There is a temptation when starting with video of trying to do too much: too many stories, too many voices, too many seconds! Breaking up a bigger message into smaller bites offers a flexibility to align with an integrated marketing strategy. But it’s not about speeding things up or cutting things out. Utilizing short form content effectively takes forethought, contingency planning and conceptual agility. Presented at Confab Higher Ed at the Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill, Philadelphia, PA on November 15, 2016.

1. The beauty of brevity:
Engaging your audience with
short-form video content
Ravi Jain, Boston College
@ravidjain

2. @ravidjain
#confabEDU
#shortformvideo

3. So who is this @ravidjain?
#confabEDU @ravidjain
Senior Associate Director, Web & Digital Media at Boston College
Digital Media Faculty, Northeastern University
MFA, Studio for Interrelated Media, MassArt
BA, “Modern Imaging Techniques,” Oberlin College
25+ years digital media production
All around nice guy

4. Who is this session for?
Creators Managers Buyers
#confabEDU @ravidjain

5. 80%
60,000x
1.8 million
59%
hubspot.com, cisco.com, adeliestudios.com, Forrester Research

6. What are we doing here today?
Define
Short
Form
Video
View
Examples
Build
Production
Workflow
Take away
Takeaways
#confabEDU @ravidjain

7. Short Form Video (SFV)
Extreme short form: 15 secs or less
Standard short form: 30 secs to 3 min
Coffee break length: 5 to 9 min
Extended online clip: 10 to 20 min
“I wish I was on TV” clip: 25+ min
#confabEDU @ravidjain

8. Length isn’t everything (!)
Story dictates how long a video should be
Poorly made short video can drag
Well made longer format can fly by
One size does NOT fit all
Scale duration for platform
#confabEDU @ravidjain

9. A brief history of my short form video career

10. 2001 - 12 minutes 2002 - 9 minutes
2005 - 8 minutes 2007- 4 minutes

11. 2009 - 1 Minute

12. Strategy behind The Boston College Minute
No “set pieces”
No talking to the camera
No lower thirds
You are IN the story
Doesn’t overstay welcome
#confabEDU @ravidjain

13. My defense of Short Form Video
Forces more immediate storytelling
Hooks the viewer
Small investment from the user
Opportunity to parse & extend content
Aligns with social media strategy
#confabEDU @ravidjain

14. DriveTime

15. SFV 101:
Define it and then pitch it

16. What?
Why?
Where?
How?

17. Three Abreast!

18. What’s your institution’s story?
#confabEDU @ravidjain

19. How do you tell that story?
Promo
#confabEDU @ravidjain
Profile News
Feature Series
Site
specific

20. Benefit of Higher Ed Stories?
#confabEDU @ravidjain

21. SFV 101:
Pre-production

22. Be Prepared
#confabEDU @ravidjain
Spec
Script
Storyboard
Team

23. Project Spec
Supports institutional voice
Clear understanding of potential audiences
Assess resources and determine schedule
Stay focused in scope
#confabEDU @ravidjain

24. Script
#confabEDU @ravidjain
Maps out story arc
Identifies players/voices
Indicates scene changes
Can incorporate transcripts
Can be speculative

25. Storyboard (Even if you draw like a 5 year old)

26. Team
#confabEDU @ravidjain
Team of 1 can work
Team of +1 infinitely better
Assign roles
Mix resources

27. A Boston College Minute: Illumination

28. SFV 101:
Production

29. Be Agile
If possible, scout location
Think quickly, shoot slowly
Go with the flow
Audio & video aren’t married
Repeated Actions FTW!
Capture, capture, capture #confabEDU @ravidjain

30. Battleplans

31. Listen to this:
The Importance of Audio

33. “Is thing on?”
Microphones
Headphones
Room tone
Ambient noise / crowd noise
Music
#confabEDU @ravidjain

34. SFV 101:
Post-production

35. Log, log, log

38. Log, log, log

39. Lev Kuleshov
Kuleshov Effect

40. A + B = More than A + B

41. Sequencing
Linear (editing in camera)
Non-linear (sculptural film-making)
#confabEDU @ravidjain

42. SFV 101:
Approval & Testing

43. “I’m Ravi Jain and I approve this message.”
Know your approval process
Plan for your approval process (nuff said)
Lock story arc / messaging prior to FX
Pilot concept for series branding
#confabEDU @ravidjain

44. Testing 1, 2, 3...
Not always straightforward process
View in context, like any content
User test with audiences, if possible
Case Study #1: Jumbotron video
Case Study #2: 360 video
#confabEDU @ravidjain

45. SFV 101:
Launch & Promotion

46. If a video plays in an empty forest...
Photo: unsplash.com/@anthonygotter

47. Integrate rollout across channels
Social media team
Placement in site hierarchy
Email marketing
Print marketing
Self-promote
#confabEDU @ravidjain

48. Engagement:
Extending Reach

49. Social Media Outreach

50. Social Media Element

51. Measuring Results

52. Video analytics (Getting Better All the Time)
Views, shares, comments
Hashtag use
Watch time, watch duration
Audience retention
#confabEDU @ravidjain

53. Audience retention

54. Clear Understanding of Goals

56. “But wait, there’s more!”

57. Extreme Short Form Video:
A Matter of Seconds

58. Give me a few seconds of your time
Vine = 6 seconds
Instagram = 15 seconds
Near instantaneous
Hard-wired social media content
#confabEDU @ravidjain

59. Give me a few seconds of your time
Vine = 6 seconds
Instagram = 15 30 seconds
Near instantaneous
Hard-wired social media content
#confabEDU @ravidjain

60. Give me a few seconds of your time
Vine = 6 seconds
Instagram = 15 30 60 seconds
Near instantaneous
Hard-wired social media content
#confabEDU @ravidjain

61. Vine

62. #DoItForTheVine

63. Instagram

64. #BehindTheGreens

65. Live Streaming:
Instant Content Karma

66. The Revolution will be live-streamed
Periscope
Facebook Live
YouTube
Beme
App X du jour
#confabEDU @ravidjain

67. Live-streaming tips
Promote ahead of time
Be prepared (battery, wifi, description)
Engage your audience
Keep it going
Sign off, don’t drop out
#confabEDU @ravidjain

68. Interactive Video:
“It’s the Future!”

69. Interactive non-linear video

70. 360 Video / VR

71. One more thing:
We didn’t invent this all

73. Takeaways

74. 1 What and why of
#shortformvideo
2Reap the benefits of
careful planning
3
4 Delivery platforms
continue to evolve
Video strategy aligns
w/ content strategy
#confabEDU @ravidjain
5 And yes, failure
IS an option

75. Q & A

76. Thank you!
#confabEDU @ravidjain
Join the conversation @ravidjain
Find me on LinkedIn
Contact me at Boston College
Talk to me today!

77. The beauty of brevity:
Engaging your audience with
short-form video content
Ravi Jain, Boston College
@ravidjain