Sometimes, write an essay to describe a complicated or boring proposition isn't the way forward. Sometimes, you need a good how-to video to explain it.
I worked on a brand new innovative product that fitted into the internet of things universe. It was called Car Genie and it was the first connected car product to market.
The level of customer awareness is zero, but they are pain aware - so the campaign was an educational piece at launch. Therefore, to explain such a new and complicated product, we got the lovely Max to help us. Take it away, Max...
Then you get onto people who may or may not be pain aware. And in this instance, it's transforming the way they work.
For this, digitising car workshops diary and customer communications, I went with a problem, solution approach. Illustrating that if you spend less time at work, you can spend time in the park with your kids.
The benefit was getting time back and focusing on what you're good at, i.e. fixing cars. This was for a German launch, but the video was intentionally made so we could use different voice-overs.
We told the story of our workshop hero and how different features will benefit him and his business.
Producing a video
Just like briefing any creative, the important things to remember are:
- Objective
- Audience
- Insight
- Key messages
In the examples above, I landed that I wanted it to be emotional, human and realistic. No slick corporate theme tunes or power-stances. It's about real people and real lives.
I had to keep them on track during the shoot, as young hipsters focused too much on the tech and not enough on the car aspect when it should nod to both.
There are a few things you need to have in place, once the video has been briefed:
Pre-production
- Storyboard
- Script
- Budget
- Location
- Casting
- Crew
- Photobook/video reel
- Props/costumes
- Technical spec
- Schedule
- Still shot list
Post-production
- Colour treatment
- Sound mixing
- Edit
- Voiceover
- Special effects
- Subtitles
So when you get to first, beta and alpha versions of the video, you'll be as happy as Larry (who's the chap on his phone in the street).
