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video production tips Archives - Steve Stockman

Steve Stockman
In Tips and Tricks, Feature Film, Television, For Pros

The Curse of the Inactive Hero: Lessons from “Ant-Man and the Wasp”

A hero is who your story is about. A mute woman rescuing a monster she loves, a lawyer facing down the bigotry of his 1930s community to save a man’s life, a woman of color who wants to do math for NASA to save a mission– all great heroes. They each take big risks and strong actions. Seeing how that action turns out for them is what pulls us through the story.

Generally speaking, the stronger the hero and the tougher the odds they face, the better the story. Which is why superheroes, who are larger than life by … Read the rest

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Steve Stockman
In Video Marketing, For Pros, Your Questions Answered

How to make a How-To Video, Part II: The Journey

In Part I of this post, we laid down the basics for How-To Video. Now lets go for mastery.  The key to which, as with so many other elements of video, is story.

Think about your video as a real film, with real story elements. The simplest story in any how-to video is the journey, where the hero takes us from not-done to overcoming-obstacles to done. The more challenging the journey, the better the video.

How much journeying you can do in your how-to video depends on your audience’s needs. If people will watch while they do … Read the rest

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Steve Stockman
In Tips and Tricks, If you’re new to video, Better Home Video

Shoot Better Labor Day Video

As you cruise to the beach or barbecue this weekend, take your video camera.  And think about these tips to shoot better Labor Day video:

1)  Memories are about faces. Faces are where emotion lives. The eyes are the window to the soul and all that.  And faces are how we chart time– when you want to remember who you were 5 years ago, a long shot of a crowd drinking beer won’t do the job. When you watch video of small children or elderly grandparents later, you’ll never wish you were farther away.

Thinking of shooting distant closeups … Read the rest

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Steve Stockman
In Tips and Tricks, Video Marketing, For Pros, Your Questions Answered

Writing better Video Scripts: The Rewrite

At my school, we have a weekly show called Bobcat Television. We write scripts and film all around the school.  I am one of the students involved. I was wondering if you have any advice on how we can improve our show.  Here is a sample script:

H: As many of you Bobcats may know, there is something out there called autism.

M:You may have heard your parents talking about it…

G:You may have seen something online or in the newspaper…

H: Or you may have seen an advertisement somewhere.

M: But do you really know what autism is?

G:

… Read the rest
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Steve Stockman
In Video Marketing, Teaching and Training, For Pros

Intrigue is the Currency of Modern Entertainment

Intrigue is the currency of modern entertainment.  It’s the art of making people want to find out more.

Skillful storytellers don’t get you to turn page after page by telling you what happens next.  They get you to turn the page by making you wonder what happens next.  That act of wondering– of needing to know– is intrigue. It’s what makes you stay with the story. Your curiosity drives you to turn the page.

And so it is with video.  Intrigue keeps you tuned in.  This is obviously true for video that tells stories (movies tend not to start with … Read the rest

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