Do videos make a difference?

Can videos make a difference?  I sure hope so.

We just launched our first video – an introductory piece to help people understand just what Philanthropegie is and does.

Producing a video is an interesting exercise.  There are quite a few important choices to make.

• How long?  We targeted 90 seconds – long enough to tell our story, not so long that we risk losing our audience.

• Focus?  We decided on something to introduce Philanthropegie and to help people understand how it might help them make a difference.

• Tone?  We went for casual, entertaining, fun.  Hope you like it.

• Real or Animated?  You’ll have to watch the video for that answer.

With directional choices made – it was time to dig into the details.  We started with a script that set the tone and covered the most important pieces of information.  It was hard to choose what to include and what to leave out.

Next, we needed to choose the right “voice.”  I’m sure others listened to a ton of options before sending me over a list of about six to choose from.  While they were all good, we pretty quickly settled on one that we all felt was right for what we had in mind.

Our script was sent off to the voice talent and, after only two takes, we had what we needed.  With all this in place, our design genius (Amy) finally had what she needed to pull it all together.  I gather she had a lot of fun working on this, but there’s no question – it was a lot of work.

Now comes the important part.  Does it work?

In our case, that means… does it help us grow our audience?  Does it help more people find what they need to make their dreams for a better world come true?

I sure hope so.

Ric

P.S.  Here’s something for those of you who want to take a closer look at the world of social good videos.

YouTube has a channel all about the DoGooder nonprofit video awards where you will find winning videos and information about the awards program.  Check it out for ideas and inspiration.