Often to make a good video, you simply need a good story. But if you’re not satisfied with just a great narrative (or maybe you don’t have one!) then some of the current video production trends out there could give your video the boost it needs to be watched and shared by your target audience.
In March we published this blog about latest video production trends; almost 6 months on we thought it was time to review how some of these trends have been used successfully and identify some other methods that are currently being used to spice up online videos.
Hyperlapse
One of the trends we mentioned in March was time-lapse and the latest version – hyper-lapse. I wanted to look at hyper-lapse again because improvements in affordable technology – such as those by Microsoft mean that it is something that can now be easily included to lift your PR video. Check out how great it can look in the video below:
Stop Motion
Stop Motion continues to be hugely popular thanks to Vine, and there are plenty of Vine round-ups which showcase great examples of the effect at work. Because Stop Motion is time consuming it can be more expensive to produce, but the success of Vine – which limits users to six second videos – also proves another of the trends that we identified earlier this year – less is more.
The video below is a really lovely example of Stop Motion – and it tells you a bit more about the effect too:
Interactive
Interactive video continues to grow in popularity and is a great way to get viewers engaged with your content. Adding an interactive element to your video may be a simple as adding hyperlinks right through to a much bigger campaign which allows the viewer to select the content. It’s also worth considering video as part of a wider interactive feature – this example by Netflix that appeared on wired.com is a really compelling use of interactivity which not only engages but also educates the audience.
Slowmotion
Slowmo has been around for years, but it’s still a really great way to make your video more visually engaging. Plus, since you can film slowmo on your iPhone or Gopro now it’s no longer something you necessarily need a specialist camera for.
It’s a really good technique to highlight a specific moment, and looks great when capturing high energy moments – you see it used a lot in videos featuring sports, and it works really well in this video of colour festival Holifest:
Bespoke astons
Even with a small editing budget there is no reason not to have the graphics and titles – also known as astons – in your videos be consistent with the rest of your branding. So as well as giving your editor or production house your desired fonts and colours why not request a graphic that also relates to your brand. It can be a good way to make a classic title stand-out and become more consistent with the rest of your brand. In a video that we made for VisitEngland – the tourist board – we used little suitcases in the spokespeople’s titles – see for yourself in the video:
Looking further ahead
Advances in technology are making big differences to the world of video production, and the use of video is an increasingly popular way for brands and organisations to connect with their audiences. We’re already excited about what 2015 will bring in terms of production trends, but if you can’t wait for more production news, why not check out our e-book to find out why online video is so popular and how you can use it to benefit your brand.
