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Open with a Grabber
Open your video with
a dynamic scene
or images right at
the top of your
show.
A dramatic moment,
powerful video
images, or stunning
facts will bring the
viewer right in.
For example:
Visual Grabbers
 If
you are working on a
cell phone sales
training
video, you could
destroy cellphones
to make a point
about how many
customers are lost
every hour due to
poor customer
service.
EMOTIONAL GRABBERS
A
Fund Raising Video I
created for a center
that helps kids uses
an "Emotional
Grabber".
The
Video opens with
disturbing facts
about where these
children live.
This helps build the
big picture, and at
the same time
creates a feeling of
empathy in
the viewer.
Example:
-
Homicide is the
leading cause of
death among
teens in this
city.
-
Only 50% of kids
in this city
will graduate
high school.
Click here to watch
The Ann Martin
Center video,
featuring actor
Danny Glover.
Humor Grabbers
For a
Training Video on
loading and
unloading containers
(Produced for
the National
Portable Storage
Association)
I open the film with
a driver
accidentally
crushing a car with
a container.
click to view video
Think about your own
assignment...how
can you grab your
audience?
Visual, Emotional,
or Humorous
Grabber..or all
three at once!
Remember....you can
create EMOTIONAL
grabbers as well as
Dynamic Action
Grabbers
These
emotional grabbers
set the tone and
mood that
flows thru your
entire video.
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USE TEXT to communicate
MAIN POINTS
Every time a main point
is made, I reinforce it
with text on the lower
portion of the screen.
The
above scene is
from a
Year-End video overview
I just completed for
Telecare Corporation,
one of the nation's
leading providers of
mental health care.
Click above image to
view the web video and
see the use of text to
emphasize key points.
There are some corporate
filmmakers that believe
the only time people get
real content..is when it
is literally WRITTEN on
the screen.
Unlike a book, PDF
document, or
manual...you can not go
back and easily watch
the last 20 seconds of a
video with out
disturbing the flow.
That is why
TEXT on screen
plays such a large role
in knowledge retention.
In fact
not only do I use text
to reinforce points, I
often summarize all the
information (with text)
at the end of
every segment and at the
close of the program.
Anyone who has taken a
workshop with me at
DVworkshops knows that I
always end the day with
a summary. When teaching
or persuading, the power
of summary can not be
underestimated.
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Freeze the action at
Critical Decision Points
A training video
with a narrator that
keeps talking...on
and on..can do more
harm than good.
...the viewer may
not only
disregard the
information...but
even fall asleep
(yes, even
with your genus
script).
How do you keep the
viewer awake and
paying attention?
In training videos,
I
freeze the action
at
critical decision
points, then
insert an on-screen
QUIZ. The
viewer is asked to
answer the question
on the screen (
multiple choice
format)...the
film pauses
for a moment,
then the
correct answer is
explained
and
illustrated....NEVER
go back and show the
wrong behavior or
method
For example : Sales
Training Video
The scene:
Automotive
Wholesalers Office
The set-up:
salesperson is
presenting new
product...suddenly
the buyer asks about
delivery problems on
last order.
At that point we
FREEZE the
scene, and dissolve
to a graphic quiz.
Narrator asks the
viewer, "What should
salesperson do
next?"
-
Ignore shipping
issues, switch
subject
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Give phone
number of Vice
President
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Ask client more
questions about
this issue
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Ask for new
order right away
correct answer:
Number 3
Ask more questions
to let client know
you are concerned.
The correct answer
is highlighted, and
demonstrated on
video.
I
have also
used a version of
this technique
in Critical
Awareness Training
Videos
for Bank of America,
Equinix and Hewitt
Associates.
These are
designed to prevent
Human error from
taking down critical
data centers
For this type of
training scenario, I
take an INTERACTIVE
approach. I create a
series of scenes in
which
multiple people are
working.
THAN something goes
wrong...the
video
FREEZES and
the
viewer is asked to
identify
who made the
mistake.Then
the proper behavior,
that would have
prevented the
incident, is
demonstrated.
Click here to View
Bank of America
interactive Training
Video Example
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Tell real people's
stories
A good way to "break up"
the script,
besides the previous
mentioned
"FROZEN ACTION & QUIZ,
is to
include the stories of
the folks that have been
helped by your company,
and or it's products.
For example, if
you are
working for an
automotive parts maker,
and are creating video
for your website...customer
testimonials are a great
first step...even for
B2B....
Here are some examples
of corporate story
telling that I have used
for my clients.
NPSA Customers talk
about importa nce
of storage
containers to their
Businesses.
Click on Images to view
the segments
Containers & Art Museum
If I can make this
interesting... you can
make even duller content
come alive!
Containers & The Red
Cross
Here is a real life
portrait from the
Telecare Corp Year-End
Video Review. 
It features the moving
story of a woman
reunited with
her daughter.
click image to view
Summary:
Reach out to your
customers, staff and
clients for rich
content.
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The Craziest Corporate
Viral Video I have ever
made
The call came from a
buddy of mine who is a
consultant to CEOs.
"Hey Aron, I got this
guy who owns a data
center and
wants to promote his
cloud computing service
by destroying Computers
with machine guns and
explosives....can
you help him create a
viral video ?
Well I did..and here is
the link to the Viral
Video. Once again I have
cast the company's CEO
as the STAR......Watch
machine guns, a flame
thrower and explosives
destroy computers at
this link.
The
Video's target audience
 are
IT professionals working
inside enterprise
companies.. They
are called
Server Huggers,
because of their
refusal give up their
hardware.
Cloud computing
eliminates the need to
own servers or a
data center.
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Summary
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Open
with a grabber
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Freeze action at
critical points
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Use a
quiz to create
Interaction with
Viewer
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Only
Demonstrate correct
behavior
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Make
it look like a TV
Show
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Use
TEXT to reinforce
and summarize main
points
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Tell
real people's
stories
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Mix it up,
Interviews,
hand-held shooting,
case studies, ceo on
camera.
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