The Client's Survival Guide to Corporate Video Storytelling

"I've been charged to produce a video for my company and I just wish I had a guide to help me tell our corporate video story."

I've had many conversations, both on-line and off-line, about this problem.

Producing a video is not something many people do frequently or even on a regular basis. So they feel ill-prepared to take on a video project. Unfortunately, this creates a "gap" between "what I need to create" and "how do I start creating what I need?"

Bridging that gap can be frustrating and challenging without proper help.

The Corporate Video Manifesto for Clients

My 24 page "mini-survival guide" for clients is meant to change that. It's like your own "handbook" to help you think about telling your story through video. It is a call to action; a point of view. There are concepts to ponder; answers to commonly asked questions. It is NOT a "how-to" guide.

The manifesto, "Bring Your Brand to Life: Harnessing the Power of Remarkable Corporate Video Stories to Ignite Conversations and Spark Action," is published under the ChangeThis flagship as a free download.

Over the past year, so many readers and clients requested that I publish this short guide; perhaps a "best of" from this site. So here it is. A montage, so to speak, combining popular and relevant posts; edited, cleaned up and assembled into one handy place for easy reference.

Conversations about your video start as soon as it ends.

• What happens in those few seconds when your video fades to black?

• Is someone seeing the world differently because of your story?

• Does your video story make a difference?

Ultimately, corporate videos can:

• Provide a "voice for the voiceless."

• Enlighten people who are touched by an organization in some way.

• Peak into the soul of an organization through its own employees storytellers.

Here's a sampling of titles in the manifesto:

• 5 Myths of Corporate Videos

• 10 Reasons Why Corporate Videos Matter

• "Hey! How Much is a Pound of That Video?"

• 5 Laws of a Remarkable Video

• What is a Corporate Video Edit Session Like?

...and more.

If you love manifestos, you'll love ChangeThis.

Spreading Ideas with Manifestos

What's different about ChangeThis is they facilitate the spreading of important issues. The original ChangeThis manifesto and concept came from Seth Godin.

Each month, several manifestos from amazing authors are posted as free downloads.

I hope you will find the "Bring Your Brand to Life" manifesto helpful. ChangeThis is about spreading ideas. So if you know someone who could benefit from reading the manifesto...

Share it. Post it. Give it away.

I would love your feedback on this manifesto. Write me. Tell me your thoughts. What did you like? What didn't you like? What did I miss that you would you have liked to read about?

Thanks for the push. Now about that book --cough--I need to start writing...

---Tom

The Client Corporate Video Manifesto

Deconstructing a Corporate Video

My dear friend and long time supporter of this site, Christian Long at think:lab, got me fired-up to reveal the three biggest challenges I faced while producing and directing these two award-winning corporate videos dealing with epilepsy for the teen market.

Many of you have written me wanting to know what goes through my mind as a director while producing and directing corporate videos. While there are dozens of important decisions to make throughout the life of any video, I hope that this post will give you a glimpse on how a few decisions were made to tell a corporate video story.

Challenge #1: "What are we trying to fix? What is at stake?"

Solution: Turn myths into facts.

One of the biggest challenges in starting any corporate video is isolating the problem or issue at hand. A question I'll often ask to get the ball rolling is: "Why do you want to produce a video?" In other words, "In a perfect world, what do you want the video to do?" While video is an incredibly powerful and emotional medium, it does have its limitations. Matching the issues at hand with the emotional power of video is the first critical step in determining what shape, style and tone the corporate video story will take.

--What are we fixing? Correcting decades of misconceptions about epilepsy was the biggest issue for us to tackle.
--What is at stake? Perpetuating the years of ill-guided and unkind treatment towards those with epilepsy.

Challenge #2: "How do we produce two cool, hip and entertaining epilepsy videos for the teen market while educating them and correcting the myths surrounding epilepsy?"

Solution: Create an emotional connection through peer identification.

The "Take Charge of the Facts" video is more educational and medical in nature. As a documentary filmmaker, I am naturally inclined to interview people to tell their story. This video was a different situation. I had to make sure we got the right information out in the right way. Depending upon "real people" interviews would not work. Hmmm...what to do?

Go "Green."
After much thought, I went with the green-screen effect (think Matrix.) We casted 48 actors. Hired two. This accomplished several things in one shot:
1. A teen audience could quickly connect with the actors (who I directed NOT to act.)
2. The message could be crafted in a "hip" way without a TelePrompTer; there was plenty of room for fun ad-libbing by the young actors, while still retaining and delivering the important information.
3. The green-screen effect gave me lots of creative freedom to create any cool graphic background I wanted; I could use words, animated designs, strengthen branding, etc. It created a "virtual" place or "world" the actors lived in; it was their "home."

After the filming.
During the edit process, one of my most commonly used "secrets" to sustain viewer attention is to select music and change it up every 30 seconds. This creates a feeling of continuous movement...not a moment is given up to make you lose interest. Also, intense graphic design and carefully chosen language from my long-time scriptwriter produced the right effect to keep the audience engaged, informed and entertained.

Challenge #3: "How do I show first aid for someone having a seizure?"

Solution: Slow it down!

This took a long time to resolve. I went through every possible scenario; actors, real teens, clinical footage, re-creations. In the end, I used a blend of two actors and a teen "hero" from the second epilepsy video, the documentary "Out of the Shadows."

I taped two first aid seizure scenes in "slo-motion." We actually walked through two "fake" seizures and described what to do if someone sees a person having a seizure. Then in editing, we reinforced the first aid message by inter-cutting full-frame graphics into the first aid scenes. It worked like a charm.

A new story is told.

I hope that this has given you some insight towards understanding how corporate videos can be emotional, entertaining, meaningful and inspiring.

These two films have changed my life in many ways. I can only hope and dream that these videos transform the lives of those who watch them.

---Tom

Deconstructing a Corporate Video

5 Myths of Corporate Videos

What Your Marketing Department Never Told You About Corporate Videos

Corporate videos are here to stay. Agreed? Good.

Every industry has myths surrounding it. The world of corporate video is no exception. Let's go behind the "curtain of Oz" and dispel some fictional tales that will, ultimately, help you to create the inspiring and authentic video your organization deserves.

The 5 Myths of Corporate Videos

Myth #1: My corporate video has to look boring like everybody else's.

You've seen them. I've seen them. Boring and poorly produced videos have pervaded the corporate landscape for years. Why? Two reasons; money and poor storytelling.

Fact: The mini-documentary format powered by genuine and honest human interest stories produces amazing and compelling corporate videos anybody anywhere will enjoy watching...oh, yeah, and talk about.

Myth #2: We don't need a scriptwriter.

Don't try this at home, folks. Saving a few dollars by having a "writer" (i.e. someone who does not write for the eye and ear) craft a television script is not worth the aggravation in the long run. Save now. Pay later.

Fact: A seasoned scriptwriter can craft the most compelling story given all the demands of production (filming schedule, on-location logistics, unearthing the best story, budget constraints, corporate politics, etc.) A writer who does not understand the production process can ultimately be a costly proposition.

Myth #3: Our CEO needs to be in the video.

Nope. Of course, there are times when it will be necessary for executive management to appear on-camera, but not often.

Fact: Not every CEO can tell a great story and come across as "camera-friendly." Your audience, in most cases, would rather see and hear stories from "the field;" their peers. Creating emotional connections with your audience is one of the biggest gaps to cross in producing a successful corporate video.

Myth #4: All interviews need to look 20 years old.

For years, lifeless executive interviews were combined with uninspiring cinematography to become the lifeblood of corporate videos. It was easy, it was quick and it required little imagination.

Fact: In most cases, you can capture an emotionally engaging interview with dramatic eye-catching cinematography in about the same amount of time as it takes to set-up and film a stale and tired looking interview.

Myth #5: Corporate videos cost $1,000 a minute.

Wrong. Again. D'oh! How long has this been going around? I've been hearing this for over 20 years and the dollar amount hasn't changed a penny!

Fact: Every single corporate video is hand-crafted. From scratch. So is every video budget. It's hand-crafted, too. No exceptions.

Creating a corporate video that gets conversations started can fun, exciting, and most importantly, life-changing.

Producing an engaging corporate video isn't really all that difficult. What's difficult is showing your video nobody cares about.

---Tom

P.S. Have a corporate video myth you'd like to share with me? Drop me a note.

5 Myths of Corporate Videos