I gave this presentation to the Public Relations Network of the Quad Cities on April 24, 2018.

1. HOW TO MAKE
GREAT VIDEOS
Public Relations Network of the Quad Cities
Chris Snider | Drake University | @chrissnider

2. Chris Snider
Associate Professor in Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
I teach classes in social media, web design, multimedia and visual communication.

3. My background
• Studied journalism 📰 at University of Iowa
• Designer at Baltimore Sun☀
• News Design🎨 Director at St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Editor of Juice🥤 Magazine (Des Moines)
• AME/Digital at Des Moines Register🗞
• Passionate about new technology and social media

4. RESOURCES Available:
chrissniderdesign.com/qc
Video handouts
Smartphone video hardware and apps
Today’s presentation
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5. Raise your hand if you’ve NEVER
made a video

6. We’ve all made videos before
It’s 2018
That doesn’t mean
we’ve maDe good ones

7. According to a study by the marketing
intelligence company Beckon…
5 percent of all branded
content accounts for 90
percent of total engagement

8. translation:
95 percent of branded content
gets little to no engagement

9. Today’s Plan
Do an exercise on creating great content
Discuss how we can turn that content into a video
(with just a smartphone)
Then talk about what’s going on with Facebook

10. traditional business video method
• Introduction - Welcome them, tell them who you are
and tell them their search is over.
• Engage and empathize - Tell them you understand
how difficult a decision this is and understand their
concerns.
• Credibility and benefits - Showcase your expertise
and what value you bring to address those concerns.
• Call to action - Tell them what to do next.

11. This method works well.
But it doesn’t create a story.

12. information spreads
through stories.
Nobody ever told their friends:
“We have to go get a drink
so I can tell you the facts
about my date last night.”

13. Our brains become more active
when we’re hearing a story.
- Science

14. 3 Elements of a Great Story
1. Sympathetic Character
2. Obstacle - Tension - Want
3. How the character overcomes that obstacle

15. Sympathetic character
Obstacle
How overcomes obstacle

16. Sympathetic character: Miguel
Want: To play music
Obstacle: His family doesn’t like music
Overcomes: Finds out the real story of family history

17. Krochet Kids int’l: This is Empowerment

18. 1. Sympathetic Character?
2. Tension - Obstacle - Want?
3. How the character overcomes that obstacle?

19. Chubbies Shorts: Pants Problem

20. 1. Sympathetic Character?
2. Tension - Obstacle - Want?
3. How the character overcomes that obstacle?

21. Let’s Workshop

22. PICK A STORY
This can be the story of your company/brand/organization.
It can be the story of a customer you helped.
It can be the story of a product you sell.
It can be the story of your life.

23. ELEMENTS OF GREAT STORY
1. Who is the Sympathetic Character?
2. What is the Obstacle - Tension - Want?
3. How does the character overcomes that obstacle?
Let’s workshop!

24. characteristics OF GREAT VIDEO
1. Action - movement works well on video
2. Emotion - makes us connect with the story
3. A quotable person
4. A process that can be illustrated
Which of those elements can you bring into your video?
More workshop!

25. elements OF great VIDEO
1. Videos
2. Photos
3. Audio
Which of those elements will you use in each area
of your video - character, obstacle and how overcome?
4. Graphics
5. Map
6. Text
Even more workshop!

26. A few tips
for shooting better videos
Now that you have a story…

27. Shoot in shots
• Don’t shoot in one continuous movement or hold
one shot for too long
• Shoot a series of unique shots and put them
together to tell the story
• This is a terrible video (with millions of views)…

29. If things get static,
the story dies.

30. Move, point, shoot, stop.
Move, point, shoot, stop.
Move, point, shoot, stop.
• Frame your shot, then press record until it gets boring.
• Then stop and move on to the next one.
• Shoot more than you think you’ll need (you don’t have
to use it all)

32. COMPOSE
YOUR SHOTS
• Take charge and
properly set up the
shot.
• Pay attention to
backgrounds.
• Don’t be afraid to
rearrange the furniture
(in non-documentary
situations).

33. RULE OF THIRDS
Source: http://ecvphoto.weebly.com/the-art-of-composition.html

34. FRAMING
Source: http://ecvphoto.weebly.com/the-art-of-composition.html

35. LEADING LINES
Source: http://ecvphoto.weebly.com/the-art-of-composition.html

36. FOREGROUND/BACKGROUND
Image by Georgie Pauwels. Used with Creative Commons Attribution.

37. Shoot
wide,
medium
and cLose
For close-up
shots, look
for hands
and faces

38. <— Wide
Medium —>
<— Close-up —>

39. <— Framing
<— Rule of thirds
Foreground/Background —>

40. Story
+ variety of shots
= successful video

41. STORYBOARDING
• It’s important to think through all of your shots
ahead of time.
• Easiest way is to storyboard what you will shoot.

42. What are some shots/scenes
you would include in your video?

43. That exercise is actually
from ONE OF MY CLASSES:
MULTIMEDIA
COMMUNICATION

44. Drake University’S NEW ONLINE
Master of ARTS in communication
• Three Tracks / Six starts per year / Finish in a year
• Brand Communication
• Communication Leadership
• Public Affairs & Advocacy

45. Apps
FOR BETTER VIDEO

46. A BETTER VIDEO APP: FILMICPRO
• About $10 - iOS and Android
• Professional video tools such as smooth zooming,
lock focus, lock exposure, sound monitoring.

47. Creative videos: Quik
• Free for both Android and iOS
• Quickly make videos, add text and music

48. SIMPLE IPHONE EDITING: SPLICE
• Quickly turn multiple clips into one movie

49. SIMPLE ANDROID EDITING: VIDEOSHOP
• Quickly turn multiple clips into one movie

50. IPHONE EDITING: IMOVIE
• $4.99
• Includes many of the same features as the desktop version

51. ANDROID EDITING: KINEMASTER
• $5/month
• Includes many of the same features as the desktop version

52. MUST-HAVE:
GooGle Photos
• Free for iOS and
Android
• Edit and backup
your videos

53. PRO editing: LUMAFUSION
• $20 for iOS
• Powerful multi-track video editor

54. MORE VIDEO APPS TO TRY
• Cinamaker - Film with multiple cameras
• 1 second everyday - very short videos over time
• Hyperlapse - timelapse video while you move
• InShot - convert horizontal videos to vertical
• Pocket Video - edit videos to use on Stories

55. Hardware
FOR BETTER smartphone VIDEO

56. Smartphone video has
three main weaknesses
Hard to keep phone stable
Lack of quality audio
Not great in low-light situations

58. Promaster tripod - $70
Manfrotto tabletop
tripod - $20
DJI Osmo Mobile - $130

59. Joby Griptight - $20
Shoulderpod - $30
Square Jellyfish - $20
Ulanzi smartphone rig - $13
Vastar tripod
mount - $6

60. iRig Mic - $60
Rode
Reporter
mic and
i-XLR -
$280
iRig +
XLR cable
+ mic -
$70-170
Generic
lavalier -
$12
Sennheiser
ClipMic
digital
- $200

61. Two for $80

62. Facebook
How to get your content seen on

63. WHAT WE KNOW…
• Fewer posts and videos from publishers and businesses will
be shown.
• Reach, video watch time and referral traffic will go down.
• Priority will be given to posts that spark conversations and
meaningful interactions.
• Viral videos are pretty much dead already.

64. What to do on FB in 2018
• Fewer, better posts
• Focus on getting meaningful comments and interactions
• Use live video - gets 6x more interaction than other videos
• Groups - start them, join them, participate in them
• Stories - Zuck says they will overtake News Feed on all apps
• Have individuals from your company post on their profiles
• Master Facebook ads

65. Fewer, better posts
• It’s helpful or useful to the audience
• It’s rooted in specific, real customer problems
• It looks like what real people post to Facebook
• You would be proud to share it with your friends

66. How to increase engagement
• Share quality content
• Learn from your successes and failures
• Use compelling visuals
• Ask your audience questions
• Have a call to action

67. UPCOMING WORKSHOPs
Intro to Podcasting: May 22, 2018
Social Media Beyond Facebook: May 30, 2018
Both run 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Drake University
Details at chrissniderdesign.com/qc
Early-bird pricing ends May 7

68. QUESTIONS?
Follow Chris:
@chrissnider
chrissniderdesign.com