I'm currently making my way through the Demystify Color course by a nice fellow from Austria, who's a professional Colorist. The aim is to become a better color-grader myself, particularly to understand the foundations of color-science and developing that 'film look' in Davinci Resolve. Check out the course's promotional video here and enjoy the proper post-production aesthetic your video deserves:
Why Story Is the Most Important Part When Creating a Promotional Video
Shooting a video with a coherent story delivers a great response from the audience. Inherent in every story is the human condition: the longing, the emotion, that which captivates us and captures our yearning for meaning and purpose. Aesthetic value matters, in terms of how the video is shot. However, if we neglect the story, we'll end up with just a bunch of beautiful shots, but leave the audience feeling empty, confused or worse bored.
Connecting With Story Takes Foresight and a Deeper Consideration
When shooting video, I will admit that I'm often more focused on getting the shot, the right lighting, or implementing any other popular shooting technique. This is likely the case, for as a videographer, my primary role is to get the shot. Yet thinking like a producer, is what every promotional video needs. Shooting for the story takes foresight and more in-depth consideration. It takes planning. So I've been pushing myself not to miss the essential aspect, that is, shooting for the story.
Shooting for the story is often neglected because it is the most difficult and, in some respects, the most personal aspects of any video. The story strikes at the heart, not like any other aspect of videography. When done right, the story is the thread that follows a logical and coherent structure; great stories capture the human mind and heart.
Connect With Universal Archetypical Story
A great story is rooted in our DNA. It's the formula of how we understand and program our knowledge. Here I am thinking of the work of Joesph Campbell, as well as the psychologist Carl Yong and Jordan Peterson. There's a reason why stories have been passed down through centuries and are the primary way we as humans pass on essential information to the next generations.
From a psychological perspective, archetypical stories exist in our subconscious. They are most pronounced in dreams and perennial cultural stories. Therefore when telling better stories, think about those classic, universal, often mythic stories - ones which have captured us for centuries. As long as it communicates to the heart and mind, I think one is safe.
What Attracts Viewers
There's a reason why when the next Marvel movie comes out, people attend the theatre in droves. They want to see the latest superhero conquer the forces of wrongdoing or evil. More straightforward, but equally profound stories exist in every day. We just have to look for them. Sometimes the most honest stories are the ones that leave the most profound impact.
Lead With Emotion
It is no secret that we as human beings are driven largely by emotion. Sure we’re rational as well, but what I once read: customers need to hear the facts and figures up front and then once they’ve decide to buy your product, they form an emotional bond with a given product or service. So sure, you need to present your the statistics of your company or the given problem you are solving, but emotional led content is where you will hook your audience.
Think Like a Marketer When Designing An Engaging Story
In the book, Expert Secrets, the author Russell Brunson describes how through story, we should communicate not just an improvement, in terms of better, but rather an opportunity. The opportunity we offer should be about a status increase. What status increases does Brunson recommend we communicate? He talks about status increases we as humans almost all universally desire, increase in:
- intelligence
- power
- looks
- wealth
- health
- and style
So when creating your next promotional video, think stories that offer an opportunity for customers in terms of a status increase.
Conclusion
We are all attracted to stories. It's how we learn and code knowledge. So when selling to your audience online, communicating your brand's story, considering universal and classical themes. In terms of marketing, offer a story that provides an opportunity for a status increase.
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Why Blackmagic 6K Can Deliver Cinematic Quality for Your Business
I recently purchased the Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema 6K Camera. What this camera allows, is for me to produce true cinematic quality for my clients and personal projects, be it for promotional or instructional commercials, high-end interviews or film features.
6K 12-Bit Raw: Cinematic Goodness
The Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema 6K Camera can shoot in 6K 12-Bit Raw. What does this mean? Well, for short, it means an overall better image. Mainly, shooting in 6K allows me to deliver a more pixel sharp image, as well as for the ability to ‘punch in’ or zoom in to the image if needed in post. Raw allows me to colour correct and grade with much more freedom, including adjusting aspects such as colour temperature, Exposure and ISO in post.
4K Deliverable: Increasing the Longevity & Sharpness of Your Video
Most clients now desire a 4K deliverable in 2020. Social Media sites such as YouTube are allowing the ability to upload to 4K and higher. New TVs are also now 4K and higher. So when I can deliver 4K footage for my clients, it’s providing for them the current standards needed in 2020 and moving forward into the decade. Furthermore, it allows for the future-proofing of archival footage, substantially increasing the longevity of the video delivered.
What Is 12-Bit?
A 12-bit space is essentially the degree of colour able to be included in the captured footage. Most DSLRs shoot in 8-bit, which means you’re gaining more colour when shooting 12-bit video with a cinema camera. When colour correcting/ grading 8-bit footage, a process that occurs when editing footage in post, colours I have found can quickly degrade. This is especially the case when shooting on the Sony A7RII. Specific colours get too pulled apart, i.e. many colour artifacts are introduced, meaning the image does not look great. The reason for this, is that there is only so much you can push colours, in terms of colour correcting, in an 8-bit colour space. However, a 12-bit is a significant step above what I used to with my DSLR. I can pretty much adjust an image to any individual style or design I want, which allows for greater creative freedom.
Shooting Raw Gives You the Best Image
The fact that I can shoot in Raw, as well as a 12-bit colour space, means I have a lot more room to push the image and colours in post. Raw is essentially the same as what you find if you were shooting a Raw image vs a JPG in photography. All the details are captured in the Raw image, as Blackmagic creates a ‘sidecar file’ which can be read and adjusted in post. It essentially allows for more flexibility to play with, as the video is closest to its original capture. In other words, as the image is less compressed, it allows for greater flexibility in grading and editing of the footage. For more details on what Blackmagic Raw (BRAW) is, see the following video by Blackmagic:
One Minor Downside of Shooting in 6K Raw
Yes, it’s impressive that you can shoot in such a high resolution, but the file sizes and the ability for your computer to process the video can be a bit more challenging. It certainly takes more planning to have an efficient workflow to grade and edit the footage. I’m currently working on ways to improve my video workflow, as when you have much larger file sizes, and your computer needs to process these larger files, it can take more time. I’m confident with my current testing and workflow that my editing will become much more efficient, so I can spend less time editing and more time shooting or enjoying the efforts of my labour.
Conclusion
6K 12-Bit Raw is a game gamer in terms of the cinematic quality I can deliver for clients. This means more professionally, and higher-end promotional commercials and films can be produced using my camera. Indeed it’s an exciting time to an independent filmmaker in 2020!
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