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There are so many reasons to use video. According to Cisco in 2020, 82% of all consumer web traffic will be video! With that much video content online, you want to get your communication right so you can stand out from the others.
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Hello and welcome back to the Moonshine Moonshot series. Today we are talking about effective communication with video.
SPEAKER_00
Welcome everyone. We love talking video, it's what we do, and we don't want to see any more boring videos, which is part of our motivation for this series, how to get you effectively communicating and making really great videos.
SPEAKER_01
So Moonshot, what's that all about?
SPEAKER_00
Moonshot, big picture thinking, how to get to the moon, and uh it's a really big part of everything we do with our company, Impact Filmmaking. So the majority of our projects have that really big picture. What's the biggest impact we can make? How do we think big and really challenge ourselves to do things you know that we haven't done before?
SPEAKER_01
So the theme of this series is about making an impact with your communications, and today we're talking about effective communication with video, and part of the reason this is so important is because of the way people are consuming information online in particular. Really interesting report came out recently that I was reading about on LinkedIn, which was published by Cisco saying that 80% of all internet traffic will be video by 2022.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that that's a really staggering statistic because I mean video everyone knows is being used more and more and more, and you can access video on your phone, you can access video pretty much anywhere. Um, internet technology is so fantastic these days, you really can never not be online.
SPEAKER_01
That's right, and when you're communicating with decision makers, another interesting stat in the same LinkedIn paper uh from Forbes this time said that 59% of executives surveyed said they preferred to watch a video rather than read about a topic. So they would opt for a video over a document that they needed to read on the same topic. So I think this is what we're talking to today. If you're looking to communicate effectively, video really needs to be in your toolkit.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it's a it's a really interesting point that you've brought up there that um executives would prefer to see things in video than read about them, because even um when we're more recently applying for film funding, they want us to do, as the writer, director, producer, to do a pitch video, um, not just the written application, it's becoming absolutely essential. So you have to be able to be the on-screen talent, even just if you're a producer or a director.
SPEAKER_01
So and it and it's so not limited to films either in that production process, because almost anything that you're pitching will benefit from having a video version. And I find this often when we're pitching projects or working with others that are pitching projects, one of the key uh assets in the toolkit is gonna be a video because it so succinctly communicates what the core message is and it brings it to life, it takes it off the page and makes it more than words on a page and makes it something that exists in the real world. And I think there's a lot of power to that.
SPEAKER_00
And I think um if we're bringing it back to effective communication, so video is the vehicle, but how do you communicate effectively using a video? Because you can, you know, you can hold your iPhone up and record to that. Is that effective communication just because it's on video, or is there a lot more nuance to it?
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, look, I think the device is not the most important part, but I think presenting professionally is important. So it's important that if you're using um, you know, more like a consumer device, like a phone, that you're still thinking about how you're presenting, that you've practiced, that you're using lighting and and you know, microphones and all that type of thing. So I'd say it's less about the device than about getting the message distilled down to the absolute essence and then bringing that to life. And we've seen this a number of times, uh, making pitch videos and fundraising videos that have raised millions of dollars for projects. And often, um, well, one that's coming into my mind was for uh an interior design and fit out company that was going for their biggest tender ever, um, you know, a big multi-story, you know, corporate headquarters. And they produced a video, beautiful video, that really articulated what made them different and why they were so good at what they did. And, you know, of course, they sent that uh as part of the tender process and used it in their tender pitch meeting at the end of the meeting to get a lot of excitement, dim the lights, turn up the sound, and you know, play this video, which just so powerfully and articulately gets to the point of what you're offering. And of course, they won the job. And we see this time and time again that when people take that extra, make that extra effort to make a video and produce something that communicates effectively, that it often gets the result.
SPEAKER_00
And I I think what was effective about it, if we're really going to get sort of a bit more granular on it, is it wasn't just one person talking, it was a whole range of voices from their team, and they coupled it with um what we call overlay footage, which means um footage highlighting the work that they were talking about.
SPEAKER_01
Show, don't tell.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, so it was architectural photos, it was other videos that they produced, edited in um with them talking to their pitch. Um, it had some graphic elements, you know, um putting people's titles on screen, explaining various elements to that. So it wasn't just them on screen, it was it was kind of a bit more of a package of elements that came together to make it a really oh music, yeah. Music's really important. So graphics, yep.
SPEAKER_01
Tailored to the audience, you know. I think that's the key thing, isn't it? They were so conscious of the audience that they were speaking to, the people they were pitching to, that they could, you know, package that up into a video. And um, I don't think that's the beauty of video, it just communicates so much more effectively and so much more efficiently because you, you know, it can take you pages of writing to get the same point across that you can show and tell in a video in just a minute or two. You know, that's how much more efficient it is.
SPEAKER_00
And yeah, so it's that whole, you know, a picture tells a thousand words, you know. Um when when you see something, you um your brain connects with it in a very different way to when you either read it or just simply hear it when you're hearing it and seeing it. Um, your brain processes, I can't remember the statistics on this, but the way your brain processes 60,000 times quicker. 60,000, 60,000 times quicker. So the audience that you're showing your video to is just going to be able to consume it in a much more meaningful way.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, totally. It's more memorable, you know, because we're visual animals, you know, the way that we remember things and that we remember pictures. Um so I think that's the the kind of key take-home from this is that's why video is so effective in communications. And uh, you know, executives are so time poor that they often don't have time to read a lot, um, or they're going through a vetting process to decide what they're gonna read. So um videos are really well placed, I find, in written documents, like right on the front page, so that you can either click through if it's a clickable PDF or you know, it might be a web page or something that's interactive. Um, but even if it's a printout, you can still use a QR code or you know, just a URL so that people can quickly and easily get to that video, um, which takes it off the page, brings it to life in a really powerful, uh, effective and efficient way. Uh, and then the reader can dive back in or know what to look for in that proposal. Um, and the key points that you've already highlighted in the video will be even more memorable and meaningful when people get to them in the written form.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that's right. So we've kind of we've dived quite deeply into uh more like a pitch video, I guess, in in this topic um around effective communication. But you can use um video for effective communication in just about anything. And you don't necessarily have to have overlay and and all the other bells and whistles, you could just be um talking to the camera. Um, but it's about making sure that what you say, you've really thought it through. Um, so you don't necessarily have to be scripted, um, but you do need to be really clear on your messaging so you don't just kind of ramble on. You want to be really succinct because that's the other thing is people have very short attention span. So you want to make sure what you're saying is delivered in a way that's really easy to understand and that um is really clear.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I just want to talk about that overlay for a second because um often clients we work with, it's not top of mind, because of course they're not visual communications people necessarily, they're doing all types of other professions, which they're great at. Um, but you know, often it only takes a question or two to discover that, oh yeah, they do have some file footage that shows what they do. Um, or they have some photos, they have some graphics or illustrations, they have some working designs, uh, or it can easily be captured in a couple of hours by sending, you know, a videographer out onto a location, or they can find it through stock footage. All of these things, you know, just enhance the message. So you're moving away from being a talking head to something much more memorable and dynamic because you're using those visuals that stick in our mind.
SPEAKER_00
So I think the the key key takeaways for effective communication in video would be making sure you understand your message, really think through what you're trying to say before you roll camera. Yep. Uh wherever possible, try and bring it to life with some um overlay, stock footage, photos, anything that kind of has a visual um element that you can put into the video. Um, if possible, graphics, um, even just titles on people is really helpful.
SPEAKER_01
Um and just fill the message, you know, write, rewrite, practice, present professionally.
SPEAKER_00
Add music when you can.
SPEAKER_01
Yep. Use different messengers, you know. It doesn't have to be one person, it can be what's it can be a chorus of voices.
SPEAKER_00
Yep. So it's definitely worth the planning and the mapping out what you want to do, and then um that's going to really help get your messaging really clear. And then it's just a case of getting the production together and um and rolling camera.
SPEAKER_01
If you'd like to hear more about effective communication with video, feel free to reach out to us. We love to hear from you and to answer your questions.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, absolutely. And and let us know what what things are tripping you up. You know, what is it that's stopping you from creating your own video? Um, we might be able to help. Okay, so well, uh that's I think that's it.
SPEAKER_01
That's a wrap. Uh good luck with your next big project, and we hope the video is a helpful addition to your toolkit. See you next time.
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