Written by Stephen Callaghan

Movies these days… Am I right?

Remember when you used to walk out of the cinema and continue to talk about the film after it’s ended? These days it’s just – “That was good hey?” Or “How awesome was that!” And that’s the extent of the conversation. The movies I’m talking about are almost all the films that play in the mainstream cinema today. The conversation was over before it started. Why? It’s because (in my opinion) the writing is lazy. They have no story and 1 dimension characters. Sure, they look great (If you like special effects), but what passes for “cinema” in today’s world seem to be almost like a preset. Insert random superhero here, import villain here (who is almost always a bigger, more powerful version of said hero). I know, people will argue that there IS a story. What I say to you is don’t confuse ‘Plot’ with ‘Story’. 

I don’t want to come across like I’m attacking “comic-book films’ ‘, believe me, my disdain for “Hollywood” films extends well beyond them. Maybe I’m cynical but to be honest, I am more often than not disappointed by films these days (with a few exceptions).

You might be asking, who am I? What have I ever done to be the authority on the matter? Truth is, I’m not. Film is so subjective, you’re never going to please everyone, I just happen to be someone who is hard to please, it actually sucks because I can never just sit and get lost in a film.

Story. Proper, well crafted, thoughtfully written and constructed story. That’s what gets me going. Let’s face it, that’s what engages EVERYONE! You may not even realise why you enjoyed watching that film, or TV show so much. I will bet you it’s because of the ‘story’. Unless you’re one of those people who can’t wait to get home and watch MAFS or some other reality garbage, in which case, this is not the article for you because you’re clearly already braindead.

People identify and relate to the story. People engage with story. They root for the underdog and fight against evil with the “goodies”, or maybe the main character is not good, but you still want them to succeed… How does that work? Even a ‘show about nothing’ managed to capture an audience for 180 episodes over 9 years!

You might be asking “What’s this got to do with me?”

I’ll get to the point.

Do YOU want the video/visual content you create for your brand, business, company to make an impact? To stay with people? To insight action? Think about it, stories have been doing this since the first time someone drew something on a cave wall… Or wherever the first story was ever told.. I don’t know. The point is.

STORIES WORK!

It’s important to remember this. I feel like I’d be pretty safe in saying that you want to promote yourself and your brand in the best possible way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that all your visual communication moving forward needs to be some elaborate scripted masterpiece. Stories come in all different forms. We all know how to tell stories in one way or another.

Let’s go through 3 examples of how you could tell a story with your content.

1. You’ve organised a photoshoot and decided you’d like to capture some video content to share on the socials. Always good to have some moving vision and a great decision to be proactive in capitalising on an opportunity to grab more assets.

How can we inject ‘story’ into this type of content? In this case, probably just through context. Either in your social post or physical in the video. What are you shooting? Why are you shooting this? Who are you working with/what’s their story? (and always remember to tag EVERYONE on set. Everyone!). Tease what’s coming? Whatever it is, give the viewers a reason to engage, maybe they’ll hit ‘like’ or start following you and watching you more closely because they want to know what happens next; the same way I’m waiting to see what happens on the next episode of ‘Better Call Saul’, it’s the same thing. You WANT people to be on the edge of their seat, anticipating.

2. You’re creating a video to promote who you are and/or what you do.

Tell the audience where and why you started, what you’re doing and/or what your product does and where your brand is going. Like every story ever told – Beginning, Middle & End (not always told in that order). It’s easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with the massive amounts of content that seems to invade every aspect of our lives these days. Giving someone a story has a sense of genuineness to it, without story, the perception is that you’re just trying to push something at them and that’s a great way to disengage people. 

3. You want to create a story that will really hone in on connect with you audience on a much deeper level.

Now the nuts and bolts of the content have evolved into something else. Now we’re delving into insights and stories that are tailor-made and handcrafted to your target market. The absolute best way to really nail these stories is to know your audience, intimately.

This is where the story has to be right, scripted, constructed, executed perfectly. The goal: “Suspension of disbelief”. If you can hold an audience in this space, tell your story and deliver your message. WOW. This is the magic of cinema. Imagine making a video that features YOUR brand in it, and you have controlled and altered the emotion that the viewer is feeling. Laughter, happiness, nostalgia, connection, empathy; you can craft the way in which someone EXPERIENCE’S your brand. I’m not going to lie, this is by far the most difficult content to create, but also the most rewarding. With this type of production, you’re no longer just telling the viewer a story, you’re allowing them to experience it.