Even the shortest TV spot needs a structure to keep the viewer engaged. Longer form programmes need clear signposts for the audience to keep them interested and entertained. A series of edits cut to one piece of music just won’t cut it.
You want your audience to spend their valuable time with your programme… so ask yourself, would you?
Your programme should flow, starting with a bang, settling the audience and making them want to watch, then ordering the messages you want to deliver into clearly defined sections.
Use music stings to introduce new topics and ideas. Change the mood and vary the tempo of the music. If there’s a lot of information help the audience with clear chapter headings, in the same way that you would add paragraph breaks, headings or even a contents list to a long document, you should punctuate your programme.
Music does more than punctuate a programme it will dictate the tone, mood and overall impact of it.
Music comes in two keys – a minor and major key. Music in a minor key will sound mournful, introspective, music in a major key will feel joyful and uplifting. How you want your audience to feel should dictate the key of the soundtrack to your video.
When you’ve covered the basics, you can start to use music to paint a picture, add excitement, build anticipation and create an emotional response to your video. Think past the obvious and your audience won’t have the obvious response.
Here is a clip from a video we produced to launch a sales travel incentive to the Caribbean. The obvious thing here was to build with a morcheba style chillout music track, then use a Caribbean flavoured piece, like this:
The second clip is much more impactful. Same shots, same script, same length.
It can take a lot of research to find the right music track but when you find that peice of music that really lifts the film, its well worth the effort. In this instance, the client was inundated with requests from their audience for the name of the composer, so they could keep listening.
You might have the perfect song in mind, a great pop song with just the right message. Keep in mind copyright and synchonisation costs. If you produce anything with audio ‘synched’ with video, you will need to pay a license fee, or royalty to the record company and the artist. This can take weeks or sometimes months to negotiate, and in some instances, the artist may say they dont want their music used in an advert or promotional film.
Don’t let that put you off though, there are real benefits in using a pop music track. And when the vocal matches the mood of the programme perfectly, the results take your programme to another level. Here’s an example:
And here’s the last post in our back to basics guide - it’s all about the look.
Finally, once the programme content is all approved, colour grade it. Give the images a ‘look’ to reinforce the tone and subject matter. Grungy industrial greys, vibrant summer days, sunset city skies.
In the same way that your photographer would use Photoshop to colour correct, paint and polish an image ready to publish, treat every shot to bring out the contrast and saturation and give a programme a look.
An update from the world of online TV and video from Cathy Bentley and Andi Jepson, Directors at iceni®
Made to Measure –
At the Chartered Institute of marketing CIMCOM event in January, we spoke about how measurable digital content is, and how this is a relatively new thing for TV and video. TV and video delivered to the audience through traditional media channels is a linear experience.
Distributed online, TV and video can be indexed and linked to other relevant content, searched and ranked by the audience, and interacted with by viewers. Each and every interaction is measurable.
The exciting result of this is the ability to track and measure return on investment for viral, online tv and video campaigns. PPC (pay per click) campaigns are becoming CPA (cost per action) campaigns as audiences engage with video content.
Right now, audiences have a pivotal role in spreading your message. The challenge for Marketeers is to produce online advertising that is spreadable. But done well, a quality execution of a creative campaign can bring your brand the kind of attention that only the really big spenders in traditional advertising once enjoyed.
Google on TV –
Announced earlier this year, Google search may be coming to a TV near you. It’s very unusual for Google to shout so much about a product so long before it is due to launch, but the idea is that a Google box delivers online search and video content to your TV.
The publicity from Google says that the search feature will list all of your channels, recorded shows, YouTube and other websites. It’s not a big leap to imagine Google’s TV search results preferring video content, and if this is the future, then brands need search friendly video and plenty of it.
At the January CIMCOM event, we introduced video sitemaps and how to submit your video content to Google so it shows up in the search results. Even though there is a massive amount of video content being uploaded every day, there is still a lot more text than video, and Google search results wants video. So getting your video content indexed and ranked by Google is a quick way to appear in a good position in natural search results.
Who knows, getting your branded TV show online today may put you at the top of the list when Google takes over TV.
Background:
Cathy and Andi are Directors at iceni®. iceni® create award-winning promo’s, adverts, TV and virals for ambitious brands. They have over 40 international awards for effective and creative content dished up to audiences in all sorts of interesting ways. www.iceni.tv
This is All Together Week. A DVD resource in 5 languages, produced for the National Deaf Children’s Society and supported by Big Lottery Fund.
Today is Thursday, the fourth day of All Together Week, and we’re watching some TV.
All Together Week is five days of fun activities from colouring in to ball games. It’s a series of films featuring interviews with grandparents, mums, dads, brothers and sisters talking about being in a family with a deaf son, daughter or sibling.
This is All Together Week. A DVD resource in 5 languages, produced for the National Deaf Children’s Society and supported by Big Lottery Fund.
Today is Tuesday, the second day of All Together Week, and we’re off to visit the audiologist, and later we’ll be colouring in and learning about the parts of the ear.
All Together Week is five days of fun activities from colouring in to ball games. It’s a series of films featuring interviews with grandparents, mums, dads, brothers and sisters talking about being in a family with a deaf son, daughter or sibling.
This is All Together Week. A DVD resource in 5 languages, produced for the National Deaf Children’s Society and supported by Big Lottery Fund.
Today is Monday, the first day of All Together Week, and Grandma’s going to share her secret chocolate cake recipe.
All Together Week is five days of fun activities from colouring in to ball games. It’s a series of films featuring interviews with grandparents, mums, dads, brothers and sisters talking about being in a family with a deaf son, daughter or sibling.
iceni cut this series of adverts to support the latest Frosty Jack’s marketing and TV advertising campaign.
The ads feature TV presenter, Iain Lee, along with some unsuspecting members of the public who ‘don’t know jack!’
Produced for Midlands based Aston Manor Brewery, The Frosty Jack’s adverts were given a new graphic end screen and voice over and optimised for use online as a web video or viral film.
CIM event speaker, Andi Jepson, on the highs and lows of directing royalty through the streets of London.
Day 1: The good. We’ve been asked to deliver a film to promote World Congress 2010. The event takes place from 16 - 19 June 2010 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London.
Day 2,3 and 4: Thinking. Thinking about the audience. Thinking about how the film will be used. Creative team are excited about Hi Def aerial footage of the city, tracking graphics onto signposts so everywhere points to the event location, Gaz likes the style of the intro sequence to Jools Holland’s Later show. And just like that, the Queen was on her way to the event in the back of a London cab with Jerusalem playing in the background.
Day 5: Pitching. It’s a nervous wait for the reaction to the idea. Luckily the client loves it and she will make ‘The Board’ love it! We’re on.
Day 10 and 11: The bad. Making it happen throws up a few challenges. First the Queen double has double booked, so the shoot shifts and the deadline looms ever closer. Then on the way to the shoot a distracted driver runs into the back of the director’s car and we are out of the race. Two calls later, Rebecca, one of our staff directors is on the way, briefed and raring to go.
Day 12: The Queen. Today the real George Bush is in town visiting Parliament, right next to the conference centre. There are looks of surprise from protesters as our real fake Queen Elizabeth potters past in a black cab. As we wind through town past landmarks, people are waving and asking for photos. The Queen responds with a well rehearsed wave.
Day 15: Cutting it. To get the most out of the budget, the DOP shot the film on Sony’s new solid state Hi Def camera. We’re well versed in Panasonic P2, and the data is wrangled from raided drives to SDLT, but the suite booked for the edit needs an upgrade to work with Sony’s new format. Another couple of calls to Avid and a new copy of Media Composer is up and running and the Queen is hailing a cab.
Day 17: Showing it. A little tweak with the end slate and the video is live, and immediately needed for a presentation in New Zealand. A DVD image is put on our client server and instructions sent. It goes down (under) a storm…
Recently, the US film festival awarded the film a golden gong for creativity and effectiveness.
It has also been nominated for a PRide Award by the Chartered Institute of PR, for Best Campaign under £10k
The client loves the film. They say, “The creative team have delivered an innovative and broad concept that cuts across many cultures. Totally bonkers… a great job.”
To book your place at the CIM networking event in London on 3rd November click here, or to view the film click here.
