Steve Stockman's Blog, page 10
September 5, 2014
“Lensing In” to Find What Your Video is About
So, @SteveStockman I’m ready for a critique of one of my videos. I’m interested in ideas for improvement.
–Paul (Mr. Adventure) @bcoutdoor via twitter
Pretty video, Paul, and I can’t tell you how much I love being inside on a nice day writing about it instead of breathing fresh air and paddling across a lake. Okay, not that much.
The entire basis for my critique of this video can be found in the description you posted on YouTube. It’s very accurate, and as goes the description, so goes your video:
Two weeks ago we spent the weekend hiking and packrafting around Ross Lake and spending the nights in hammocks. It was a first time for the packrafts and the hammocks (on a backpacking trip) and it was a memorable experience.
What’s this video about? Seems it could be about three different things:
–The Story of a Memorable Ross Lake Trip
–The Story of our first time spending the night in our new hammocks
–The Story of our first time using our new pack rafts on a backpacking trip
Your video touches on all these things without really quite constructing a story about any of them. Consider that a video about three different things is, as a general rule, about two things too many.
One way to improve your video is to select one subject of the three and focus on it by “lensing in” to what you’re shooting. Imagine you’re a zoom lens. As you zoom closer and closer to your topic, details are revealed, and these details prompt questions. Lensing in to the detail on one of these questions as part of your video, showing us the quest for answers and then revealing those answers gives us instant story.
For example, if it’s about “the memorable Ross Lake Trip” ask yourself why it was memorable. You seem like a couple of nice guys going on a nice trip nicely. Not memorable. Now let’s zoom in to something you gloss over right at the start: Your trip starts late in the day. Now ask the questions: Why? Was it tough to get there from work? Did you almost not make it? Did you have lights or night-vision equipment at the ready? Let’s see you setting up camp at night What are some rules for doing that? What are the hazards? Did you have to eat razor clam and bacon chowder for breakfast (and, may I say, YUCH) because in your hurry you forgot your granola?
That’s the first thing I felt like you kind of glossed over in your video. But if that’s not the detail for you, pick another.
If you decide the most interesting thing to explore is one of your new toys, lens in to the product. How heavy are those boats? Why did you bring them? Can we see you pack them? How unsteady are they? Were you worried? What if you try to tip one over? What do they cost? How much equipment could they carry? What if they leak?
Lensing in– zooming to intensely question one topic– exposes more specific areas of interest and challenge. Which are the building blocks of a much more interesting story.
August 27, 2014
Limited Resources for Shooting Video
I am an absolute video newbie and am now filming my Church’s small service on Sundays.
I have a basic camcorder, but our resources are few. There is lots of movement and many things/events happening unexpectedly that are important to capture. I can’t position my self centrally in front of the speaker due to the arrangement of the chairs, so I have been filming him from the side.
I want to do a good job of this. Any advice?
–Susan
Limited resources. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a filmmaker whine about limited resources, I still wouldn’t have all the money I wanted for my next project.
Nobody does. Resources are always limited. There isn’t a filmmaker alive who doesn’t wish for more money, more equipment, or more time than they’ve been given. A director on a $10 million film wishes she had another million. A teacher in a video class wishes for an aide and two more cameras for the big student project. James Cameron probably even has days when he wishes he had more money. Okay, maybe not James Cameron. But for everyone else, w can’t always get what we want.
In your case, there’s no money. There’s only one camera. Chairs are in the way. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. You can’t always be in the right place at the right time.
Start by prioritizing. Think about why you’re doing the video. For example, if you’re shooting so that those physically unable to come to church can see the service, your priorities are different than if you’re trying to make short segments to promote the church on YouTube.
Next, do what filmmakers have done since time immemorial: produce resources out of thin air. Sit with the speaker the day before to get a better sense of the schedule. Ask a few big guys to help move the chairs so you can get as close to the speaker as possible. Beg a friend for a tripod. Put an article in the church newsletter about your work, and ask who in the congregation shoots video. Team up to shoot with two or more cameras, then find the congregation’s resident geeky editor and edit the result.
Great producers can always figure out a way. It’s one of the jobs of filmmaking. The more you practice asking for what you need, based on key priorities, the better your work will become.
June 22, 2014
Brew Dogs is Back!
Another 10 episodes of our hit show Brew Dogs starts this Wednesday, June 25 at 9pm on the Esquire Network. If you like beer, travel, food or amusing Scottish people, this is your show.
Please tell all your friends immediately. And if you’d like to show them how hip you truly are, you can watch the premiere episode early– right here, right now!
If you’re willing to admit to your friends that you’re not all that hip, you can also catch up on episodes from last season on Yahoo for free starting here.
It’s a great show that I’m really proud of being a part of. Hope you enjoy it!
May 21, 2014
Every Video Needs a Hero
When somebody asks you what a movie is about, you probably say something like this: “It’s about a guy who decides to say ‘Yes’ to everything he’s asked to do” or “it’s about a girl who gets flown to another world in a tornado.”
Great movies are about someone. So are great videos. The person your video is about is your hero. By hero I don’t mean that they have to kill bad guys or become a vampire—rather, they’re simply the focus of your video. They’re the person who does something, or that something happens to.
Why are you shooting your daughter’s fifth birthday party? To remember her at age 5. She’s the hero. Instead of random birthday party shots, make the video about your daughter and how she experiences her party. Stay physically close to her. Shoot from her eye-level instead of yours. Shoot her greeting her guests, opening her gifts, talking on the phone to grandpa, spilling cake on her dress. In a series of short, focused shots, you’ll have a lot to remember.
Instead of pointing the camera at the soccer field and rolling, make all your shots about your son’s experience of the game. A music video should probably be about the lead singer. A sales video might be about a particular customer’s experience, or it might be about the sales manager training the team. A stunt video is about the stunt performer.
Whenever you pick up your camera, just before you roll, ask yourself: Who is this shot about? The focus of choosing a hero for your video will make it much stronger– almost by magic.
May 12, 2014
Writing better Video Scripts: The Rewrite
At my school, we have a weekly television show, called Bobcat Television. Each week we write scripts and film all around the school. I am one of the students involved. I was wondering if you have any advice on how we can improve our show. Here is a sample script. Any advice?
H: As many of you Bobcats may know, there is something out there called autism.M:You may have heard your parents talking about it…
G:You may have seen something online or in the newspaper…
H: Or you may have seen an advertisement somewhere.
M: But do you really know what autism is?
G: We are here to inform you about autism and it’s effects.
M: Some of the commonly asked questions about autism are…
H: What is autism?
G: What does autism do to people affected?
M: What are some of the characteristics of a person with autism?
H: Here are your answers.
–Gabrielle Bartlett
Thanks for boldly sharing the first part of your script, Gabrielle (or should I call you “G”?)
Great videos start with great video scripts whether you’re in high school or Hollywood. You can make a decent movie with a great script and fair cast– but you can’t make a decent movie with a lame script even if you have Oscar winners (see half the Al Pacino movies of the ’90s. You may have to him, G.)
Scripts need to cut to the chase. Every word has to mean something, because it’s going to take up your audience’s time. If you bore them, they will tune out literally– by clicking away– or figuratively, by paying attention to something else.
Your script is good for a first draft. But in rewrite, you need to prune away every word that doesn’t give us more information, entertain us, intrigue us, or make us feel emotion. An improv teacher of mine called the extra words “weasel words”– the words of someone trying to kill time to avoid getting to the point. We do this in conversation to be “softer” in our approach. In video, “soft” is usually boring. Instead, say what you mean and get out.
Let’s try rewriting, and I’m going to be extra tough on you just so you can see the point:
H: As many of you Bobcats may know, there is something out there called autism.
You are already talking to us Bobcats. And we already know that you’re talking to us. Just start with the main point: the word “Autism.”
M:You may have heard your parents talking about it…
G:You may have heard about it something about it online or in the newspaper…
Tightening.
H: Or you may have seen an advertisement somewhere.
Do people really advertise for autism? Regardless, we get the point already– autism is a word you may have heard without knowing what it means. Let’s cut this.
M: But do you really know what autism is?
Everything is real. “Really” is a word you almost never need.
G: We are here to inform you about autism and it’s effects.
Just tell them. You don’t need to tell them you’re going to tell them.
M: Some of the commonly asked questions about autism are…
Ditto. Let’s just ask the questions.
H: What is autism?
Already asked in this version.
G: Or how it affects people?
Rewritten shorter and cleaner.
M: or how autism is treated? What are some of the characteristics of a person with autism?
Rewritten
H: Here are your answers.
Instead of saying, just do it. Go right to the answers.
Without visible edits, the short version is now about half the length. Just by cutting here and there, we’ve made this quicker and more interesting:
H: Autism.
M:You may have heard your parents talking about it…
G:You may have heard about it online or in the newspaper…
H: But do you know what autism is?
G: Or how it affects people?
M: or how autism is treated?
Now you’ve introduced your topic, asked questions to intrigue, and the audience is hanging on– ready for answers.
April 23, 2014
What’s your Truth?
To keep your videos interesting, seek truth.
Truth is always fascinating. It doesn’t have to be literal truth. But it does have to be human truth. Showtime’s Dexter was ostensibly about a serial killer struggling to kill without doing “wrong” or getting caught. It’s truths were about the character being unable to understand how “normal” people think– which turned out to be bigger truths are about everyone’s inability to really understand what other people think or want from us. By looking through the mind of a psychopath trying to follow his own code of honor, the show exposes things we, the audience feel to be true.
Was the show “true”? No. It was about a fictional character, and it’s plot was made up by a team of professional writers. But did it tell truth? Yes. Which was the secret to it’s long success.
If customers see truth about their needs in a sales video, they’ll relate to it in a way they couldn’t if they were just being “pitched.” Your funny video sketch plays well at a meeting because it tells truths about the corporate culture around you. A birthday party video that tells the truths about the family’s relationships will be way more interesting than a superficial grin-and-wave.
For your next video, what truths can you tell?
March 15, 2014
Shooting High School Video that Doesn’t Suck
One of my daughter’s high school teachers handed out this video assignment option: a 10 page paper or a 40 minute video.
A forty minute video? That’s almost as long as a network hour (less commercials.) Yes, it’s possible for a high-schooler to fill the time, but very unlikely they’ll fill it with anything anyone would want to watch. It takes a network 12 weeks, $3 million, and a full-time team of hundreds– and half the time their shows aren’t watchable.
A paper takes research and writing. Video, done right, involves research and writing AND translation to images and action, shooting skills, team management, and editing. Each skill is every bit as hard to master as research and writing, and we don’t teach them in schools.
Teachers: If you’re going to assign video (and you should) give kids a chance to succeed. Give them a strict 3-minute time limit. Help them develop concepts. Teach them something about storytelling first.
They’ll do better work, and you won’t rip your hair out watching a bunch of bad 40 minute videos.
Now the plug part: If you want to do a good job teaching them video, how about this: 5 free hours of classroom lessons. You can teach an hour, or all five lessons. You’ll thank me when you see the videos.
Click this link to download the Video Bootcamp PDF. 100% Free. Nothing to buy, no email address to leave, no hoops to jump through.
Why not tweet or email the link to your favorite teacher?
Teachers: Questions on how to use video in the classroom? Ask them here!
March 7, 2014
Entertain or Die
Like it or not, videos that don’t entertain don’t get watched. Videos that don’t get watched might as well not exist at all.
To make sure you’re entertaining, think about your audience when you shoot. If you’re bored, so are they. Another way to think about it is using this carefully calibrated audience behavior formula for Entertain or die: Not entertaining=boring =“find something else to watch fast.”
Does this mean that you should turn your daughter’s birthday party into a screaming, hair-pulling reality-show? Your video would get watched, of course, but it might make relatives less likely to come to your next party. I leave it to you to decide if this is a good idea.
But it does mean that you need to think about different ways to shoot your video. How might you tell your story in a way that’s entertaining?
You can hear an extended riff on the concept in this speech. Hopefully, you will be entertained.
February 27, 2014
What Video Editing Software Should I Buy?
I heard you on Lex and Terry and thought I’d check out your site. I just bought an HD camcorder and will be editing a 5 minute, short film. What editing software do you suggest?
–Anthony Abbate
There are two kinds of people in the world, Anthony. The ones who LOVE to sit at their computer and edit video, and the ones who don’t.
Me? I haven’t edited my wedding video from 20 years ago. Relatives still ask about it, and I still tell them I’ll be getting to it soon. (Yes, editing IS part of a director’s job, but fortunately for me it’s the part where you tell someone else they’re doing great and would they mind trimming that clip by three frames? And not the part where you actually do the work.)
For most people, the best editing software is the one that you can download free or comes with your computer. Remember that editing video is functionally the same as editing a document. The basics are cut, copy and paste. You’re going to:
Output your video from your camera to your hard drive
Cut the technically bad and boring parts out
Maybe copy or paste a couple of things into a different part of the video, maybe not.
Output as a digital movie for the web (or where ever.)
Any free video editing software can do that.
If you use your free software enough so that you either a) get good at it or b) start to realize it’s limitations –then you’re ready to step up. At that point my advice is the same as it is for cameras– you’re going to have to try them and see what suits your style and interests.
As with cameras, ignore the marketing bells and whistles when you buy video editing software– the silly wipes and swirling dissolves, the sepia color and mirror-mode are all there to attract buyers. There’s a reason you’ve never seen a CSI episode in sepia. It’s stupid. Just focus on an easy to use, intuitive interface that you can afford.
Have you heard the new audio version of How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck? You can sample it, buy it, or get it free here.
February 5, 2014
Two Videos, Same Business. But Only One Intrigues
It’s not often we get a chance to compare two videos purporting to do the same thing for the same business, but thanks to my friend Andy Goodman, we can. Andy publishes a great bloggy-kind-of-newsletter for non-profits, and has kindly given me permission to steal some of this month’s cover story.
Lifelines for Youth is a non-profit that helps formerly-incarcerated youth. Naturally they are interested, as are all non-profits, in raising money. They commissioned a video to help. When it didn’t help enough, they commissioned another one. Take a look at the videos below– you only need about 30 seconds of each.
Here’s the game: Figure out which video worked better:
Same kids, same need. One pulls you right in, one makes your eyes glaze right over. As I hoped you’ve guessed, video 2 worked better. It helped Lifelines for Youth meet its annual fundraising goal in just four months. (Note to Marketers: Show these videos to the next person in your company who says that video is a commodity, and anyone can do it.)
The secret to their success? Intrigue.
The first video lays a simple problem in a linear fashion. These kids are in trouble, so give money. It stars from the first second giving you information, with all the emotional heft of a do-it-yourself tutorial.
In the second video we have no idea what’s going on for the first 3o seconds. It’s all questions: Whose voice are we hearing? What does the reading mean? Why are these people smiling? What about those tattoos? Rather than being confused, we’re intrigued. We’re propelled forward through the video by the spoken word and we pay rapt attention– because we want the answers.
There are other reasons this video works, of course. Andy has more background on the hows and whys of developing it here. But if you remember only one lesson from this great piece, let it be this: To get people involved in your video, don’t give answers. Raise questions.
Intrigue us.
The second video was produced by a company called The Department of Expansion. As it turns out, the quality of this video was not an accident.
