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It’s obvious that the main point of success in good video content lies in the video itself. If your content is not interesting, unique, or fun, it’s not going to perform well. While most creators have this mindset, it is only a small part of what makes content successful. In order to truly understand what makes a video compelling, you have to really ask yourself what video is and what makes it a different medium from, say, radio.
Video is most often a combination of sight and sound. While creators are pretty much in total control of what viewers hear, they cannot control what viewers choose to look at. In this age of social media and technology, content is so abundant that viewers are looking for the best experience they can find. Your video can have the funniest jokes or the coolest trick shot, but if you aren’t keeping their eyes occupied, they may leave before they can appreciate it. This is why ensuring that you are providing visual stimulation for your viewers is paramount to its success.
Visual stimulation begins when a video is being filmed. Think about it like a roller coaster ride with the actual video being the track. Nobody wants to ride a roller coaster that is entirely flat. If your content is shot in a similar setup for the entire video, your viewer has seen the whole visual experience five seconds in. This is why you add turns, rises, falls, and loops to your coaster to make it fun. Just the smallest adjustment in the way your video is shot/recorded can make all the difference.
For example, if your content involves little movement, try adding multiple camera angles. Some creators will opt to use footage that is completely unrelated to what the audio is discussing for this very purpose. The actual footage should focus on being entertaining, and not sacrifice anything of worth for the sake of changing things up. This leads us to the place where visual stimulation is a MUST: post-production.
Editing is the final, and often underrated stage of content creation. There are so many tricks a creator can do in the edit that add immense value to their project. This is where content truly separates itself in terms of stimulation. Let’s go back to the roller coaster analogy to emphasize a point. Let’s say you take a very fun roller coaster track and duplicate it. Sure, it’s fun, but it’s the same exact ride. Now take these two coasters and make one Toy Story themed and one Star Wars themed with lots of figures, sets, and unique items to make them completely different worlds. This is editing.
The possibilities are endless for the amount of stimulation you can add here and it can all be personal to YOU and your content. Maybe you opt for changing the color grade of your footage, giving viewers more vibrant colors to catch their eye. You could also opt to have a quick cutting, humorous video that keeps viewers on their toes, never giving them a break from the action. Many creators these days are opting for various ways of captioning their videos. These captions are often very playful. They may, for example, pop up in random areas of the screen, emulate shapes, pop in and out quickly making the reader really have to focus, etc. Now, all of this said, the best content employs these fun edits to SUPPORT the video, not MAKE the video. Don’t overcrowd your video with so many cuts and edits that the viewer is unable to focus on your content, as they may get overwhelmed.
If you have the time, grab some sample footage and play around with some edits to find your own way of spicing up the video. Many editors have signature styles and you can develop your own. The main takeaway is that you should always strive to keep your viewers as focused and engaged as possible with your content through stimulation. Making your viewer put in the slightest bit of effort will make a world of difference compared to your content alone trying to carry the load.
