Thursday, March 7, 2013

5-1/2 Questions to Ask Before Making a Video: The Pagano Video Method, Part 3: Intent






The Pagano Video Method - Part 3:  Intent


In this edition of BullShots!, our multi-part series on the five questions to ask when you want to make a great video continues.  These are the questions I ask my clients to consider whenever we talk about videos.  I call it the Pagano Video Method.

So far, we've asked two important questions:  1) Who are you? and 2) What's your product or service?  The answers help to give the video a back story or history.  The back story probably won't make it into the video, but does provide useful background information that influences the message, flavor, and feel of a video.  

Today, we move beyond the back story and talk about intent.


Question 3:  What do you want to do?

"Well, I want to make a video!"

Of course, but to what end?  In other words, what's the intent of the video?  What purpose will the video serve? 

Here's a quick quiz:  Of the three possible answers below, which one(s) refer to intent?

  1. I want the video to show my skill as a dentist.
  2. I want it to show my beautiful new office.
  3. I want people to understand why I'm the best at what I do. 
  4. I want a wedding video.
  5. I want a video for my kids to send with their college applications.
  6. I want a video to put on my web page.

If you answered both one and three, you're right on.  The other responses don't speak to intention.  Response two refers to what should be on the video.  Four tells us what sort of video the client wants, but says nothing about its purpose. 

Response five gets a bit closer, but it's still off the mark because it doesn't speak about the intent of the video -- it refers to the reason for making a video, but not its actual purpose.  Number six is way off the mark.  A video of a dog barking would suffice, but it wouldn't make sense on a dentist's home page. 
But number one, "I want the video to show my skill as a dentist" and number three, "I want people to understand why I'm the best at what I do" both discuss the video's intent.  That's important, because it guides us to the story of the video. 

For example, the video showing one's skill as a dentist might have content showing the dentist filling cavities or examining x-rays.  It might show him or her in a classroom learning the latest techniques, or might not even have the dentist in it at all -- it could be testimonials from patients.  Each of these approaches fills the intent of the video, to show the dentist's skill.

To achieve the intent of number three, showing why the subject is the best at his or her profession, might show the client's trophy case full of professional achievement awards, or perhaps actually being presented with one.  It could show clips from newspaper reviews or thank you letters.  Perhaps it shows the client tackling a difficult problem, like designing the world's longest suspension bridge.  While each of the stories is different, the intent is the same. 

So before committing to an investment of hundreds or even thousands of dollars for that video for your web site, ask yourself:  What do I want to do?

Next time in BullShots! we talk about your competition.  See you then!

-Fred

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Learn more about my method.  Call me anytime at +1 (617) 230-4019,
or drop me an email:  Fred@BrownCowStudios.com

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For more useful information, be sure to visit the Brown Cow Studios website:  www.BrownCowStudios.com

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Copyright 2013 Fred Pagano & Brown Cow Studios of Boston.  All rights reserved.  
This copyrighted article may be redistributed provided all text, links, credits, and this copyright notice are intact. 


2 comments:

Pixels Visual said...

Thank you very much for your post! Very interested in your opinion.
Whiteboard Animation

Brownie T. Cow. said...

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for writing! Moo!.

BullShots!

BullShots! is written by Fred Pagano, and is published by Brown Cow Studios of Boston.



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