A taste of my own bittersweet medicine! In writing this post, I had to leave my comfort zone and learn something new about seeing my own story. Here’s the plot …
Two or three months ago, I wanted to talk with Cliff Pollan about the pros and cons of starting a blog. He’s the CEO & Co-Founder of VisibleGains, and I’ve worked with him and respect his business savvy. Well, Cliff’s been crazy-busy, and he had to keep postponing our meeting.
By the time we got together last week, I had just launched Seeing Your Story, so I wasn’t gonna talk with him about why not to start blogging! I had to re-think the purpose of our meeting, and that turned out to be a big blessing: VisibleGains is in the business of helping marketers use interactive video, which means that Cliff would have a lot to say about video storytelling in a results-oriented business context.
In keeping with Story Seer principle #471 (“Plan as much as you need to.”), I emailed Cliff some questions, so he could think about them in advance, and I made sure I had a tape (yes, tape is still an excellent medium) for my video camera. I decided not to take lights, because Cliff didn’t have enough time for me to set them up; you’ll notice that his eyes are a bit in shadow … but hey, this is a blog, not a Hollywood epic.
In just 13 minutes of recording, Cliff made a bunch of points I think you’ll find useful. As for me, I learned something valuable about seeing my own story, because Cliff invited me to use the highly evolved VisibleGains player to show whatever interview bites I chose. Here’s what the player looks like on standby. Don’t press the Play button just yet … continue reading below the player …
Before Cliff’s invitation, I had been planning to select a few bites from his interview and weave them throughout this post. Each bite would have its own YouTube window, and I would write a few lines to guide you from clip to clip. But the nature of the VisibleGains player encouraged me to change my style of storytelling radically. As you’ll see when you do press “Play,” I found it best to structure Cliff’s interview as one introductory bite. At the end of this lone bite I inserted a question, so you the viewer get to decide what you want to see next. This makes you more of an active participant, because you have to think about what you personally want to gain from Cliff’s expertise.
Not only that, there are all sorts of behind-the-scenes metrics attached to the player, so I’ll get to see which of Cliff’s micro-essays were watched by more of you, etc., etc. You can imagine how marketers love this kind of stuff!
Now go ahead and press “Play” … and observe your own reactions to this form of storytelling.
Did you watch everything? Did you watch some of Cliff’s answers more than once, so you absorbed everything he said? I had to let go of controlling how you watched, so it’s been a new way for me to see my story … because it isn’t quite my story anymore.
And what do you think about Cliff’s suggestions for telling stories with video? I believe they’re pearls of wisdom–that’s why I selected this handful to pass on to you. They’re not just for corporate video types; if you’re planning to create videos for a not-for-profit group or just for your family and friends, the principles are the same.
I look forward to your comments.
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