Did you all enjoy the Academy Award ceremony? We did! It was amazing to see Midlands based director Chris Overton and amazing writer and actress Rachel Shenton leave with a coveted Oscar for their short film “The Silent Child“. If you haven’t heard about this short yet, check out the trailer below. This blog tries to shed some light on what it takes to create Oscar worthy Video Marketing content.
The fact that this short film was rewarded with an Oscar proves that “The Silent Child” hit excellent marks on three key aspects of filmmaking. Let’s discuss them one at a time.
Great stories and characters
The basis of any film is the story. It’s the narrative that persuades, engages or provokes the audience. Great writing coupled with amazing actors leads to thought provoking imagery. And the fact that The Silent Child has won this Academy Award proves that Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton are able to tell a story in the way it needs to be told. On the whole, a film can’t exist without a story. Some familiar narrative structures can be found in “the fall” or “the stranger that comes to town“.
Excellent Cinematography
Cinematography determines the “look” of the film. It includes the composition in the shots, the lighting and colour feel. It’s a skill and profession. It takes years of training to learn how to compose the most compelling and visually interesting shots. Just take a look at this poster. It’s already a piece of powerful imagery. The combination of the tree, the two lead characters on eye level and the light/dark contrast. It speaks volumes without even hearing a single word. That is one example of the power of cinematography.
Outstanding Image Quality
The third aspect to discuss is the image quality. Although the first two aspects rely heavily on personal skill and years and years of training, image quality is a direct consequence of your kit. Your cameras, your lenses and your lighting, they will dictate the perceived quality of the picture. As such, it is worth exploring the kit used to film The Silent Child. In this case, the Director chose to film on an Arri Alexa Mini with Red Pro Prime lenses.
How to create Oscar worthy Video Marketing content
Now that is the million pound question right? How to create Video Marketing content that is worthy of an Oscar? Actually, in our profession, we’re not looking to get awards. Sure, it’s nice to get recognition for your work, but ultimately video marketing is about sales. It might sound a bit blunt, but as we argued before, video marketing is a one-sided sales conversation.
However, there are some lessons to be learnt from Academy Award winning films such as “The Silent Child”. For us, the same rule of three applies. When it comes to “Oscar worthy Video Marketing”, we need to look at the story, cinematography and image quality as well. In our industry, we develop video marketing content that drives sales. And as such, our story needs revolve around the customer or client. It’s our job to ensure that the message resonates with the audience. And when it comes to cinematography, there is something else to consider. Your lead character might actually be your product or service. That will change the way you compose and light the shots.
Now let’s take a look at the image quality. We are luckily in a position where we’ve got the same kit that was used to film “The Silent Child”. And as such, we’re able to offer outstanding cinematic image quality. However, it is important to consider the kit you’re using. Not every video requires a high-end cinematic look. Not every video benefits from a 8K sensor. Instead, make sure the image quality matches the message!
So when you are looking to produce your own Oscar worthy video content, think of three key aspects: the story, the cinematography and the image quality! Make sure they’re all balanced!
