Like many of you, I don’t take on every project that comes through my door. I am in a position where I can pick and choose the projects I want to work on, because not every project is right for my company. The ones I do choose I am usually very interested in and passionate about… and I take the role of “creative collaborator” very seriously. There are times (recently one that sticks out) where I have pushed back so much that I find myself apologizing to the client. “I’m sorry, I know you’re getting tired of hearing this…” But I’ll never apologize for fighting for what’s best for my client and the project.

Likewise, sometimes I’m either too close to the project or not close enough and I try my best to encourage clients to push back on the things I’m saying. I tell them early on that I bring no ego to the project and that I want (expect?) them to challenge me when they feel like I’m taking a different direction than what is best for them.

I believe this helps me get the best out of my clients & my team.

How about you, do you push back? In what ways? How do you receive push back?

Image Courtesy of www.detroitmoxie.com

Graffiti has long been a part of the Detroit landscape, the abandoned buildings and streets have been an obvious choice for years for graffiti artists looking to spread their tag. Modern graffiti (I say “modern” b/c graffiti actually originated in ancient Greece to mark the houses of prostitution) was hijacked by the gang culture to mark turf. One gang would invade another’s territory and “tag” it, to prove that the other gang couldn’t protect their own turf. If you were caught tagging? You died.

And here we stand, a short 30 years after graffiti was an “up yours” to your enemies, a global real estate firm and Coca Cola are paying (or “giving up that corporate cheddar” as one of the artists said), to have this art adorn their spaces, and has become a well respected form of art (I direct you to the cost of a Banksy piece).

To me, the conversation is one of perception.

How did we get here? Obviously it had a big tie to the hip hop world, which you never thought “would take it this far.” But the art world, which for so long was considered untouchable by the average middle class American, is now being driven by the inner city culture. What an incredible change of perception.

What, in your business or personal life, do you perceive as harmful or negative, that in 10 years might be a respected model for business or living?

Keep in mind the techniques necessary for each of these, as well as the channels in which they might work the best, as we’ll be covering these things in later blog posts.

Demonstration
This style is perfect for those looking to show off a product, feature, or a process within their business. Not only is it vivid, but it’s also the perfect alternative to words. Sometimes things just get too complicated to put into wording, and this is where demonstration video fits in. Seeing a product in use is a great way to get your clients intrigued in what you have to offer.

Key Techniques: Lighting is essential to a demonstration video. Good lighting will bring out your product and relay the right message. On the other hand, bad lighting results in a poor perception of the quality of your product. Consider explaining your product and its functions in the video through a voiceover for a great additional touch (something we’ll cover later).

The video below is a fantastic demonstration video, pointed to us by the lovely Alesya of Alesya Bags. Notice the fantastic lighting (always light behind the camera, not the user), she’s talking in a clear way that you can both hear and understand everything she’s saying. Also notice that it’s not scripted, but she definitely has a flow for the conversation planned out… And, most importantly, she’s smiling.

Event Style
Are you planning to speak in front of a group of people? Or is someone going to speak at your next company meeting? Maybe your product is lined up to be put into action at your first large customer order. Event style videos will document these events as they are happening to bring your client straight into your organization.

Key Techniques: Sound. Even if the image in the video might not be exactly up to par, it can still be high quality if you have great sound. Viewers have quite a low patience for bad sound. A bad image they’ll usually put up with, but bad sound loses your audience immediately. Use a Bluetooth microphone or a boom microphone (these are things we’ll cover in later posts).

At Mango Languages, one of the employees brought in Mooncakes for an ethnic festival and they got it on tape. Simple, to the point and very effective.

(Self) Interview Or Testimonial
If you’re looking for a way to educate your clientele on what is going on inside your industry, an interview style video can work wonders! You can even do a “self interview”— where you speak directly into the camera. These are key to helping to establish you as an expert in your industry.

Key Techniques: Good sound and lighting should be factors included when you put together your interview or testimonial video. More importantly though, you should focus on putting together a solid plan of what you’re going to discuss. Nothing derails an interview faster than an interviewee that is all over the place. Plan properly and you will have minimal work on the back end.

Take a look at this video from Detroit’s own Charlie Wollberg of Curve Detroit. My favorite part of this piece is the homage to Space Invaders in the background… attention to detail in a form your viewers will appreciate. Well done Mr Curve.

Entertainment Style
The favorite style of Final Five… In today’s world of entertainment television, music, gaming, and so much more, it’s important to entertain your audience. It’s a battle for attention people! What are you doing to win it? If you want to hook your audience and command their attention, then entertainment style is your top choice. You can wrap up your product or business process in a creative story form. Don’t be afraid to add some flavor and a touch of comedy.

Key Technique: Writing and humor! People won’t mind lesser production qualities if you’ve made them genuinely laugh. Make up a song. Get creative. Add some dancing babies. There’s no limit, and the choices are up to you.

The group at Hunch Free are close friends of ours at Final Five. Using a storyline they created, they’re able to not only make you laugh but flex a bit of Twitter knowledge on you, as well. Granted, they make videos for a living, but this is still an executable idea for any kind of business.

Did I hit all the styles? Anything you can think of that I might have missed?

To start with, there are two different kinds of video styles we recommend… both equally important. Our friends (and clients) at Mango Languages are doing a great job of distinguishing between the two and I want to show you some examples.

The first example are your brand videos. These are NOT videos you would do on your own (see those below). These are videos that will express your company’s experience and quality to the viewer. It will tell a story that you want to communicate and it’s done so in a manner that says “we’re professional and leaders in our industry.” Check out Mango Languages’ flawless execution of a brand video.

The second type of video style is personality video. Personality videos are you having fun and showing a bit of yourselves to your audience. They really let your customers into your organization to get to know who you are as a company and as people. With the meteoric rise of Youtube, viewers have become more accustomed to seeing videos that aren’t that great of quality. If it’s done by you, and it’s all about you, they appreciate the personal touch. It also can play off the brand video. Mango Languages are some of the best we’ve seen at communicating their personality through video, as you can see here.

Are you allowing your potential clients to see both your brand and your personality?