10 Tips to Nowhere
I realized recently that I had succumbed to the prevailing trend in editorial writing – the “top ten” syndrome – the top ten places to see in a lifetime, 10 tips on how to be more productive, 10 tips for taking better photos, the 10 best towns to live in – you get the picture.
Train tracks, Mississippi
Seems like we want our info and we want it fast and easy to digest. The problem is we tend to lose sight of the things that aren’t on the top ten lists and lose focus on who we are.
I spent my summer redesigning our company’s website, editing a new motion reel and strategizing with my partner on marketing ideas. I am grateful for whatever outside forces motivated me creatively to have such a productive summer. I learned some of the pitfalls of following just the advice of “top ten” check lists when it came to editing our new motion reel. For example, these tips:
- Pick music that sets the tone for your brand and footage.
- Select only your best clips.
- Cut on the action.
- Cut to the music – to the beat
- Have an opening that hooks the audience – gets their attention.
- Include your company’s logo and/or info.
- Pace it like a story with lows and peaks.
That’s not 10, I know, but that’s not the point. The point is that I had lost sight of the most important thing of all and that was I hadn’t shown our company’s vision. After months of work, I had picked the right music, culled through hours of footage and selected the very best clips, came up with an opening that I thought was intriguing and did my very best to cut to the beat of the music. I had shown what we have done, but I hadn’t shown who we are. So, I went back to the drawing board and re-edited the reel.
I realized that there are no short cuts to doing really good work. Good work comes from lots of trial and error and learning from our own experiences. It’s the journey that has its rewards.
By the way, we’re very close to launching the new site. Stay tuned.
Filed under: Business, Inspirational, Personal Stories, Post-Production, Story telling, Video, Women Tagged: Creativity, Editing, motion, Photography, reel, tips, top ten, Video 
Read more at: Journeys of a Hybrid
10 Tips to Nowhere
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