”So, you want to shoot a video. If you’ve got a phone then you’ve got a camera but is that enough ? Well, there are some other elements to consider when it comes to wowing your customers.
Daryl MoorhouseMD, Tinpot Productions
Throughout history, great inventions have enabled writers, artists and all types of creative people to ply their trade more easily.
The typewriter, electric guitar and the camera phone are but 3 examples. These were new tools which afforded people new technical and creative possibilities. Like any other tools, they were only as good as the person who operated them.
A typewriter wouldn’t have helped William Shakespeare fix a tricky plot point. An electric guitar only amplifies bad playing if you don’t know your chords. And, in the modern age, a smartphone won’t turn Martin O’Reilly into Martin Scorscese.
These tools helped people to better express great ideas, but they weren’t much use if the idea wasn’t good in the first place.
Craft is the skill that makes the difference. Without it, all the technology in the world won’t polish a proverbial turd.In the case of video, that craft doesn’t start on the day of shooting.
It starts on Day 01 of a project and finishes on delivery. Crafting our video is not just about deciding what’s in the frame. It’s about lots of other things
The over-riding idea that binds everything together. It could be sketched on the back of an envelope or just a notion in the producers mind. Either way, it should be explainable, clear and concise.
This is where the skeleton of the concept gets some flesh and bones. The script puts detail and structure around a concept and gives an initial understanding of how the vision of the concept might be realised.
This is where pen meets picture. Dialogues, cues and actions are transformed into basic visual frames, so that everyone can start to get a sense of how the final piece might look.
Lots of it – depending on the complexity of the project. Shot lists, location recces, hair and make up, casting, catering, actor contracts, sound considerations, transport etc. The key to video success is usually buried in the devil of the detail.
Why Do You Want To Make Video ? Don’t do video because you feel you need to or because everybody else is doing it. Disappointment will surely follow.
Do it because you have something to say and you believe people will want to hear it. If you don’t have something to say, Spend More Time Thinking
If you’re planning on shooting your own video your smartphone is a potential option and a more than capable tool. However, as you’ve seen, creating great content that resonates requires more than the mastery of technical tools.
If you’re thinking through the prism of your audience and success is your goal then you need to consider all the other elements which need to align to make your content sparkle. And, at the end of the day, it’s the message that matters most.
