To produce a successful video, it is fundamental, as we’ve previously said, to listen to the client and provide consulting support that helps them properly plan the essentials of the project to be delivered.
Immediately after this, however, the scriptwriting stage begins – and this is the strategic phase of any video production project.
The importance of the message
The key message must be chosen carefully, and from this a story must be created that plays to that unique strength of video: the ability to create an emotional connection with the viewer.
For this reason, the message must be clear, and tailored to the audience it is intended to reach. Otherwise, the video is destined to fail.
The question of style
Informative or entertaining, motivational or celebratory, this or that – there is no de facto ideal narrative style for a video.
The choice must be made solely on the basis of what works most effectively for the target audience, whilst always remaining aligned with the values and the personality of the brand.
But whatever the preferred style, the writing must be ‘sincere’; overly bombastic promises or a hectoringly enthusiastic tone will detract from the video’s credibility – and therefore that of the company.
Conversely, video testimonials – whether they feature clients, partners or employees – guarantee credibility, because they bring real-world endorsement to the message and to the story, making the value of the company, its products and services, and its way of working immediately apparent.
More than words
We can convey that “our company is better than others” not just by using words in the form of dialogue, voiceovers and on-screen text, but thanks to other ‘levers’ like images and music.
A good script must contain as much additional detail as possible around the non-textual elements, such as, for example, location description, type of camera shot, the actors present (if applicable), choice of wardrobe, sound requirements, and so on.
Through precise definition and planning of these details, we’ll not only ensure that the client is more engaged in the final outcome, we’ll also drastically reduce the likelihood of technical and operational delays arising from rework.
Pay attention to attention!
The relevance of these choices is, if anything, heightened in films that are shorter in length – those that last, at most, just a few minutes. The audience’s attention must be captured right from the opening shot, kept up throughout the unfolding narrative, and, in closing, drawn to the main message, which should be emphatically reiterated.
The challenge here is, at all costs, to prevent the viewer becoming bored, distracted, or even abandoning the viewing. This is why it’s risky when a scriptwriter becomes tempted by, for example, excessive ‘narrative flourishes’ or a surfeit of ‘special effects’, often in order merely to prove their own ‘creativity’!
The evidence in close-up
Producing a video that is effective: this must always be the objective.
To this end, BMP works alongside its clients through every phase of a video production project, offering careful and constantly available advice right from inital conception and scriptwriting, with the support of trusted technical partners for the operational detail, through both the production and post-production phases, to the delivery of final videos such as these: for Customer Reference Program, to support fundraising campaigns, to promote products, for internal communications initiatives, and for partner recruitment.
And many others besides!
