21 Feb Story Time
Whenever you hear talk about video content, the word story usually follows closely in the conversation, but it’s important to know what story means in relation to video content in order to ensure sure your brand’s story is being told effectively.
Story refers to the way your script is structured, the points it makes in its narrative and the ideas it communicates about your brand and your business. For example: we’re all familiar with the concept that a good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end: in the beginning the setting, characters and story are introduced, in the middle we follow them on their journey, and the beings the characters to the end of their journey and concludes the story.
Video is no different. In regards to video content, the beginning would be an introduction to you and your business, the middle would be an overview of your service or product and your unique sales proposition, and the end would sum everything up and conclude with a call to action. There is an overall journey and flow to the narrative as there would be in any other good story.
The example above is a streamlined overview of script and story structure. There are many other elements to consider when developing a script, and different videos for different purposes will require different “plot points”.
This is one of the primary areas of the video production process where video content can be set up to succeed or fail. So many people focus on high visual quality, or being entertaining or amusing, or having great, cinematic shots, and don’t give the script writing process the respect it deserves. No high-end camera, and no amount of work in post-production will ever be able to do the same job as an tailored, professionally written script or, in many cases, cover up for a poorly written one.
Because a great story – and an effective script – isn’t just about waxing lyrical about how great your company is, or its history or industry reputation, it’s about knowing what to talk about, and when. It’s about knowing how much information to front-load and how much detail to include in the body of the video. It’s about knowing how to move efficiently from one idea to the next, and when to use extravagant language and when to keep things simple and straightforward.
This knowledge and understanding can only come from years of experience in content writing, it’s not a skill you learn overnight. Having a laptop and a word processing program will allow you to put words on a page, but it won’t guarantee that those words are going to resonate with your audience or communicate your message clearly and coherently.
All the other elements of production – equipment, editing, music, effects – are all critical components of adding value to your story and your video content, but the script is the backbone on which the rest of the nervous system of the production process thrives. Without that, you’re shooting blind, editing around problems, and using effects to hide a lack of substance.
Get your script right first and the rest will follow.