Crafting Impactful Visuals: A Video Editor's Guide to Market Success
With today’s digital age and the impact of AI, businesses are increasingly relying on not just video editors but also the ones who know AI and are continuously working on various platforms of AI that make video editing, gathering resources and generating ideas easier and faster.
But does it take AI alone to craft visuals that capture attention and drive market success?
From manually cutting reels to Adobe and Final Cut Pro, video editing has taken a swift and continuous improvement in technology, to make things easier for a visualiser or a video editor to bring ideas to motion and in today’s talk “leads”.
To explore how a product or service lands in the hands of a customer, with more than five years of experience working with countless clients of various cultures and exploring the customers of various brands, I have jotted down some points which I want to share with you all.
Here’s the twist for video editors or visualizers in the corporate world: we are not just editors. With every new frame, we are creating a brand out of a product or a service.
Take a Good Look at the Product
Whenever there’s a new client, ask a few key questions:
- What is your product/service?
- What is the functionality of your product/service?
- How does it help someone?
The rationale behind these questions is simple: there are countless products of the same kind, and just as many types of customers. For example, consider bicycles. There are many different kinds of bicycles, each serving different customer needs. Similarly, if someone is selling digital marketing solutions through their website, so are thousands of others—from small and medium enterprises to global players. Each seller must highlight features that make their product confidently different from the rest, and they are likely serving a specific audience.
Understand the client, the product, and their audience. This foundational understanding is crucial for crafting a visual narrative that resonates.
2. Choose a Perspective
Based on the product or service and current market demand, it’s essential to visualize a perspective when crafting a video. Consider the stage at which the company is trying to position itself:
- Introduction Stage: Where the company is introducing a new product.
- Growth Stage: Where they are trying to boost the marketing of an existing product.
- Maturity Stage: Where the focus is on how the audience perceives the product.
- Competition Stage: Where the goal is to stand out against other brands.
We definitely need to visualise a perspective to craft a video. Consider in which stage the company is trying to re-introduce itself to the audience. Is it at the beginning stage, where the company is trying to introduce a product or is at a stage where they are trying to augment the marketing of the product, or is it a stage where they want to bring into light how the audience conceives the product or is it just competing with other brands? This is where you introduce yourself to the section on how much percentage of emotional storytelling is used vs the product functionality.
Emotional storytelling is used to build brand awareness, create a strong brand identity or forge a deeper connection with the audience whereas the product functionality will create new customers bring in new options from the market to choose from, compare and use logical reasons to make a purchase.
This is the part where as a video editor you have to choose how much percentage of emotional storytelling should to used to create a product functionality video and vice versa.
3. Consistency with Brand Alignment
Now, the real work begins on your storyboard.
- Create a Color Board: Choose the style, color gradients, and LUTs that align perfectly with the brand’s colors and style.
- Select the Right Words and Transitions: Ensure that the language and transitions between scenes complement the brand’s identity and the video’s tone.
- Visualize the Audience’s Perspective: Approach the video from the viewer’s perspective, ensuring that every scene connects with the target audience.
- Utilize AI for Visualization: Create prompts for AI to generate visuals, including camera angles, to bring your vision to life.
- Develop a Color Template: Establish a consistent color scheme that ties the story together and resonates with the audience, aligning with the brand’s identity.
4. Focus on Lead Generation
Remember, no matter the stage at which a brand is trying to connect with its customers, the ultimate goal of creating a video is to generate leads. If a company is investing in every frame, the marketing team is expecting a significant return on that investment. Therefore, your priority as a video editor is to create an impactful video that drives results.
Brainstorm as much as possible. You are the first audience of your masterpiece, and your job is to ensure that it not only meets the client’s expectations but also stands out in the marketplace.
Additional Pointers:
- Collaboration is Key: Work closely with the marketing and branding teams to ensure that the visuals align with broader campaign goals.
- Stay Updated with Trends: Keep an eye on the latest video trends and techniques. Being aware of what’s current can help you create videos that feel fresh and relevant.
- Feedback and Revisions: Be open to feedback and willing to make revisions. This iterative process is essential for refining your work and ensuring the final product is impactful.