How to Pick a Video Style
When creating a video project for your company or brand, you have a plethora of video style options to choose from. How do you decide between the different styles of video out there? It is important to first identify a goal that you are hoping to achieve with your video message. Are you launching a new product or software suite? Try making an explainer video, product video or demo video to reveal details about your business. Are you hosting a conference? take advantage of having all of your strongest customer advocates in one place and film testimonial videos with them.
In order to see the most success, you should be pursuing all of these avenues and catering your content to your audience. The key is to grab the viewer’s attention and hold it all the way through the call to action. One way you can do this is by picking the most effective video style and then breaking convention to challenge your audience’s
Can I do any video in any style?
Certain types of video work better with traditional video styles. A fully animated testimonial could be really unique and interesting if you are able to work with a customer who has an interesting success story to tell. Many corporate videos are done in the style of the “talking head” with a subject speaking to the camera with a solid colored background. This is a very popular video style for a reason: it works to communicate the intended message effectively. Talking head videos can be made to be very generic or you can spruce them up. For example, this interview features short animated sections to visually explain the concepts alongside the interview. A talking head style video like this is made to be artful and unique and serves to be more engaging to the audience.
What if I want to think outside the box?
In other cases, you can combine styles you might never think to try. When doing a demo video for your software, for example, why not feature live action users? Sure you can rely purely on screen capture, but wouldn’t it mean more to see real use cases alongside the software features being highlighted? That is exactly what we did for Leading Reach in this video. We meticulously recreated their UI to ensure it would look great on screen and allow us total flexibility to showcase its features without any hiccups. We were also able to provide some humanity to the piece and make it easy to imagine using the software in your real life. Once you see this, you realize it isn’t really a stretch at all. Why not show your users? After all, your software is designed with them in mind.
Any other advice?
Be open to utilizing 3D. While it may not be a complete departure from the animation you are used to, it is a video style option that is often avoided due to the high price tag that comes with it. While a fully 3D animated video can definitely get expensive, integrating 3D strategically has never been easier. Nothing makes an animated video pop like being surprised by a 3D turn or object being revealed. If you are trying to showcase a specific product, or even just telling a story in a unique way, don’t be afraid to pitch us ideas of how things might work in 3D. The solution may not be possible, but implementing 3D is a choice that should always be considered to make your videos stand out.
In today’s world of video, you have more choices than ever in how you approach producing your content. Your audience’s attention spans are being pulled in every direction, so don’t be afraid to take stylistic risks to make your videos more memorable.
Want to learn more about commissioning your next video? Check out our Buyer’s Guide to Video Production.