Authentic storytelling – the long and short of it

Rory Boswell, Senior Producer at Bladonmore, explains how to get the most out of your films and the best way to connect with your audience.

Now that we are well into an age of social media, people are consuming more and more content than ever before. Whether it’s shorter TikTok videos and Instagram reels or podcasts, documentaries and everything else on YouTube, that content is increasingly weighted towards film.

What makes these films work? What helps people connect? Answers to these questions can be found in the consumer world and in the trends that are shaping success online. For us, it lies first and foremost in authenticity and then in delivering the right content to the right audience on the right channel. But, with an expanding set of channels, and limited time and budgets, how can you make sure that you’re making the most out of your investment in film?

Just be yourself

Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar and American Murder: Gabby Petito, are just two examples of content that help people to see behind the veil of social media. Their popularity is an example of how our collective awareness of inauthenticity is on the rise, making inauthenticity easier to spot, and raising the likelihood that we shy away from it.

Not only that, but the volume of content produced means we see people being authentically themselves more often, and people want to connect with that. Just look at the different reaction to the Oscar acceptance speeches of Kieran Culkin and Adrian Brody. People want to connect with raw, natural and authentic content. That needs to play out in the preparation – leaning less on scripts and more on speaking notes – and the environment. We connect better when the content doesn’t feel over produced.

If you can deliver that authenticity, your message becomes stronger, amplified by an emotional and empathetic connection that you create with the people viewing your content. This feeling that they are viewing a genuine experience amplifies the corporate message. By adding personal knowledge and opinions to your corporate line you get something more powerful than the message alone, and you make it memorable.

Take your time

One of the best ways to inject authenticity is to plan – but remain without a script. Give someone the time to explain their point of view without the constraints of an exact wording and help them sit at ease so they can deliver it through a strong performance. A key element in achieving that is having a good director, someone who puts people at ease and teases out key messages with a conversational style of questioning.

One of the best formats to help people do that is podcasts. No matter what your interests are, you can find a relevant podcast. This is a reflection of how people want to consume information and will connect with the things that excite them.

The corporate world has wholeheartedly embraced the podcast gold rush. Why? Your audience might be smaller, but it is heavily engaged. Podcasts also humanize your organisation as viewers see and hear from real people. So many of our clients’ businesses are full of industry experts who can offer insight into very specific parts of their field, and this is a great forum to let that happen.

The overwhelming wave of podcasts is part of a wider uptake of longform content. Documentaries are a firm part of the cultural zeitgeist and corporate thought-leadership works best with more concrete opinion and discussion behind it. This is driving an increase in more documentary-type content on brand websites, with films often reaching up to ten minutes or more. Again, this is about reaching your niche market and engaging them in the subject matter they enjoy.

But do it quickly

The flip side of the increase in longform content is how you get people in front of it. That comes through micro-storytelling and redirecting. This isn’t new, it’s been happening for years, but people are starting to get really good at it. Give people a flavour of what you have for them and tell them how to find more.

There is so much content on social media, so much noise, that you are competing against. You have about five seconds to grab someone’s attention before they move on – especially on sites like YouTube where that is often the time limit before your viewer can click skip. It is more important than ever to put your most interesting message first. You see this most obviously in the changes to film trailers. Rather than getting straight into the story, you’ll now see a five second film snapshot to draw you in before diving into the full trailer. And, where Hollywood leads, other filmmakers follow.

And make the most of it

So, we’ve just told you that you need to make authentic long and short content and that it needs to get the message out quickly, but it also needs to go deep and be informative. Sounds like a lot of filming, right?

That is where the concept of 360-degree content comes in. We’re not suggesting that you are constantly filming new content – it is about making the most of what you film. Opinionated, punchy 30-second clips of a 30-minute podcast can create that micro-storytelling. And, because that’s cut from a larger piece – as opposed to a staged comment – it’ll naturally feel more authentic.

Filming long and then tailoring the content for the right medium is how you can get more bang for your buck. It’s about how you take advantage of your filming day. You can take more than just your main video – grab behind the scenes footage, take photos and create stills from what you’ve captured. You can even get additional key messages and advertising soundbites from the insights that your people deliver.

If you’re looking to get your company’s authentic self across on camera, get in touch.