Visual Storytelling: Directing the Eye as a Videographer

Filmmaking is more than just placing a few actors in front of a camera and having them read lines. A videographer understands that the audience needs to be engrossed in the world of the story, rather than having the message be preached to them. If someone looks at a film, commercial, or corporate video, they don’t want to be aware of the fact that it is a video production made by directors, writers, actors, and cameras. They want to forget about that and focus on the story being told. This is why here at ASL we are committed to enveloping the audience into the world of a story so that they can experience a message, rather than make the whole production feel like a lecture. Here are a few ways in which our videographers craft an appealing story rather than a generic video.

Establishing the World

The one thing that is more, if not equally important to the story, is how you tell the story. Once we have a script, the director, and his or her crew begins development on how their video will communicate the script. Will it be a simple single-camera set-up? Will it be a steady-cam POV shoot? Is it funny, serious, light, or dark? Ultimately The mood of the story will help the audience feel like the story is believable. Once we have the mood, the world is established through what we put in that mood. The world is built by the director’s vision for the story. It can be anything from a large, detailed set, to a serene, white wall. The world ultimately must make sense for the message and characters of the story.

People, not Actors

Ill-fitting acting or character design ultimately gives away to the audience that this is merely a video production and nothing more. Like any good magician, a videographer needs to show the audience something both fascinating and relatable in order for them to not realize that it is all an illusion. That starts with our recruitment of talented actors. We do not settle for less when it comes to the right fit for the parts we create. Once we have the proper person, we make them up to believably place them in the world we have created.

These are two production tools to help ASL Productions craft an appealing and believable story. Our production team uses many more tricks of the trade to create our videos. Stay tuned for future updates and tips.