Story is Everything!
The worst feeling is sitting through a crappy two-hour movie with your friends. You leave feeling worse than you did before. Wasted time, wasted feelings, wasted interest – sounds miserable right?
You have to get the story right. Entire cultures have been shaped and changed with stories. They are way more powerful than a Red Epic. Gear, visuals, and audio all assist a story. If they take the drivers seat over story, everything else will be tainted.
For this tech video I made it a goal to use narrative. I forced myself to use “Save the Cat’s” beat sheet.
Opening Image:
Push in on a laptop –
Stuff is unorganized, post-its everywhere.
Theme Stated:
“Life seems to work better when things are organized.”
Set-up:
Let me take you back in my past before evernote – my life was anything but organized.
Things were pretty hectic.
Chatting with friend.
“Where were you today ?”
“You missed the meeting?”
Catalyst:
Friend invites me to use Evernote.
Debate:
Skeptical at first. I hover the arrow over the exit (creates tension), then a reminder pops up so I decide to sign up.
Break into 2:
Installing Software!
B-Story:
Jen messages me. Creates a side story. I have a crush on her!
Fun and Games:
Once I got evernote I was a little confused at first.
So let me break it down and make it easier for you!
Evernote Screen pops up! (comes in)
Zooms out white surface! Use a reflector!
Explain with real notebooks!
Midpoint:
False Victory.
I was kicking butt in my job,
and my life.
Bad Guys Close In:
Desktop slowly clutters, timelapse of stuff getting crazier and crazier, emails coming in, etc.
Minimizing evernote.
Jen messages about being stood up. “Where were you Friday?”
All is Lost:
Jen goes on a break with me. Sit in that tension!
Break into 3:
Friend talks sense into me. Convinces me to get back Jen.
Finale:
Trashes desktop
Opens Evernote,
Goes to Jen Notebook
Looks at her favorite lists,
looks at his date ideas,
Montage of date footage – good Jen stuff!
Closing Image:
Same as opening image. Desk is clean, desktop is clean, picture with Jen on desk!
Scoring for the Story
I also wrote the score. Writing custom scores can really help in adding to the story. If you notice in the video – a minor progression comes in right during the “Bad Guys Close In” moment. This really ads to the emotion!
Here’s a behind the scenes of my literal bedroom studio:
Here’s a behind the scenes of my Open and Close dolly shots:
Leave a comment about the next project you’ll use story first on!
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