An important rule of thumb I live by in developing online video content is: would I rather watch this or read this?
Video can certainly enrich the content experience, but for every great online video I’ve seen, I’ve seen just as many that would have been better off as a standard article. Because the best videos don’t tell stories, they show stories.
While it’s tempting to point you to the best video I’ve seen in the last week or month (we’re in the era of real-time content, after all), the Communications Major with a Minor in History in me would like to go back in time to pick out a video from November, 21, 2011, the 48th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
I stumbled upon “The Umbrella Man” by Errol Morris on The New York Times’ homepage. A fan of Mr. Morris’s work, this was the first short online video I’d seen of his.
Here is why it worked:
- It keeps the viewer engaged. Despite having a length of over 6 minutes (almost an eternity for most online videos) “The Umbrella Man” tells a compelling story with a beginning, middle and an ending, which from minute one I had to see.
- It was a skillful interview. Though you can only hear what is presumably Errol Morris’s voice during the interview in the a few times, Mr. Morris cinematic voice is all over this film. Josiah Thompson is a great interviewee but Mr. Morris was able to extract his own signature caustic humor and conspiracy theory-style storytelling from Mr. Thompson.
- Great music and graphics. The music lends the video a suspenseful vibe, important for moving the story along. The graphics were also so well done. They supported the story and were high quality but not too flashy.
- Great takeaway. Isn’t the end such a great lesson for all of us to remember?
With the suspense of “The Umbrella Man” coupled with the humor and superior storytelling abilities of both Errol Morris and Josiah Thompson, this is a piece of content that is meant to be watched. Reading it as text just wouldn’t do it justice.
[Image: joshwept ]
