AMY DELOUISE @brandbuzz at #UFVA 2016

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21ST CENTURYCONTENT CREATIONIN A MULTI-PLATFORM WORLD

Agenda

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Content Trends and Impact on Storytellers

Starting from the Finish Line

Story Structure and Shoot Strategies

Workflow and Asset Management

Ideas for the Classroom

Introductions

Features, Spots

Short Form Branded Nonfiction

Directing, Producing

Lynda.com Courses

Focal Press Author

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www.amydelouise.com

www.twitter.com/brandbuzz

www.linked.com/in/amydelouise

www.plus.google.com/+AmyDeLouise

www.vimeo.com/amydelouise

amy@amydelouise.com

www.Lynda.com/amydelouise

http://bit.ly/BuyRealPeopleonCamera

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Getting in Touch

CONTENT TRENDS

Social Channels Prioritize Video

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Facebook Live launched last summer

Pushes live video to priority in streams

FB and Snapchat both have reported delivering more than eight billion video views each day*.

Vine rolls out WATCH for iOS and Android apps

Twitter acquired Periscope and invests in video content to boost its dropping usage

*Marketing Dive

Viewers Rewarded for Engagement

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Youtube’s Watch Time Algorithm

Rewards length of viewing over # of views

Snapchat’s new features

Requires user to interact w content

Instagram’s new filter

Rewards engagement over recency

Audience Drops Off Quickly

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Wistia

Indie Distribution Explodes OpenIndie Pivotshare Reelhouse Seed&Spark Simple Machine Slated Topspin VHX Vimeo On Demand Watchbox YouTube

Amazon Video Direct

CreateSpace (Amazon)

Distribber

Distrify

FetchApp

FLM.TV

Gathr

Gumroad

IndieReign

IntelVideo

KinoNation

Mobcaster

NoBudge

PBS.org/POV

Everyone is a Storyteller

4.5 Billion people worldwide using mobile phones (Pew)

A camera in every pocket…many shoot 4K

New apps like Jamsnapand Vizzywig allow in-phone editing to music or voice

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Images Drive Engagement

On Facebook, a photo gets

87% interaction rate from

fans vs. 4% for other

content (eMarketer, 2014)

Video gets twice the social

engagement of text, links

and static images. (Adobe: US

Digital Benchmark Review)

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Human Stories Resonate

Hollywood is regularly tapping

documentaries for narrative film

content (Interstellar, Selma, Race,

The Walk) because they know…

real stories sell.

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Mobile Viewing Rules

Mobile viewing overtook desktop in 2014

Mobile video views up 400% in last 2 years (ReelSEO)

5x Engagement rate on mobile

Share of time watched for 1-3 minute videos highest ever at 22%

People watch trailers via Mobile, switch to larger screens for longer viewing

Comscore

Video + Mobile = Perfect Match

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By 2020, 75% of mobile

traffic will be video.

Cisco Visual Networking Index Forecast 2016

Every mobile phone or tablet user is a potential consumer of your stories, any time, any where.

Viewers are also content producers and want to engage.

Authentic characters matter more than ever.

A hook can grab audience quickly to engage on social platforms.

Acquire at high resolution, optimize for small screens.

What This Means for Storytellers?

Questions to ask before you even start preproduction.

STARTING FROM THE FINISH LINE

Questions for Media-Makers

Where could my film/production end up?

Global distribution possibilities

Social platforms

Formats and lengths

Who might the audiences be?

What surfaces/devices might they use for viewing?

Questions for Media-Makers

Are there access/ADA considerations?

What rights may we need to manage for

downstream uses?

What content can help us market/engage?

Acquisition Format

The shoot…

What I can afford now

What I can’t afford to be without later

What offers the most transmedia flexibility?

What will future-proof my project?

Data management and workflow considerations

For Example…

4K or 5K allows for “punch in” shots that can save time on some camera setups (for 2K or less delivery)

Can create 16x9 submaster(s)

Proxy workflow

Downres from there to the various Quicktime wrappers

24fps saves compression time and storage space

Social Platforms

How will our audience engage with us…

While we’re in production

While we’re in post

When we’re in distribution

Do we want to encourage user-generated content?

How will we keep engaging?

For Example…

Outtakes for social

sharing

BTS Photography

Call to action

Photo contest

Blog showing progress

Engaging Your Community

Snap App offers assessments, calculators, quizzes

So does Wistia for less

Storify lets you integrate stories from multiple social platforms, comment and reshare

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International Audiences

If multiple translations

are planned, need

longer shot options

and a looser edit

Storytelling Techniques

How do the platforms and tools affect story?

Style

Characters and Settings

Pacing

Effects

Audio

Archival/Stock

Plan for maximum flexibility in storytelling.

Strategize for efficient shoots that provide added

shot coverage and options for reversioning.

What This Means for Storytellers?

EVOLUTION OF STORY28

Classic Story Elements

Setting

Main character

Supporting characters/foils

The Story Arc

Engaging the Audience

The Viewing “Envelope”

Is the audience watching…

Alone

In a crowd

In a theater

On a phone

Affects approach to…

Pacing

Shot framing

Audio

Interviews

Rights and releases

Multi-Platform Story Elements

Narrative techniques in non-fiction story

Behind-the-Scenes (BTS) photos and interviews

Extended play interviews and outtakes

Location-based info on scenes and settings

Downloadable educational resources and tools

Alternate endings, interactive sequences

Call to action links

Rights and releases

Planning multiple story streams simultaneously.

Add a BTS camera to every shoot.

Thinking about storytelling from multiple audience

perspectives.

Shoot scenes that can inform quickly, in close-up.

What This Means for Storytellers?

As in gaming and web design, create “personas”—gender, age, background, ethnicity, language, etc.—to explore how different audiences might respond to the story.

Explore how to engage under-served communities in the storytelling experience.

Does this change how we as creators approach our settings, scenes and characters?

Ideas for the Classroom

THE SHOOT

Involving the Team

Production and Post meetups:

File-sharing

Acquisition formats/fps

Shot coverage strategy

Interview workflow

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Involving the Team

Output formats

Versions/Audiences

BTS photo plan

DIT workflow

Metatag system

Backup plans

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Screen Size Matters

Wide shots don’t

always translate well

to small screens

Alternate ways of

establishing setting

Secondary angles

Shot Coverage Strategy

Fast and slow versions of moving shots

Shoot static as well as pans, zooms that may not work on slower streaming speeds

Mixed source footage

Plan ahead for integration, color grading

Time lapse (as BTS or as a narrative tool)

“Interstitial” shots for narrative glue when (re)editing

Translations and Captioning

International

Translations require more coverage, longer shots

ADA: Captioning

Shot framing considerations

ADA: Audio description

Fast-paced montages and graphics are challenging

Interview Strategies

Plan extra time to gather responses for various strands

Themes – quick bites work well for trailers and sizzle reels

Multiple length answers

Short for montages

Answers with and without time/dates for future-proofing

Interview Strategies

Transcription workflow field to post

Make sure subject spells name, gives title, etc. for accurate ID’s in metadata later

Snap stills at end of interview or during questions for intercutting options or to create thumbnails for web posts

Record simultaneous audio on digital recorders for faster transcriptions from the field

Photography

BTS photos are among

top re-shares on social

ID planning essential

Pull top selects into a

“Best of” folder for easy

reposts

Audio

Output

Shoot for -6dbfs

Mono-compatible

Avoid over compressing

voices

Listen on a mobile device!

Production to Post Hand-off

Vital to have system for in-camera ID’s

Field tagging during transfer from camera to drives

3-2-1 Backup system essential

More tips https://www.lynda.com/Video-tutorials/Video-Editing-Moving-from-Production-Post/434062-2.html

Involve team early to game out how platforms affect the workflow and shot plan.

Maximize coverage – you will need it! There are plenty of low-cost options for secondary cameras.

Plan for post-production hand-off, which is where most budgets get busted.

What This Means for Storytellers?

Have students design multiple screenings that replicate a potential viewer’s experience in various real world settings. Compare/discuss audience reactions and drop-off rates.

For example…

Group A views a scene on a large screen in a common room together; Group B watches the same scene on their own mobile devices with earbuds while hanging out outside; Group C views the scene on their laptops (with earbuds vs. headphones?) while seated in a busy coffee shop

Ideas for the Classroom

POST WORKFLOW & ASSET MANAGEMENT

Challenges of Tapeless Workflow

Some cameras (P2 and XDCAM, for example) generate unique numbers for every clip

But numbers are still pretty meaningless

Some prosumer and mid-range cameras have auto-numbering systems that are Not Unique

How many clips numbered “MVI001” does it take to screw up an edit?

Solutions

PLANNING!

Batch rename with

a month-day-year formula (same every time!)

cameraperson initials (in case of Q’s)

other ID for content source

other categories for content type

Always preserve current filename in XMP metadata

Tools: CATDV, Prelude, AVID Media Central UX, Lumberjack for FCP, etc.

Solutions

Uniform nomenclature and folder structure

Work backwards from master, reconform EDLs

If future reversions likely with a different post team

Transcripts saved with source interviews

Tracking rights and releases

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Photo Asset Management

Use similar file structure

Leave in original data

Add subject name, event, date in filename if poss

Tagging in photo managers

Google Photos

Lightroom CC

Rights and Releases

Appearance Releases

Rights of Publicity

Copyrighted Buildings

and Artwork

Fair Use

Music Licensing

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Rights Opportunities for Filmmakers

Team with new

composers

Shoot stock images for

resale

Plan as if the people involved in your post have

never met you, know nothing about your

production or nick-names, and need breadcrumbs

to construct every aspect of your story.

What This Means for Storytellers?

The “Top Chef Challenge”:

Without knowing this will happen at the outset of the project, have filmmaking teams TRADE ASSETS and then complete one another’s films!

Which teams succeed best and why?

Which teams have trouble figuring out story line they were given and why?

How could the asset hand-off from production to post be improved?

Ideas for the Classroom

Wrapping Up

Envision the outcome

Plan for flexibility

Old storytelling techniques

applied in new ways

Workflow planning is

essential from the start

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Slide deck at amydelouise.com

Tweet about this session with @brandbuzz

Please check out The Producer’s Playbook: Real People on Camera (Routledge/Focal Press)

Thank you!