless your marketing very clearly stands apart. This is why we recommend the use of video, and more specifically videos that target a very specific niche or target market. While one solution that is always crucial in any type of marketing is to develop unique and creative content, another way to get around the crush of marketers out there is to find a little-known yet high-demand niche and cater to it. Don’t limit your marketing, raise the bar Often when marketers hear the word ‘niche’ they get a bit antsy; indeed, a ‘niche’ is often…
Video Marketing is no longer an option Over the past several years, consumers have become more and more inclined to watch videos online and as a result, video marketing has become both an effective and popular way of marketing to consumers. Many companies are finding that video marketing is no longer an option for them, rather it is an essential marketing tool that customers expect them to use; if you’re just beginning with video marketing, here are a few quick tips to help you reach out to your market with more effective communication and a higher possibility for success. Use powerful hooks to attract and retain your audience The titles you use, as well as the first bit of copy in your video or sales letter are called ‘hooks.” Hooks should be specifically designed to entice potential clients into obtaining further…
Storytelling videos evoke emotion and encourage engagement Video content is quickly becoming one of the most popular new ways to market products and brands online. There are many companies that are jumping onto this bandwagon and producing advertising and marketing content that showcases and demonstrates some of the products that they have available in their inventory. However, some of the most popular and engaging videos that have had success on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and other video sharing platforms involve the use of detailed storytelling to generate interest and evoke emotion. Make it more likely to remember your message Storytelling in video content is one of the best ways that you can create a memorable experience for the user. When you create a memorable experience that’s engaging and that actually connects with someone who is watching your video, this increases…
“After the third time this actor approached me, I decided I would never cast him again.” “I got a real inside peek into what this actor was really thinking. She forgot she was still mic’d and I was wearing my headsets.” “This actor was extremely talented. But he hosed me in post with his performance.” These are thoughts of a working film director. You can learn to save time, money and heartache in post, while cementing your reputation as a seasoned, veteran actor. Announcing a new workshop for Acting: A Director’s POV! Join us Saturday April 12, 2014 for a 3 1/2 hours, hands-on workshop, from a director to an actor. Register here. Daniel Millican, writer/director for five feature films has worked with Adam Baldwin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Sean Patrick Flanery, Joey Lauren Adams, Mimi Rogers and more. On casting…
Although it’s a fairly new technology, social media has quickly become one of the best places for people to share stories, life experiences, and pictures, and keep in touch with friends and family. Since most social media websites usually have thousands or even millions of people at the same time online, they are the perfect place for businesses to expand their client base and draw traffic to their website through the use of video. Using video and having a solid video marketing strategy will help your company become an industry leader. Video usually encourages people to share and has a multiplying effect when their friends can also see it and find out about the product or service that is covered in the video. Videos are much more likely to go viral through social media While pictures and text also tend…
Construction and Industrial Longterm Timelapse Video Production Lately, we’ve had a lot of calls from our construction and industrial clients to provide long term timelapse for projects that are going on. So here’s a primer on what timelapse video is and how we break it down. First, let’s define timelapse. Video runs at 24 or 30 frames (pictures, if you will, I don’t want to get into interlace or progressive discussion) a second. What time lapse does is to take one picture every so often, then you combine them into a video, which plays back each picture at 1/30th (or 1/24th) of a second. Interval – this is the length of time between the taking of a picture. The longer the interval, the *faster* the video will play. So if you’ve got a one month timelapse that you take one…
We’ve just come off of our client’s annual convention, held at a large hotel in the Washington DC area. Over the five days of the convention, we shot a lot of video, recorded the speakers in multi-cam, and did on-site editing to play back video as it was happening nearly live. But one thing we did was started months before. And that was creating video “packages” for playback during the conference. The term “package” comes from the broadcast world and refers to pre-produced video stories usually used in live event to highlight an upcoming act, highlight what was happening backstage or what transpired earlier. You see this a lot in the live portions of performance shows like American Idol or America’s Got Talent. You’ve seen them a hundred times– the video of the artist explaining why they chose this song,…
As we’ve been brought on to shoot a lot of different construction and industrial projects that are large in scope, we’ve had the opportunity to really dive into shooting time lapse. Timelapse photography is the use of cameras to take a series of “stills” that when played back at 24 frames or 30 frames a second, creates a “fast-forward” video effect. Because they are only stills, not officially video, just about any camera can be used for timelapse. And with the quality increase in cameras, the stills are usually a much higher quality than if it was shot at video. It’s really a matter of math: A high def video picture size might be 1920 by 1080 pixels or lines. A still might be 5000 by 3000. So you can shoot wide and zoom in potentially without any quality loss….
Today, businesses and corporations are seeing the power that comes from a viral video campaign. With sometimes minimal financial effort, companies can reach millions without spending millions. There’s only one problem– a successful viral campaign can’t really be guaranteed. You can spend the money and inflate the numbers somewhat, but at the end of the day, successful viral videos can be categorized into three styles and have one thing in common– compelling content. Let’s define “compelling” in today’s computer age. In a viral video campaign, the word means that a user readily and eagerly clicks the “play” button and more importantly, then clicks the “share” button. This is what “compelling” means. The audience is compelled to watch and share. So for companies that feel it imperative to take a company powerpoint and turn it into a viral campaign often miss…
