Make Video Work

What is the one thing without which a video doesn’t work?  

Story, story, story!  

Fancy graphics, the hottest music and half-naked women (or fully, we don’t judge) – these are all secondary to story.  Story existed far before technology and modern marketing came along, and story will continue to exist long after the aliens have destroyed all of our electronics.

Video Production is an industry so entrenched in technology, so beholden to the cutting edge, that it is very easy to lose sight of what makes the medium the most powerful and pervasive in the world.  Both production companies and clients can get fooled and distracted by the latest trends and most expensive equipment, in effect sacrificing function at the alter of form.

Walter Murch, a prolific, award-winning film editor once said, “the key to everything we do is story…the defining thing about human beings is that we create stories, and if there is to be any hope for the future we must find the right stories to tell.”

A great promotional video, while perhaps poetically and philosophically less glamorous, is no different than an Oscar-winning feature film – it should tell the story of your brand, your company, your product or your organization.

What Is Story?
Think about the last film you saw.  If someone were to ask you about it, what are you going to tell them?  Sure, the explosions and car chases were awesome and certainly worth mentioning, but chances are the thing you’re going to spend the most time on is the story!

What actually happened in the movie – that’s what interesting.  Characters did something; the "what" and the "why" made us feel something.  It‘s that emotional connection that makes movies memorable.

“That’s all fine and good,” you say.  “But I’m not trying to make the next Pixar flick.  How does this apply to promotional and fundraising videos?”

To answer this question, let’s use another thought-experiment.  You’re at a networking event – like, say, one hosted by a fellow Biznik member – and someone hands you a business card.  But this…this is the fanciest card you’ve ever seen in your life.  Everything about it is so groundbreaking and unbelievable that you momentarily go blind and forget your own name.  As the paramedics stand over you, coaxing you back into consciousness, the only thing you can think is that you must work with the person who made it.

The next day you sit down to call The Person With The Amazing Card.  But there’s a problem.  The card doesn’t have a phone number on it anywhere.  

That’s the equivalent of a video without a story.  You might be able to make an initial impression on people, but the video won’t have a long-tail impact – it won’t continue to work for you after it’s aired.  When a viewer goes home and is asked about it, they won’t have any substance to discuss.  People will walk away from the water cooler.  People won’t call.  Three weeks after they’ve seen your video, your viewers won’t be caught off-guard halfway through their morning shower thinking about you, your product or your service.  

It doesn’t really matter what you’re selling or trying to accomplish, story is what will connect people with your goal.  

Telling Your Story
If you're trying to raise money for a non-profit, a great way to do this would be to tell the story of how the organization has changed people’s lives and the impact it has made on a community.  Alternatively, you could tell the individual stories of those who have been impacted.  One has a larger scope while the other is very personal, but they can both be equally effective.  You just have to match the story to your target audience.

If you’re trying to sell a product or service, the story is probably how it can change people’s lives, how people need what you have.  Infomercials have been doing this very transparently and bluntly for years.  How do a lot of infomercials start out?  Usually with an image of an Everyperson trying to accomplish a task, with a booming voice that says “Do you have trouble finding your keys?” or “Do you wish there were a better way to cut tomatoes?”  

They’re easy to make fun of, sure, but that’s mostly because of the bad acting and questionable billing practices (5 easy payments of how much?) – but they work because they’re trying to connect you with a story where the product or service saves the day.  The Everyperson, just like you, is struggling to get that stain out of the carpet to no avail!  Thank God for OxiClean.

Should all videos be as obvious as an infomercial?  Absolutely not.  But can we all learn a little something from Ron Popeil?  Probably.

Let’s think of this one other way before we move on.  Apple's products usually get quite a bit of buzz before they’re even released, but it’s not until Steve Jobs gets in front of a crowd that the general public suddenly takes interest.  This is because Mr. Jobs is a master storyteller.  

He sits the audience down and spins a yarn about a market space, about how Apple fits in that space, about how only Apple could come up with The True Revolutionary Idea, and about what features would be ideal – features that will change your life.  And then BAM!  It is only after that setup, that story, that he announces what the product actually is.  People may lust after the sexy photos they put on their website, but they actually buy the products because of the story they’re told.

Once a story is told, the only thing left for a video to do is posit a call to action.  Connect with your target audience using stories, then convert that emotional resonance into a sale or donation with the call to action.  Donate now!  Call us!  Visit our website!  Operators are standing by…

Why Does Story Matter?
Dr. Paul MacLean, M.D., former head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology at the National Institute of Mental Health, devised a model of the brain called the triune brain.  Basically, his theory states that the human brain is composed of three parts: the R-complex, the limbic system and the neo-cortex.  Very simply put, the R-complex controls the most basic life-preserving instincts like hunger, thirst, sex and fear.  Surrounding the reptilian R-complex is the limbic system, where we feel emotion.  Wrapped around that part is the neo-cortex.  It is the neo-cortex that essentially sets humans apart from other mammals, as it gives us logic, reason, language and sapience.

But these three brains – instinctual, emotional and rational – don’t always cooperate.  Dr. MacLean, in an article for the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, allegorically wrote: “when a psychiatrist bids the patient to lie on the couch, he is asking him to stretch out alongside a horse and a crocodile.”  Between the human, equine and reptilian brains, sometimes one takes over or otherwise silences the other two.  Sometimes they each have different goals.  Sometimes they are at all-out war with one another.  Different languages, essentially, have to be spoken in order to communicate with each one.

But there is a key – a Rosetta Stone – that can unite the R-complex, the limbic system and the neo-cortex.  And that’s story.  The reason, in fact, that stories can elevate to the level of myth is because they can crack and satiate all three brains.

Another quote from master film editor Walter Murch: “because [video] is the medium of all mediums and instantly hits us in the solar plexus with the image and the sound, it can speak directly to the instinct.  How the images are arranged can speak directly to the emotions.  The sum-total of it all – how the story tells itself – can speak directly to the logic.”

The End…They Lived Happily Ever After
So what does it all mean?  Now that we know important stories are, how do we put them to use?

When you are designing a video, or when you’re talking to a production company about a video project, you just need to start with two things:  

1. Design a story for your target audience
2. Once your viewers are emotionally connected with that story, call them to action.

And then?  Your product/service will sell and you will make lots of money or people will be so moved by your non-profit's work that they give themselves whiplash writing a check...at least, that's the theory.

So, what's the moral of this story? Don’t get caught up with complicated effects or fancy graphics when that's not necessarily what you need.

Remember, sometimes the best stories are the ones simply told. Find a production company that will help you craft your story and tell it in the best possible way.

And that, as they say, is all she wrote.