Embryo Creative co-Founders Ryan Ferland and Allan Shinohara are experts at using video to tell stories with a purpose. In this slack conversation (that will get you thinking about slack as a storytelling medium) they’ll cover:
- The Embryo Creative origin story
- How to approach telling stories with video
- How to keep videos from being boring
- Keys to creating videos that make viewers feel
- Where most clients get stuck
- What’s changed with making video since they started their agency in 2007
And now, some very not boring insights on how to make great videos.
A Q&A with Embryo Creative
(a.k.a. Ryan Ferland and Allan Shinohara)
Presented as a Slack transcript in 7 parts
Ryan Ferland
Hey Allan, we have to answer those questions for your friend Amy. What’s your job title?
Allan Shinohara
Do we even have job titles?
Ryan Ferland
Can I be Video Dude?
Allan Shinohara
Only if I can be Master of Video…Stuff?
Ryan Ferland
Moving on, why did we focus on video when we started the business?
Allan Shinohara
It was the year 2006, YouTube was a year old, smartphones were called “Palm Pilot…”
Ryan Ferland
The before, before times.
Allan Shinohara
We were young and stupid.
Ryan Ferland
But, back then we thought we were smart.
We thought, “Hey, video is getting cheaper to produce and the internet seems to be sticking around so maybe we can make videos on the internet.”
Allan Shinohara
In 2006, when we told people we were starting a video agency, you could see the confusion on their faces…
Ryan Ferland
I remember when you first showed me streaming on Netflix. I knew then that the way people consumed and interacted with video was going to change…
Allan Shinohara
And it did.
***
Allan Shinohara
Okay. I think we fully answered question… one?
Ryan Ferland
We gotta pick up the pace. Next question…Tell us about your approach…
Allan Shinohara
Wait, did we mention the backstory of meeting in grad school and studying advertising?
Ryan Ferland
You just did.
I think one of the most important things I learned at BU was to make sure the message fit the medium.
Allan Shinohara
A video is not like a brochure.
Ryan Ferland
People have a tendency to jam way, way, way too much into their videos.
Allan Shinohara
Pacing is so important.
Ryan Ferland
A video should be as long as needed, but not a second more. You have to be strategic with what is included.
Allan Shinohara
And what is cut.
Ryan Ferland
I think it comes down to knowing your audience—where they are watching and why they are watching.
Allan Shinohara
A video shown at a gala is going to play differently than a video for social media. Lots of people these days watch on mute.
Ryan Ferland
The first step is building interest. And gaining viewer trust.
Allan Shinohara
And you have to do that in 5 seconds.
Ryan Ferland
There are so many videos that are eye-wateringly boring. Too often the marketing gobbledygook just gets jammed in and doesn’t sound natural.
Allan Shinohara
I think we started the business because we wanted to make videos people would actually watch.
Ryan Ferland
“Video snacks” is what you used to call them.
Allan Shinohara
Even a short video can get boring fast.
Ryan Ferland
I have the attention span of a gnat, so if I’m bored editing people are going to be bored watching.
***
Allan Shinohara
I think we’re hitting on question three—how do we keep videos from being boring?
Ryan Ferland
You need to think about building intrigue. Sometimes I start a video in the middle with someone just saying an evocative line because it builds interest and that will hopefully hook a viewer to keep watching.
Allan Shinohara
No one sets out to make a boring video.
Ryan Ferland
People didn’t want to make crap. It becomes crap. And it didn’t become crap because of budget or timelines or a million other things. It became crap because somewhere in the process…and usually very early in the process…expectations were not set.
Allan Shinohara
There’s a reason we send clients a three-page questionnaire before we start a project.
Allan Shinohara
And all the zoom calls.
Ryan Ferland
I want everyone to speak their mind early and often.
Allan Shinohara
Get it all out in the open.
Ryan Ferland
The best piece of advice I got in grad school was “listen to your client.”
You don’t have to agree with them, but you should understand fully where they are coming from, because in the end they know more than you about their audience, product, service.
Ultimately, it makes for a better video.
***
Ryan Ferland
So, next on the agenda. What makes a strong story?
Allan Shinohara
You need to get viewers emotionally invested.
Ryan Ferland
Think about character and motivations.
Allan Shinohara
And sometimes “characters” in real life are just terrible on camera. No matter how compelling the story, if a person is a terrible storyteller, you’ll lose the audience.
Ryan Ferland
The best subjects are often not the people who have the most dramatic stories, but the people who are comfortable enough in their own skin to share their emotional journey.
Allan Shinohara
Video is all about emotion. And not everyone is comfortable with their emotions. There have been many times where what people say isn’t as important as how they say it. Sometimes a simple glance or a hand gesture says it all.
Ryan Ferland
Capturing these small moments is so key.
Allan Shinohara
We tend to work with our subjects, warm them up and get them comfortable.
Ryan Ferland
I think that’s super important. People get nervous with the lights and the cameras and the strangers. And unless they are a professional actor or media trained, it can be scary.
Allan Shinohara
What if I screw up?
What if I make myself look bad?
What if I make my boss look bad?
Ryan Ferland
Will I get fired?
Allan Shinohara
What if my hair looks weird?
Ryan Ferland
Well, there’s a button for that. It’s called “Visual Effects.”
***
Allan Shinohara
Okay, moving on. Where do most clients get stuck?
Ryan Ferland
Scheduling is probably the biggest lift for clients.
Allan Shinohara
Yes. It is like herding cats.
***
Ryan Ferland
Next up, what has changed over the years?
Allan Shinohara
Attention spans.
Ryan Ferland
Yeah, we used to have to push clients to keep runtimes under 2:00 and now they are pushing us for :15.
Allan Shinohara
Of course, they still want 5:00 of information in :15…
Ryan Ferland
:15 is three sentences.
Allan Shinohara
:15 is a joke. Literally, you can tell a knock knock joke in :15.
Ryan Ferland
Knock, knock!
Allan Shinohara
Who’s there?
Ryan Ferland
Fur.
Allan Shinohara
Fur who?
Ryan Ferland
Fur you, anything!
Allan Shinohara
You sir, made a funny.
Ryan Ferland
You can’t be boring at :15.
You can be silly.
You can be dumb.
Never boring.
Allan Shinohara
if your video is boring at :15, you did something very wrong.
Ryan Ferland
Most :15 videos are just confusing because a lot of times they are edits of longer videos and in the editing process, so much was removed that unless you’ve seen the longer video the :15 doesn’t make much sense.
Allan Shinohara
If you’re going to do a :15 video, you need to plan on it from the start.
Ryan Ferland
Because every frame counts.
Allan Shinohara
You don’t want the viewers to be lost from the start.
Ryan Ferland
This doesn’t get said enough, but I think people can’t be afraid to be a little weird or have fun or be interesting.
Allan Shinohara
People remember weird.
Ryan Ferland
We hear a lot from clients to not to be “crazy” and I think it’s because they’ve been burned in the past. Maybe they were pitched a bunch of shocking ideas that were off-brand or irrelevant—you shouldn’t be weird for weird sake (unless that’s what the audience wants), but defying expectations is a good thing.
Allan Shinohara
Subverting expectations is key in a crowded market.
Ryan Ferland
And it doesn’t have to be wild either. These days, I think what works well is the “surprisingly familiar.” You don’t want to be too wild, because it can be alienating and people could just tune you out, but you don’t want to be too mundane because people will get bored.
Allan Shinohara
You want to be Stranger Things—the perfect mix of old ideas in a new wrapper.
Ryan Ferland
Mmm. Sweet, tasty nostalgia.
***
Allan Shinohara
Lastly, is there anything else you want to share?
Ryan Ferland
Um, stay in school.
Eat your vegetables.
Never press pause.
And keep watching the skies!
End of transcript
