The truth is that technology is always changing and it’s always going to change. Companies want to be the first to market with their new and innovative technologies while the rest of us production folk are constantly trying to catch up. 

 Ultimately, it still comes down to your talent and story telling. Whether you are producing a commercial for public access or a major network, creativity and storytelling are still at the forefront of video production. 

 I remember when you had to have large budgets and known actors in order to produce something marketable. Now, with the affordability of cameras and editing software, you are able to pretty much shoot and edit almost anything. This year Tangerine, a feature length film that was shot entirely on an iPhone, premiered at Sundance. Entire commercials are now being shot on GoPros. 

Yes, we ventured out into the snow storm and made it to the Triangle AMA's Hi-5 Conference for the second year in a row! This year was packed with good information, but what’s been sitting with me since Adam and I left is Heart Marketing vs. Head Marketing, taken from The Power Of Visual Storytelling with @ekaterina.

Through other breakout sessions, other speakers talked about how to “look people in the eye digitally” and “be thought leaders” and “engage prospects with content they actually want to consume,” referring to establishing relationships with your community. Don’t just throw content at them that is company-centric; evolve to a consumer-centric approach.

Ekaterina used the term “infobesity” in her keynote, which I now know is a real thing. There is so much information out there, how can we possibly consume it all? It is within our nature to seek out information from our fellow peers, friends, neighbors, co-workers and so on, whether it’s online or in person.  And we are more likely to share what we find online if we find that it has social currency. Meaning:

• The content makes us look good to others 

• The content is humorous, entertaining or remarkable   

• The content makes us feel like an insider 

An image goes passed culture and language. It transcends barriers. Just as a picture tells a thousand words, a video can tell millions of stories. Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster by our brains than text.  And images and videos are easily one of the most shared type of content out there especially when it pulls our heart strings, makes us shed a tear, appeals to our humanity, or strikes something we are passionate about.

Take this years’ Superbowl commercials for example . The highest ranking ads were appealing to our hearts – Budweiser and the “Lost Dog”, Always and what it means to be “Like a Girl”  and Microsoft showing us how they do the impossible with Braylon, the double amputee.  There has been a bigger shift from head marketing to heart marketing, and it seems to making an impact - even if at the time I was crying into the buffalo cheese dip at a Superbowl party.

The average adult attention span is 2.8-8 seconds. 
How do you capture your audience in such a short amount of time? 

By Olivia Turnage
@laughlivlove