Refreshingly, there is a new language of filmmaking that people are ravenously consuming.
Gone are the days when the public would wear a public information film where someone talking seemingly for hours.
The act of the scroll has democratised film consumption.
If you are not grabbing attention people will leave.
Here’s examples of films to inspire you.
There’s an array of approaches from the traditional to the quite bold.
Use this as a library of options.
When you see one out in the wild, save it. You never know when it’ll come in handy.
The voxpop
How: Send someone out with a microphone to speak to real people.
When: When you want your audience to see themselves reflected on the screen with some third party endorsement.
Example: South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue here talk about the peer pressure of jumping into open water while drunk. Four hundred people a year in the UK drown with 13 to 17-year-olds most at risk. This approach mimics the trend of influencers going out onto the street for some candid chats.
The lucky shot
How: Keep your wits about you to capture something special. There is no shot-list for this. Just quick thinking.
When: Sometimes golden things happen that can create softer content that has no call to action. Do you know what? That’s fine.
Example: The National Trust are a well-resourced comms team which does LinkedIn really well. This cute shot of a squirrel scampering was too good to miss. This will get views. That means your post necxt week will get more attention.
Multiple shots then voiceover to tell a story
How: Gather lots of different pieces of footage. Then add the voiceover later when you know what the narrative is.
When: You know you have a story to tell but you don’t have an interviewee who can perform at the drop of a hat.
Example: London Ambulance Service took footage for a day-in-the-life of a paramedic. Quick edits and a voiceover make this work. Note the shots are GDPR-complaint too. So, you don’t see the vehicle collision, just the paramedic.
The interview illustrated by cutaways
How: There’s a sit-down interview to allow the interviewee to speak candidly without a script. This works well when the subject is personal or isn’t used to speaking on camera. You can then illustrate it with B-roll you can shoot. He talks about meeting patients? You see him meeting patients.
When: When you have a personal story.
Example: Here, NHS England interview a surgeon who has returned to work after a tree fell on him while he was out cycling. It’s a powerful story posted to LinkedIn underlined by the cutaways that move the story onwards with pace.
The scripted walk and talk
How: You write a script and then the subject delivers it line-by-line and shot-by-shot.
When: When you have a story that may need an injection of pace that comes with multiple shots. When your subject needs to get to the point without waffle.
Example: Oxford City Council are masters at this approach. Here, a fairly arcane subject is made engaging by a crisp script and being out and about. Say bye-bye to dull Councillor videos.
The meme
How: The CapCut app is brilliant at providing short memes that you can slot your own images or footage into.
When: When you need to post but you don’t have the footage. This works better on the more leftfield TikTok rather than the more conservative formats of LinkedIn or Reels.
Example: South Downs National Park use this Hollywood actor’s response as a basis for their clip on TikTok.
A POV (point of view)
How: Simply take out the phone and film yourself walking up that hill, through the town centre, across the bridge. Whatever you like.
When: When you need to show what you’ll get if you take that walk with a voiceover added later.
Example: In this influencer-shot video, a walk in the Lake District is shown. The scenery is the star.
The trend
How: One approach to filmmaking gets built upon and built upon.
When: The half-life of the trend is days and hours rather than weeks and months. This is about swiftness and originality not being the 95th.
Example: Turangi Fire and Rescue in New Zealand were not the only ones to parody this glamorous Bentley promotion. They mimic it shot-by-shot for comic effect.
The two shot
How: The vertical approach for video now allows to shots one above the other to make it visually more engaging.
When: When you maybe have a piece to camera and other supporting footage.
Example: Here. BBC News uses a piece to camera and supporting footage to illustrate it.
That’s nine approaches.
Many more are available.
What have you seen?
For more, I deliver training to help you make sense of the changing landscape.
ESSENTIAL AI FOR PUBLIC SECTOR COMMS
ESSENTIAL COMMS SKILLS BOOSTER
ESSENTIAL VIDEO SKILLS REBOOTED.
Creative comms credit: Foyer By Andypiper CC BY 2.0.
