Video has a language of its own that is made up of 3 elements:
- The words you hear
- Your interpretation of the pictures you see
- The unspoken moods or emotions you feel through non-verbal communication - the wink of an eye, a smile, negative body language, a false smile that is only seen in the mouth but not in the eyes.
Today I was sent a video to comment on. I'm assuming that the idea of the video is to promote a company who designs and creates domestic interiors - kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms etc. What I see on viewing the film is one minute of nicely shot images filmed in a showroom and set to music.
It's not that it's bad - there are some smiling faces of staff and customers and a range of images that suggests the calibre of client they are targeting - all set to some happy music.
My point is that this could be so much more. It's 2 dimensional because the first element - words - is missing entirely. There is no narrative, no story to hook me in and carry me along. I don't feel that I know who the company are or whether they really do a good job - anyone can hire actresses or models to smile in front of some nice shiny products.
With little additional effort a short clip from a senior representative of the company or a respected figure talking about the products might give the viewer an insight into the 'why' behind the company - it's culture and ethos.
Two or three short clips from customers would tell me how much they like doing business with that company and why they chose to buy from them.
I always try to include client testimonials in a promotional film. The viewer can see that they are genuine interviews and are likely to trust the content - a great soft sell for your business.
Here's a short film we produced for AEG at Taste of Christmas that follows these principals - resulting in an easy to watch film that doesn't feel like a sales message
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