What is storytelling through video and how do you do it?
As video ever more becomes a primary form of audience-engaging content, harnessing its power is crucial to rise above the noise. One of the ways that creators have been able to distinguish themselves is by storytelling through their video content. But what does that actually mean, and how do you do it? Let us take you through the basics of telling a story and look at technical ways to support your process.
Video storytelling utilizes the already engaging medium of video to provide relatable, emotionally charged content that introduces someone to an idea or gives them entry to a new world. Storytelling relies on building an emotional connection to pull in the viewer. This is done through narrative and aesthetic methods that present information in a creative visual way.
When seeking to tell a story through video, consider what the story is that you want to tell. When producing content, it’s helpful to acknowledge the weight of little stories, the seemingly mundane aspects of life. Not everything has to be an epic tale — what matters is connecting with each other.
The presence of perspective and point-of-view creates real stakes that elicit interest. People engage people, and give viewers someone to root for, especially when they are relatable or likeable, bringing your audience closer. A key part of making that connection is knowing your audience. One way to understand what viewers connect to is by considering what strikes you as compelling, as a viewer yourself.
Narration and first-person storytelling have become fairly standard practices that automatically infuse video content with a strong sense of perspective. Looking outside oneself to real life subjects or created characters is another way to cultivate point-of-view.
The term storytelling often suggests a narrative structure with a conflict, rising action, and resolution because of existing literary forms — but given the typical shortform style of video content on social media today, this structure isn’t always appropriate or even necessary to tell a story.
Existing video content tropes like “Get Ready with Me,” for example, don’t have the same arc that a novel would. Even so, they use familiar structural aspects to tell their story. There is movement or a process or an arc, from a starting point to an end point, often represented in real time. Here you’re looking to capture the how. That could be represented by trying on different outfits in a GRWM video. Getting dressed is the process or plot in this case and tells us something about the creator through their clothing choices and perhaps the setting in which they get dressed. This development period tells you something about the context of the topic, whether that be an individual subject, or a setting.
Another example could be a video that takes the audience to a bakery for a treat. Point A might be setting up the goal, whether that be establishing the desire for a treat or the bakery as a destination. Point B is the goal or endpoint. In this case, acquiring or eating the treat. The space between these points should be filled with a context or “the journey” that shows your audience something. That could be the physical process of traveling to the bakery or a clip of the interior of the bakery, perhaps browsing the available options.
Alternately, the end could be the foiling of the arc. Perhaps you forgot your wallet or got lost. Your story doesn’t have to be “successful” or neat. Twists, after all, make for some of the best stories.
Other storytelling frameworks could include:
Presenting a personal experience
Using another person’s experience, like including a client story
How you came to an understanding, the arc of learning
Problem to resolution or outcome
Storytelling is created not only through perspective and arc, but also by supporting those ideas with more physically tangible technical aspects. How you film, edit, and present your story will also determine its success. Stylistic and tonal choices create a sensory experience of the video that will draw your audience’s attention and impact its resonance.
The images you capture on video do a lot to support the story you are telling. Consider the way you incorporate subjects or characters in the frame, as well as how you show setting, and how those things intersect. How do you or your subject(s) exist in the setting? How can showing setting fill in the viewer’s understanding and provide important context? Whether you create your video from a planned storyboard or film more spontaneously, look at your framing as if considering a still image. What you decide to include visually should show the audience a considerable amount of information without you having to tell them anything. Whether it be classically beautiful or bleak, your images should have something to say that makes an impression.
How you film your video can also enhance point-of-view. Perhaps you want to bolster the first-person perspective by shooting from your literal point-of-view. This puts the audience in your shoes and can be a useful tool for creating emotional resonance.
The sound you use in your video should support the goal of your storytelling. It could be the raw sound that you capture when filming the video. Voiceover audio has also become highly standard through the rise of TikTok. Music often sets the tone and tends to pull at our emotions, with the potential to excite, disinterest, or even polarize us. Actor and filmmaker Jordan Peele told Trevor Noah, “...the difference between comedy and horror is the music.” It’s an extreme statement that drives the point that setting the tone through sound, and music specifically, can dictate how a story is received. Movies, especially those of more extreme genres like horror, can be a useful reference for how audio works alongside video. Don’t forget about silence. Incorporating negative space in your soundtrack is a powerful creative decision that can be exploited to a profound effect.
How you process raw footage and integrate any additional storytelling flourishes work together to enhance your intended effect. Editing changes how the story is told. Pacing marks how we experience a video. This not only includes the actual speed at which the video happens but also how quickly you cut to or cycle through images. Both sound and visuals are at play here. Slow and fast motion have strong emotional and narrative effects that, in conversation with other aspects of your video, determine how the tone is set.
Editing can include any design choices, such as filters, fonts included over video (such as credits), animation, and even the coloring and lighting of the footage post-production.
So those are the basics of storytelling and technical considerations to make while creating. When producing video, take a step back and consider what’s necessary and what isn’t working. Every element should work together in concert to speak to your goal, but this is an ideal that you can achieve through practice. Happy creating!