how to tell your story through video

So, you want to make a video?

Presentation by:

Travis GilmourDirector of Public MediaAlaska Public Media

Isn't YouTube all cat videos?

"Today I want to lay out a vision for how we can invent our future, a future where public television is serving millions more people with billions more videos. A future where each PBS station is the YouTube of its local community — the dominant video brand every person in town wants to watch, every producer in town wants to shoot for and every business in town wants to support."

Jason Seiken, PBSMay 2012

More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month

Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube

72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute

In 2011, YouTube had more than 1 trillion views or around 140 views for every person on Earth

Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world.

So, where do I get started?

Some types of videos:

The Talking Head.

The Mini Documentary.

Audio Slide Show.

Mini documentary elements.

Main storyline:The interview or other narrative that tells your story. (The talking head)

B-roll:The real life images that give your story life, and connection to the world around it. (Could be photos, video or both)

Elements of successful B-roll:The video you use outside your main interview is your show the story your subject is telling.

In a good video, it can be up to 80% of what you see...

Capturing these visuals – in photo or video – can be overwhelming.

Luckily, there is a simple, 5 shot system you can use to ensure your success!

OK, but I don't have a fancy camera...

Filmic Pro... and many others.

Audio is everything.

www.easyprompter.com

Storytelling vs. Promoting

The first rule of storytelling is: “Show, don't Tell.”

Video is a powerful tool because it allows you to connect with your audience viscerally – potentially activating multiple senses and emotion.

Elements of a good video story.

People care about people.

So many nonprofit people want to talk about programs and services. That's fine, but do it through the story of people: those impacted by programs, a dedicated volunteer... not a list of everything you offer.

Start with a good hook.

It could be an anecdote, or something to get the viewers attention. Maybe something revealing about your subject. This is the thing that builds your character, and makes the viewer want to keep watching.

Answer the question: What is at stake?

If you want people to take action – whether supporting your organization, or simply just finishing your video – you have to give them a reason. If they don't take action, what will happen? Use your mission to inform this.

Be concise.

If your video is longer than 2 - 3 minutes, it's probably too long. Which means that nobody will watch the whole thing. Which means they'll probably forget about it.

There are many moving parts to a video...

Visual:Primary storylineB-rollGraphics

Audio:Radio TrackNatural Sound TrackMusic Track

It can be overwhelming - but, most important is a good story.

Steve Heimel example:

Where did I start? I wrote it:

5 Shot Method

By Andrew Lih & Lam Vo

http://lamthuyvo.com/tips.html

Shot 1

Shot 2

Shot 3

Shot 4

Shot 5

Rule or thirds / eye line.

Interviewing

YouTube Annotations

Town Square 49

Contact me:

Travis Gilmourtgilmour@alaskapublic.org550-8434