Video is everywhere. Small, medium and large screens are the fabric of life. We rely on a constant flow of content to form opinions, engage with people and brands, buy and sell, socialize, entertain and educate ourselves.
That’s not news. What is news is that ‘the news’ aren’t the only people producing video anymore.
Millions of people are creating billions of hours of video. Some of it good, some of it bad, and much of it influential - for better or worse.
The demand for video is endless. Across the globe, people fill their senses and satisfy their curiosity with video. Not text. Not pdf’s. Not podcasts (although I am a fan). Video.
The search engines and social platforms know this. Google has wired their algorithms to feature (YouTube) videos prominently when you do a search .. Facebook conspicuously favours brands that present themselves through video.
Everyone or everything that has a profile, benefits from a brand video. If you’re a business or an entrepreneur, if you have a hobby, an interest, or a cause --- you need a video.
Our self-promotion and self-expression … is expressed through video. That’s a pretty good case for learning the craft.
My name is Stephen Knifton, and I’ll be teaching video storytelling at Centennial College this winter.
I started to figure all this out when I left network TV news ten years ago, and started my own digital content company. I set up shop as a digital content creator and brand journalist, although neither of the terms had been invented yet.
I’ve been producing content for designers, marketers, artists, entrepreneurs, brands, politicians and non-profits ever since.
Coming over from network TV news, and reinventing myself as a Content Creator was a journey. It was difficult and time-consuming. Not only was I learning a new trade, but I was also learning a new business, in a new space.
As a TV producer, I generated ideas and gave directions for a living. To work on the digital landscape, I also had to master lights, cameras, audio and post-production, publishing and distribution.
I made every mistake there was to make. I promised everything possible to my clients, then left the meeting and figured out how to do it. I self-taught, and grew myself and my business into a competitive and successful enterprise. To be a success at this, you have to collaborate, but you also have to learn the art of being a one-person gang.
Typically, I’ll meet with clients, determine their needs, figure out a voice, adhere to brand, focus on the audience, propose a strategy, storyboard out production and content ideas, execute, and provide on-going consultation about SEO. I shoot, I light, I write, I interview, I edit, I do post-production myself.
You can do this too, without the uphill learning curve.
You can do it for business, or you can do it for fun. But there may be no more valuable creative skillset you can learn. And we’ll learn it by doing it. Hands-on the camera, eye in the viewfinder, heart in the production.
No one leaves until their work is on the screen.
Register for the 10-week Video Storytelling Course here
Written by Stephen Knifton, Digital Storytelling Course Instructor