WEBVTT 00:00.240 --> 00:07.290 Great videos start with great stories and video is the perfect medium for storytelling in our modern 00:07.470 --> 00:08.010 world. 00:08.220 --> 00:13.770 Many people carry around a device in their pocket where they can watch videos all the time and video 00:13.770 --> 00:19.140 is both visual and audio so it's a great way to give your story to an audience. 00:19.140 --> 00:23.510 Now figuring out what story you want to tell with video is a whole nother story. 00:23.520 --> 00:29.260 Sometimes you might already have that story in mind and you know that it would make the perfect video. 00:29.280 --> 00:34.950 And for me this came about last year when I was thinking about making a short documentary and I had 00:34.950 --> 00:42.930 a friend who was unfortunately diagnosed with a class or Lou Gehrig's disease in his mid 20s and he 00:42.930 --> 00:48.750 was a professional award winning photographer and he basically couldn't use his hands to change the 00:48.750 --> 00:50.510 settings on his camera anymore. 00:50.790 --> 00:57.060 But after a couple of years he figured out a way to still take photos from his wheelchair and this whole 00:57.060 --> 01:02.310 story was just so inspiring to me that I knew it would make a great documentary. 01:02.310 --> 01:05.960 Now you may not have that perfect story to tell right now. 01:06.120 --> 01:10.240 But as filmmakers we're always on the lookout for a great story. 01:10.320 --> 01:15.720 Even when I was shooting the Anthony Carver documentary I'm always on the look out for inspiration for 01:15.720 --> 01:18.020 my next video. 01:18.270 --> 01:22.070 If you're struggling to find a story shoot something you're passionate about. 01:22.110 --> 01:24.630 You should always be really excited about what you're shooting. 01:24.630 --> 01:30.360 So if you start by shooting your passion you may be able to evolve and develop a story or something 01:30.420 --> 01:31.360 out of that. 01:31.380 --> 01:37.500 I for example really like hockey so I shoot a lot of hockey video sometimes I just take my camera out 01:37.500 --> 01:42.210 there and before and after games I get out there and I shoot and really because I'm passionate about 01:42.210 --> 01:48.150 it the story will sort of find me sorry advice to you to get started with finding your story is to get 01:48.150 --> 01:50.070 out there and shoot your passions. 01:50.070 --> 01:55.150 It's a great place to start looking for inspiration and hopefully it will spark your next idea. 01:55.170 --> 02:01.530 So if you have an idea subject or the type of it you will make or even if you're still a little lost 02:01.530 --> 02:06.670 and trying to figure out what you want to do You should really just go online and see what else is out 02:06.670 --> 02:11.370 there going to youtube going to Instagram search companies that you know you like well they're similar 02:11.370 --> 02:17.580 to your own company and just start grabbing inspiration from those things see how they made them look 02:17.580 --> 02:23.160 at each shot individually and think of oh they went in and they shot this watch on the shot this close 02:23.160 --> 02:28.500 up and so analyze how it was made so you can go and use your own style or use your own techniques to 02:28.500 --> 02:33.570 make a video better than that one you know be better than the the videos of grabbing inspiration from 02:33.870 --> 02:35.670 or you know use similar tricks. 02:35.670 --> 02:41.520 I know for myself when I first started with Major Lazer I had shot of some events but never at that 02:41.520 --> 02:47.890 level and so I went out and saw what other big acts were doing seeing how people covered their events. 02:47.970 --> 02:53.610 Were they doing behind the scenes shots with is doing just really cool fast editing all these different 02:53.610 --> 03:01.200 things and over time I developed my own style I developed the my way of approaching it and it's really 03:01.320 --> 03:02.840 it's been a great learning experience for me. 03:02.840 --> 03:09.000 And each is different each approach is different but I'm always looking out there and seeing what other 03:09.000 --> 03:10.200 people are doing to know. 03:10.380 --> 03:14.100 Oh my gosh you know these guys for this video and I got 500 million views. 03:14.130 --> 03:19.200 OK well people obviously like that so they like something that they're doing they're all going to try 03:19.200 --> 03:20.790 doing something similar. 03:20.940 --> 03:23.110 But again my subject matter is different. 03:23.370 --> 03:27.140 I'm a different filmmaker so it's going to be my own style. 03:27.270 --> 03:32.100 When you're coming up with your video idea you've got to think about how engaging your video will be 03:32.280 --> 03:34.730 and with engagement comes down to a couple of things. 03:34.740 --> 03:37.010 But one is the length of your video. 03:37.050 --> 03:38.880 There's no perfect length for a video. 03:38.880 --> 03:43.560 I always say that your video should be as long as it takes to tell your story. 03:43.590 --> 03:50.490 For some stories this might be two hours for some stories it's 10 hours it's a full season of TV shows. 03:50.490 --> 03:53.400 For some it's a 30 second clip on Instagram. 03:53.400 --> 03:59.310 There's no perfect length for your video but remember that we do live in a world where people's attention 03:59.310 --> 04:02.790 spans are getting shorter and shorter and shorter. 04:03.120 --> 04:07.710 So trimming the fat and keeping it short will make it more engaging. 04:07.710 --> 04:14.160 Aside from the length of your video engagement comes across with how you make your videos as well including 04:14.160 --> 04:19.740 what types of shots you have a video with one long shot of someone talking at the camera isn't going 04:19.740 --> 04:26.490 to be as engaging as that same video with multiple shots or multiple people telling that same story 04:26.850 --> 04:32.480 also adding things like music graphics or titles can make your videos more engaging. 04:32.820 --> 04:37.730 Here's a checklist to help come up with your next video to think about what you're passionate about. 04:37.770 --> 04:43.170 Research the videos that you're drawn to that you can gain inspiration from better video ideas off your 04:43.170 --> 04:47.450 friends family because getting a second opinion can help you develop your idea. 04:47.460 --> 04:52.530 Use a tool like Google Trends to see what's currently trending or just hop over to YouTube to see what 04:52.530 --> 04:54.610 the trending videos of the day are. 04:54.630 --> 04:58.500 Think of things that make your video stand out among the rest. 04:58.500 --> 05:01.230 Use these tips to start thinking about your next video topic.