Tell Your Video Story Through The Viewer's Point of View
If you want to create a video that convinces someone to do something, it's usually a good idea to tell a story through the viewer's point of view.
A lot of video content creators get this wrong.
The burning topic of Viewer POV is just the latest in our eight "Secrets for Creating Pro Videos." We had been racking our brains to create this list after accepting an invitation to speak on the subject to an audience at Portland PR firm AM:PM.
(You can catch up with us by reviewing our previous 5 posts about running a video idea past the "I Should Certainly Hope So" Test, our musings about where sound quality ranks in a video project, a sneaky editing trick we rely on to help boost clarity and emotion in a video, how today's smart phone cameras are giving big-time professional video cameras a run for their money, and the power of capturing unexpected, memorable moments.)
Number 6 on our list of pro video secrets?
Secret #6: Tell Your Story Through the Viewer's Point of View
Let's say you wanted to make a video to convince viewers to sign up as delivery driver volunteers for Meals on Wheels.
When we were first presented with this challenge a while back, we rolled a few ideas around in our heads.
One idea we considered was to interview a needy elderly recipient of the program. Someone who could tug at viewers' heartstrings by explaining how important it is for them to receive both the meal and the human interaction of the delivery volunteers on a regular basis.
By doing it this way, we would appeal to the potential volunteers' sense of duty, in the hope they'd be galvanized to step up to serve their fellow citizens in need.
Have you seen a video like that? We have.
Another Idea Emerges
But then we had another idea: What if we presented the whole video through the point of view of another volunteer?
Why did that volunteer agree to sign up? What is it like for them? Who do they meet in their volunteer shift, and how does it make them feel? Are they glad they signed up, or do they regret it?
Would a "day in the life" profile of one of these volunteers give the viewer the best idea of what volunteering for Meals on Wheels is like?
You bet it would.
Here's the video we came up with:
Viewer POV is a powerful "secret" in our video-making arsenal.
Get it right, and you will have made the target audience imagine themselves making the decision you want them to make.
