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Data is Dull! Make Challenging Content Interesting with Online Video!

by David McClelland on Feb 21, 2012

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A talk given to Reed Business Information in January 2012.

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A talk given to Reed Business Information in January 2012.

The bulk of the useful content is in the speaker notes - do take a look in here for in-depth explanation.

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Preamble I'm delighted to have been invited here today by Jayne for the launch of what looks like an incredibly exciting facility here at RBI: not only top quality facilities (and if you haven't had a look around yet I do urge you too, there are tours throughout the day), but very creative, motivated and experienced staff too.
Scope Now as you can tell from the title, this morning we're going to be talking about how we can bring challenging content to life on screen, particularly with regards to online video . Now, bear in mind that I haven't ( until today ) worked closely with RBI or its titles, but from speaking with Jayne and the team here I understand that there are some potential challenges with the nature of some of the information that you have to pass on to your consumers: Data-rich content Specialist material Potentially dry subject matter << Fair enough description of the challenges with content? >> Now, I qualify 'dry subject matter' here with 'potentially' as it's somewhat subjective depending upon who is consuming the video and whether they're already invested the content - and we'll come very shortly to one of our key points which is 'knowing our audience'.
Set the Tone A presentation about presenting. No irony please... Now first of all, a warning: in all honesty an hour is probably quite a long time to be talking about this in a crowded room - if you don't get bored of my voice in about 40 minutes' time I certainly will - and I'm well aware of the potential irony of hosting a talk about making dull content less dull might become in itself quite dull; even more ironic is that one of my pieces of advice (spoiler alert) is to keep content short and snappy... So...
Presentation 2.0 ...in the spirit of interaction we're going to try something a little different today: We live in a world of Web 2.0 and as we're talking today in some detail about producing online/web video in a web 2.0 world I think it'll be appropriate and fun to run this session in a Web 2.0 way. << You all know what Web 2.0 is? (What is Web 1.0 - What is Web 2.0 - What part does Video play in this) >> << Introduce Whiteboards - 1. Challenges 2. Key Points 3. Fridge >> You're welcome to ask questions and raise points as we go along - anything that looks like it might become a longer discussion we can park on the fridge until the end where I'll make sure we've some time to discuss those and any other business.
Just one more thing... One other thing, linked to discussion. What we're talking about here today is at least partially subjective - yes, there are hints, tips and research + hard experience and statistics that we'll be exploring and sharing, but given that what we're talking about is understanding and being creative with different types of content , different delivery mediums and different audiences there's a whole world of variation here and there certainly isn't a one-size-fits all approach (we'll be coming back to these three points in just a second).
So what I'm saying is feel free to disagree, to agree, to elaborate, and to share your own experiences - at the end of the day what we're about today is to come away having learnt some more about how we can create more accessible and engaging content. Disagree (tick) Agree (tick) Elaborate (tick) Share (tick) Comment (tick)
Knowing Me, Knowing You We're going to cover: Knowing your content Knowing your audience Knowing your medium Production Distribution Analysis The Fridge / Q&A Throughout, we'll be looking at some case studies and example videos that I'll be asking your all to share your feedback on as well. << Everybody happy? Has everybody come to the right talk? Any questions? Good - let's crack on. >>
Who Am I? Why Me?! I realise that many of you probably won't know who I am, nor what qualifies me to be talking about this here with you all today. David McClelland MBCS STEM Ambassador Technologist I talk about, write about and get hands on and do stuff in industry with technology. Talk Write Do Why is this relevant? Because my day job, depending upon which hat I'm wearing at any given time, spans consuming creating producing and shaping content that is usually technical, data-rich - our 'challenging content'. And I want to use this experience as our 'way in' today...
Understand your Content I've worked in industry since (believe it or not) the mid '90s in enterprise technology from pretty much my first job programming industrial robots at IBM to what I do now as a consultant working with blue chip financials and pharmaceuticals advising on how to manage and transform their vast and ever increasing volumes of data. A key part of this consultancy is presenting to a client's management team the results of our analysis . Now, our analysis may be sourced from dozens of spreadsheets or databases comprising thousands or millions of data points . Basically, lots of numbers. << Sounds pretty boring, right? Trust me, it can be. Data is usually boring >> Data is Boring But, the aim of my team's data gathering ultimately is not to present to the client a bunch of data points. If we did that they'd pretty soon get very bored too and wonder why they didn't it that themselves. But, from the data points that we've gathered we perform some analysis on them to turn the data set into something called << anybody? >> information - Information is Beautiful Now I think information is much more fun: we can see patterns, similarities, correlations, context, associations >> beautiful charts, graphs, tables, visualisations >> we can begin to see a story << now, keep that word 'story' in mind - in fact, write it on the whiteboard/flipchart for later >>. Now, that's kind of useful, but there's still more to it because with my consultancy hat on I want this story to have a happy ending. So, armed with this information I'll perform some value-add, our USP/IP - apply our intelligence to the information such that we now present knowledge - "organised information" and it's from this that client is able to make informed decisions. Knowledge is Power ( Sir Francis Bacon ) Knowledge is a little more subjective , you could say it's "prone to propaganda". Knowledge is an interpretation of information, it is intelligence from which decisions are able to be made.
But don't take my word for it - here's a visualisation of this data lifecycle from one of the modern masters of Data Visualisation, David McCandless: (source: Information is Beautiful - http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/data-information-knowledge-wisdom/) << Discuss visualisation : it supports what we've just said, and it's an attractive way of presenting the subject >> For the sake of my specific story about data, let's be a little more specific about what the 'data' or 'dataset' actually means - it's usually a perceived problem that the client/company has, suspects it may have or may not even know yet that it has.
Summary: Am I presenting my customer with pages of Excel spreadsheets and charts? No (although are they there for further analysis if he requires them? Yes they are). Instead I am presenting my client with my unique take on this dataset/on this problem, my view that has been packaged according to my value-add, my USP, my intelligence and my brand values , from which my customer will be to take actions and make decisions. Represents the facts Easily digestible Clearly presents key messages Focuses on decision points or follow-up actions Pay Off: At the cutting edge of what I do as a consultant, if we don't present this information in a manner that our client's management team understand, engage with and are able to act upon/to make decisions upon then we don't get business from them (i.e., they don't employ us to do the work) and I don't pay my bills. And that's not beautiful, not fun, and rather boring. The alternative happy ending to my story is that I've successfully gathered the data, analysed the dataset, I've added my value, my 'magic ' to the information, I've presented this as knowledge/intelligence to the customer, they've been persuaded to do what I've recommended and I get a contract and can pay my bills and live happily ever after. So that's my story about why it's in my interests to make challenging data interesting. Relevance: The reason that I tell you this story goes beyond simply trying too hard to justify why I'm here today. You see I'd argue that same journey above is just as true for many of you here today: if the content you produce isn't engaging or digestible then people will go elsewhere. When we're talking about video, particularly online video, trust me there is plenty of 'elsewhere'. For publishers looking to drive visitor engagement, retention, conversion to subscriptions and even revenue from advertising, you don't need me to tell you how important it is to make your content count . << Does that all make sense? >>
At this point, I'd like to invite you to think about the relevance of this story to your title or your video's content: what your source data is, what unique value-add analysis and intelligence you can apply to it, and what you want your audience to do with that knowledge you've shared with them. << This may be "in at the deep end", but does anybody have any examples they can think of that they'd like to share? >>
Understand your Audience So, we've talked about understanding your content at a fairly high level - now, we'll come back and make it a little more specific when we talk about production, scripting, story, calls to action later on. But next we need to make sure we understand our audience . Mike Smith If we're delivering something we need to make sure we know who it's going to. 32, Estate Agent, Croydon, daily commute to central London, watches video on his iPhone, amateur astronomer This is where we come to market research and yes, there's obviously an overlap here with marketing - and perhaps you already know your readership very well. But this is all about being joined up. << Now, I'm not from a marketing background - I know that you've many people here at Reed far more knowledgeable than I about marketing, so I'm not going to dwell too much here >> But to illustrate a key point, one of the main things I'm talking about are :
Personas: - Real people - Give them a name - it helps - Gender - the same professions/classes/demographic but different gender - - Are they - People with a primary/professional interest in your content - Casual browsers - People who stumbled upon looking for something else - Understand their journeys through your content - How they found you - what might encourage them to return - or act on a call to action - The conversation you should be having is how will 'Mike' respond to this? - Also, thinking about online video means considering international . Make sure your personas reflect this. - How would somebody for whom English isn't their first language consume this? - Also consider accessibility - how would somebody who is visually impaired respond to your content / video? How about if they're poor of hearing? - Stats from Nielsen in December 2009 show that around 10% online are over 65 - perhaps more now. - Understand your audience's appetite for consuming your content - how much time they're willing to invest - Casual browsing, or looking for specific information - Research last year by a large media organisation for their online learning portal reveals that the optimum length of a video for taking in complex information is 3 minutes - I caveat that somewhat by what we'll be discussing in a minute about understanding our medium , but let's go with 3 minutes for now My point here is that personas are a useful prop to help you consider specifically and realistically questions like these about your visitors, consumers > and again, just like in our data/information/intelligence/knowledge model above, from research and analysis we can draw conclusions and take actions: So, for example, taking the point just now, if we accept that 3 minutes is the optimum time for our video content for our target audience >> then this helps us to make the following decision points/actions: - Break our content up into manageable chunks, no more than 3 minuted - Chapters - some online platforms will allow you to chapterise longer videos - again, we'll talk about that in when we discuss delivery - This decision to break up our videos also invites us to consider our 'information architecture' - if you have a lot of information to present, how will people find what they're looking for, how will they navigate their way around? - For example, in an e-Learning context the emphasis is on allowing users organically to explore content (or to give them that impression), not on forcing them along a learning path << Anybody have any questions so far? All Making sense? Good >>
Now, I am aware that I've not shown you any actual videos yet and this supposed to be a talk about video, and trust me there is a method in this. That said, I am going to show you one right now, if only so I can rest my voice for a moment or two. Now, it's not intentionally about personas but as the video is about 'sales' it does reveal how these guys have to get to know their customers. Also interesting here is the way in which complex 'sale process ecosystem', for want of a better term, is presented in an understandable manner - we won't watch it all as it's about 5 minutes long, so I'll skip through to the end after a while. 01. Selling is Hard Work by Infoteam Consulting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtJBVhkL1Eg&feature=related (at around 02:00 fast forward to around 4:50 and pause on end card) - First, putting the form of the video aside, you can see how important understanding customers is for these guys right at the beginning in their business of selling, and essentially we're pulling the same 'appeal' levers with our videos - We haven't covered form yet, but there's o - clear beginning middle and end o - a personal story o - lighter tone of voice o - It works visually well on its own, as well as the audio being clear on its own o - There's a subtle sound track underneath, drives energy o - Clever revision/summary at the end is simply a zoom out to see whole picture o - Infoteam can help me with sales, they're friendly, quite cool and damn good at what they do. Oh, and there's their website address.
Understand your Medium So, where are we: we understand our content we understand our audience Medium! Don't worry, I'll come to "use of humour" when we talk about video production in a little bit. What we really need to look at is this:
The way we watch video content is changing, dramatically. Now, this goes hand in hand with how and where we watch video. << For each of these, ask the audience how we tend to watch video content in this environment/with this device >> Cinema sat watching a movie solidly for a couple of hours in a dark room (hopefully) nothing else competing for your attention not very frequent (weekly, monthly?) no flexibility Television varies depending upon time of day and type of programming generally there are distractions may be watching while doing something else again tendency is for longer programmes (30 minutes) once or twice a day (morning before work for news, evening to relax) some flexibility with a PVR Newer internet-connected smart TVs allow VoD, not yet widespread to be notable Desktop Computer - different to laptop? generally sat down in an office or bedroom; lots of things competing for attention on screen banners, adverts, emails, multitasking; typically shorter videos (e.g., YouTube, website videos - quite an effort to watch a feature film). Full flexibility Tablet office or home, generally less-formal than desktop (e.g., not at a desk, but on a sofa, in the canteen), sometimes commute (or longer journeys) some other things vying for attention (iPads don't multitask that well - perhaps a good thing); both shorter videos (online) and longer films offline (e.g., train or plane journeys) Full flexibility Mobile Phones literally anywhere: usually on-the-go between places, making most of in-between time on the bus, train, queue in the Post Office, plus in bed and on the loo (it's true - loo-surfing) (>> 93% of smartphone users use their devices in the home, and almost 50% of users watch videos on their smartphones. ) Also, content that might not be appropriate to share on a larger screen (e.g., desktop, tv) that other people can see; short form content (3 minutes or less), any time of day Full flexibility. Other? - << Open to audience >> e.g., trade fair displays, advertising in store/on transport.
Here's a quick visualisation about viewer engagement and drop-off rate by device over the length of an online video: I've some interesting stats to accompany this as well: According to a study by Visible Measures, 20% of online video viewers click away from a video in the first 10 seconds or less. By 30 seconds into an online video up to 33% of viewers have moved on; at 1 minute 44% have left (regardless of the clip’s length) and almost 60% have abandoned by the 2 minute mark. According to Visible Measure’s Matt Cutler, “if your online video campaign has 10 million viewers, 2 million of them saw less than 10 seconds of it. Ouch. According to MeFeedia, iPad users commit to watching a web video for 5 minutes on average. Android users watch for 3 minutes on average. iPhone users watch for 2.4 minutes on average. Desktop users watch web video for less than 2 minutes on average. By 2014, there will be more mobile Internet users than desktop/laptop users (frequently quoted, I forget the source) We see in the chart that Desktop users were actually the least engaged, and the most engaged were mobile and tablet users. Now this doesn't necessarily take in to account the nature of the content they were watching, but statistics like these aren't so difficult to collect for yourself - we'll talk about analysis later on.
So, the questions to ask yourself about how to understand your medium include: How is your content likely to be consumed Upon which devices What are the corresponding challenges And this is assuming that the 'how' to deliver in that medium isn't a challenge (that's why Jayne and her team are here!).
Let's think about some challenges Attention watching the video (perhaps because I have to/feel I should) but I'm getting easily distracted because it isn't engaging me Clarity I'm watching on my mobile phone but the writing/accompanying text is so small I can't see it Online/offline I've a 45 minute tube journey in the morning and want to use this time productively to catch-up/learn/get-ahead/be entertained Again, asking these questions helps us to make some more decisions (and your personas may help to drive further responses here too): Engaging content! Tweak script, sparse supporting text, larger font, slower GFX movement/longer cards Subscription - turn your video content into a podcast (video podcast) so it can be watched offline
So, we now have an understanding of the big three: Content Audience Delivery Medium In understanding what we're delivering to whom and how we're going to do it, we've made some positive decisions/requirements about our production - these will all feed in to a 'brief'. So now, in collaboration with the video team here we can start getting creative about how we address the vision, requirements and aims expressed in the brief. So, let's discuss some techniques that might be helpful. This is where we get to watch some more videos too. Innovative in-vision chaptering For example, YouTube provide an online annotations feature you can apply to your videos once you've edited them, other platforms also allow for this - it's the ability to include inline hyperlinks during the video that might take you to another 'chapter' of the video, another video altogether, or a page with more detailed information about a piece of your content. 02. BooneOakley YouTube Homepage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elo7WeIydh8 (Stop after 1:33) - illustrate annotations << Discussion >> So, the annotations are creatively used as hyperlinks and act as a menu system for this site/video Now, if we're sticking to our 3-minute snappy video limit then using these links throughout the video could be a great way of keeping people engaged, allowing them to explore their own way through your content. Links can be to other videos or other pages. I really don't see very much creative use of these annotations or in-video links yet which surprises me - perhaps there's a real opportunity here for you guys to create a real wow-factor experience and structure for your content. Fact: I hate trying to fast forward/ rewind position the playhead in online videos
Another thing about the video, and our next key topic in Production, is tone of voice: Tone of Voice: - Ego exit: if we're presenting our own content it's not about how we personally may want to be perceived, it's about how we want the audience responds to our content that matters - Understand the medium - most presentation to camera (or microphone) is in the form of a conversation, not a lecture; - A lecture or overly, unnecessarily authoritative tone of voice can distance an audience rather than engage them, - As too can jargon (obviously, know audience, understand common industry terms and don't patronise). - My own presenter training : even though in TV for example we may be broadcasting live to millions of viewers worldwide, if my face or upper half of my body is filling the screen then the 'performance' might need to be like a conversation between friends or colleagues - many exercises for presenters, broadcast journalists and voice over artistes involves actually visualising a friend you're talking to at the other side of the microphone or camera lens. - Aware this may be spilling over into a techniques presentation later, but the point and relevance here is of a lighter tone of voice rather than a lecture - It's also a recognition that your online video might be audio driven - and we touched on when we talked about understanding the medium earlier. - Ha Ha Humour? : notice that I've talked about 'lighter tones of voice' so far, but I haven't mentioned the 'H' word: Humour : - Personally, I think humour this can be dangerous unless it's very, very well done. - Often things that we say 'live' are off the cuff and funny, but when scripted and rehearsed and recorded can look a bit false when there's no audience on set/screen, unless it's carried off by a very capable scripter, presenter, performer. But lighter tone of voice is different but related to humour.
We've seen this in both the videos so far - here's another example, a montage of videos by Salman Kahn. 03. Salman Khan - TED talk opening montage http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gM95HHI4gLk (20 seconds to 1:10) So, what this guys is doing is incredibly interesting. Yes, as you've seen there's certainly complicated, potentially the ultimate 'challenging content' in here Around 110 million 'lessons delivered' with his online videos he's doing something right. There are no out and out gags in here, but it's presented in a light tone of voice that is engaging and endearing, it brings you in to the content. As a background Salman worked in finance and began his videos when he was tutoring his cousins who were living in a different state, he put a couple of the videos onto YouTube as a means of sharing them; as you can see, they were simply him drawing on a virtual blackboard talking his cousins maths. The funny thing was that his cousins preferred the digital Salman, the digital teacher to the real live world Salman o - they could rewind and pause the content and review anything they didn't understand without annoying their tutor We're also beginning to notice a telling pattern here, in this and the other videos That animation , still presenter led with a voiceover, appears to be a great way of communicating some kinds of short form content online: Let's have a quick look at another couple of examples to prove the point - and, interestingly, they're both RBI examples!
04. New Scientist - Faster-than-light Neutrinos http://www.newscientist.com/video/1381152168001-faster-than-light-neutrinos-experiment.html I loved this video when I saw it, and I sent it to a physics teacher friend who played it to her entire GCSE class in school, and they all loved it too. That's *exactly* what this video, sharing, social media is about. << Now, did anybody here have anything do do with this video? >> It engages us through: simple animation humour (e.g., scientists' speech bubbles 'We heart Higgs') backing-track music for energy clear engaging, accessible, jargon-free but never patronising script 'So, let's go visit the Opera experiment in Italy and try to catch some neutrinos'. short but provides a good coverage of the essential information and compels us to ask questions/discuss further/find out more. << I think you're beginning to get the idea >> And finally a quick teaser, this time animated using proper motion graphics rather than hand-drawn stuff, produced by our very own Jayne:
05. Google 100 tips video (integrated) Music Animation Brief, to the point Clear action - look at our Google Tips
Multi-Threaded Video Something to note about many of the videos we've seen so far - they're what I call 'multithreaded', but then I'm a technologist, so I would. Scripting for video - it's unlike reading newspaper or magazine (single thread/channel) o - Don't forget we can consume multiple sensory channels simultaneously This means that simply lifting copy, an article/white paper from the pages of a magazine or website and giving that to a presenter to read against a white background may not be making the most of the opportunity. For comparison we'll take a look an example of a pretty-much single threaded video, featuring me, in a couple of minutes: But, the animated videos above used both sound and supporting vision (graphics and animation) to tell the story, possibly multiplying or at least reinforcing the information communicated. Here's a great example - another RBI one - this time using a presenter in vision to deliver a message that is visually reinforced with an animated background: 06. eMedia Video http://motion169.co.uk/emedia/ (2 minutes? - free to chop early) Not only is more information condensed into a shorter package but the result is more a dynamic, more energetic, more engaging video - can be exhausting to watch for a longer period of time, needs careful pacing Other video content uses tickers and sidebars to provide supporting information:
07. Sky Sports News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tClbJHb-WOk (1:17 minute, full run?) I know it's technically broadcast but it's very funny and I couldn't resist it - but there's actually a whole lot of data that also appears on the screen - league tables, latest scores, upcoming fixtures. Just about manageable, we can choose to look at it if we want, it's supporting information, the audio is strong so we can look at that data without losing the thread of the main narrative. But I think you can go too far - how much is too much?
08. CNBC Closing Bell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH1YEP3UzFU (first 30 seconds should make the point) Personally I start to get a bit dizzy trying to keep up with this. There is a vast amount of data on here - 8 different animated data tickers/chart/data cells with frequent updates or fast scrolling, two video images plus fast/dense audio. Too much for me! Beware of focus - having too much movement going on at once can be distracting, even stressful for the viewer, so concentrate on making sure key messages are put across. Complicated stats, charts, figures we want to consider over a longer period of time, not when we're watching/listening to a video - either leave them on screen for us long enough to digest don't put them there at all or link to a page/document where we can browse that data in our own time.
As promised, coming back to an example of a single-threaded video: 09. Replication as a Service White Paper Now, in this video which is a couple of years old now, is of me working my socks off to make this challenging technical White Paper content as engaging as possible. VIDEO Quite obviously it's not whizz-bang imaginative and doesn't use many of the hints and tips we've discussed. BUT what this video is offering is incredibly focused to its target audience in terms of form and distribution, such that the target viewer by the time he watches it is already highly invested in the content and perhaps more likely to persist and watch right through it.
This brings me on talk briefly about casting . Casting Talent: Someone who understands the material but doesn't necessarily communicate on camera/microphone so well? Someone who communicates well, a trained presenter, but who can't carry off the material with credibility? Ideally, someone who can carry off both - but these can be (depending upon your subject matter) rare. Now, I'm not saying I do a great job in this last video but it was because I have an industry background in enterprise computing and could carry off the material with some credibility, and that I'm media trained that I got the gig. Certainly the trend in broadcast television at the moment is towards using 'experts' who are credible/authoritative in their subject matter and training them to work well on camera - there are fewer and fewer 'generalist' presenters who present technical/expert topics. This all goes hand in hand with the script and production's tone of voice - as well as having technical ability and being able to carry off the material, does the vocal quality of the talent fit the style of the video?
Let's talk about script: Scripting: Everyone loves a story - We've discussed tone of voice already and that will impact the scripting - difference between printed/magazine/journal copy and the more conversational tone that audiences find easier to engage with for video content. - But what about the content? I want to talk about that word: Story and Narrative . - Everything has a story of some kind and audiences like to learn the stories rather than just the current state. - How did something become what it is now, how is it made, what is its journey? - Whereas complex visuals may not work on a smart phone - a story will. - Practically how might you do this? For example, get out on location, out of the studio. When interviewing people go to them, whatever their content they're likely to be far more relaxed if they're delivering their content in their own environment. - When talking about a topic/data set, ideally use a location that is illustrative or supportive of the content OR use stock footage/virtual environments/GFX. But try to think of a supporting story/narrative that goes with it. - Example: Roger Schanks who runs a consultancy called Socratic Arts (www.socraticarts.com) on a commission for a large organisation shot videos and interviews of people doing their own jobs in their workplace. Eventually, most of the roles and key figures for the organisation had their own videos which told their story - who they were and what they did. - Script 101: 1 - begin with a ' hook ' - why is it relevant right now ? 2 - What's in it for me, why should I care ? What's my line? 3 - Verbal sign posts - what we'll be discussing - Very tight scripting and word limits (though ref tone of voice) - Dropping people in 'at the deep end', straight into heavy content, doesn't work - we need time to 'tune in', even on TV shows/films. - Use of metaphor and simile, liken the data/story to something with which we're already familiar. Now, I'll come back to story again when we look at our big case study, but I do just want to visit this:
Location / Backdrop / Virtual Environment Flat white or blue, plain background screen with a presenter stood/sat talking, perhaps images/video/words composited in edges of screen screen - very much a newsroom, lab feel to the video. On location - we'll already have talked about telling stories where the story is most comfortable or set. Or in a virtual environment illustrative of the subject - e.g., a 3D environment with which a presenter (real, virtual or voice over) interacts We've discussed and seen some examples of all of these.
Sound and music in video I won't talk about the technicalities, but how we can use it in video very briefly, background music - can add Energy create a mood set the tone before a word is spoken Action a Change of tone (good ref charity videos) - emotional engagement: "music reaches parts that words alone do not" With all of these pieces in place, let's take a look at a case study video that uses many if not all of these tips and tools we've discussed.
Case Study - BBC Election Night 2010: BBC Election Night 2010. Without doubt, it's a complicated topic, lots of numbers and names, places. But the BBC have been doing this for a very long time and have it down to a fine art, even from the opening sequences: 10. BBC Election 2010 Coverage - Opening titles and exit poll http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr2mojjmG1M&feature=related (first 3:00, finish at JP's naughty step) << Audience - which of our points do you notice in here? >> Titles: Music - sets tone, breaks us in - sets context, tells a story/history - >> provokes an emotional response - ( probably goes on just a little bit too long for my liking actually ) Intro with David Dimbleby: - Telling a story of the people. 'Extraordinary night'. - Pictures of the key figures, - Some key stats - condensed - Metaphor - horse race Jeremy Vine: - BBC have a great history of this stuff. - Jeremy Vine - good casting, bridges the gap between factual entertainment and current affairs well. - Credible but approachable delivery - Slabs flying in - kinda humorous, certainly light. - Virtual environment in context with his content Jeremy Paxman: - Hard-nosed with politicians but still lighter-toned when talking to us - Most importantly - what the decision means to us, what's at stake. Why does it matter.
Distribution and Analysis Cool video! But how will your audience find it? I think social media gets discussed elsewhere today but for the sake of completeness in this presentation I briefly want to raise the point that your video won't be watched by anybody if they don't know about it. Online video is driven by Social Media, by influencers sharing content among their networks. Now, it's not necessarily about influencers with a capital 'I' sharing video (stories about earlier days of Twitter and Stephen Fry single-handedly crashing websites with a mere tweet of their URL), but by people who have a following who are passionate about your content. So make sure your video available to be easily distributed to the relevant social networks - ask yourself if either one or more of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+ are likely to reach your audience. Once out there in the public domain your content will lead a life of its own and you won't necessarily be able to have absolute control over where your video shows up.
Be aware of - but don't get obsessed by - tracking tools to help you understand how your video is being received. Even YouTube gives you great analytics (particularly with its newest update last month) - you can understand your audience demographic (m/f, age), their location, what devices they are watching on and even how long they watch for (e.g., when do they get bored and go elsewhere).
With more advanced tools and analytics methodologies you can set targets, measure conversion rates, test different layouts and calls to action. What's the point of the analytics? Be clear about what you're measuring and why - purely about viewing numbers? Brand/campaign/knowledge awareness? What is the commercial aspect? Sign-up to a newsletter? Buy a product or subscription? Set goals, measure conversion rates > Return on investment? WAS THE VIDEO A SUCCESS?! Iterative process: analyse, improve/refine > repeat

Data is Dull! Make Challenging Content Interesting with Online Video! — Presentation Transcript

Dull Data? How to create an engaging online video experience. Technologist, Presenter and Writer @davidmcclelland
- David McClelland
20 January 2012
Challenging Content
- Data rich
- Specialist Material
- Potentially Dry Subject Matter
- Presentation about Presentation?
- Presentation 2.0
Subjectivity
- Different types of content
- Different delivery media
- Different audiences
Feel Free
- Disagree 
- Agree 
- Elaborate 
- Share 
- Comment 
Knowing Me, Knowing You
- Knowing your content
- Knowing your audience
- Knowing your medium
- Production
- Distribution and Analytics
- Q&A
Why me?
- David McClelland MBCS
- STEM Ambassador
- Technologist
- Data is BORING - Me
- Information is BEAUTIFUL - David McCandless
- Knowledge is POWER - Sir Francis Bacon
Data > Decisions
- Represents the facts
- Easily digestible
- Clearly presents key messages
- Focuses on decision points or follow-up actions
Reflection
- What is your source data?
- What unique value-add analysis and intelligence you can apply to it?
- What do you want your audience to do with that knowledge you've shared with them?
Understand your Audience
- Mike Smith
- 32, Estate Agent, Croydon, daily commute to central London, reads articles and watches video on his iPhone, amateur astronomer
Personas
- Real people, give them names
- Understand their journey through your content
- International
- Accessible
- Appetite
- Video Case Study
- Selling is Hard Work by Infoteam Consulting
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtJBVhkL1Eg&feature=related
Understand your Medium
Understand your Medium
Medium Questions
- How is your content likely to be consumed?
- Upon which devices?
- What are the corresponding challenges?
Medium Challenges
- Attention
- Clarity
- Online/Offline
Production – Chaptering Content
- Boone Oakley Homepage
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elo7WeIydh8
Production – Tone of Voice
- Exit Ego
- Conversation, not a lecture
- Jargon
- Ha Ha Humour?
Production – Case Study
- Salman Khan - TED talk opening montage
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gM95HHI4gLk
Production – Case Study
- New Scientist - Faster-than-light Neutrinos
- http://www.newscientist.com/video/1381152168001-faster-than-light-neutrinos-experiment.html
Production – Case Study
- Google 100
- ‘ How To’
- Video Tips
Production - Video Example
- eMedia Video
Production – Video Example
- Fleet Forecast
- Promo
Production – Tickers and Tables
- Sky Sports News
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tClbJHb-WOk
Production – Too Much?
- CNBC Closing Bell
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH1YEP3UzFU
Production – Focused/Too Little?
- IT Video White Paper
Production - Talent
- Understands Material
- Understands Technique
- Both?
- Vocal tone and look
Production - Scripting
- Everyone loves a story
- Hook
- Line
- Sign post
Production - Location
- Plain Background
- On Location
- Virtual Environment
Production - Music
- Energy
- Create a mood
- Sets tone before a word is spoken
- Action a Change of tone
- Emotional engagement:
Case Study – BBC Election Coverage
- BBC Election 2010 Coverage - Opening titles and exit poll
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr2mojjmG1M&feature=related
Distribution and Analysis
- Cool video! But how will your audience find it?
Tracking Tools
Analytics – What’s the Point?
- Was the video a ‘success’?
- Iterative process:
And Finally…
- A picture is worth 1,000 words. How much is a video worth?
- "A minute of video is worth 1.8 million words" Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research (Forrester, January 2009)
Thank You
- Any questions?

Data is Dull! Make Challenging Content Interesting with Online Video!

by David McClelland on Feb 21, 2012

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Data is Dull! Make Challenging Content Interesting with Online Video! — Presentation Transcript