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Journal




The content creators dilemma

  • You've spent 5 months making your beautiful shiny new video.

  • You've had 5 of your best people plus an agency working on it around the clock.

  • You've made 5 minutes of gloriously plotted, perfectly arched storytelling that will leave your audience gasping with self-realisation and hunger to donate but...

...when you put it live, a high percentage of viewers drop off after just 5 seconds.


Try this storytelling telling strategy...


Long videos aren't a bad thing, but you should put all the important information near the start. Think about what you want your audience to do as a result of watching the film and try to convey it early on.

Set up a clickable call to action

Consider using a clickable annotation or a very clear CTA (Call to Action) within the first 3 seconds as a graphic on-screen.


In YouTube Studio, go to the video details editor, click on 'Cards' and 'Add Card'.


To link to an external site (i.e. a donation page or petition) you'll need to be part of the YouTube partner program.


Put your key message or story hook at the very start

Try to condense the key issue and solution of your campaign into less than 5 seconds; if that can't be done then consider just stating either the problem or the solution - whichever is most intriguing.

We made this short for Humane Society - we front-loaded the film with a hook that positions a problem to be resolved. Take a look >>





 

Consider a storytelling strategy that keeps your audience engaged with your communication campaign with regular video updates on social media.


Partner with us to keep consistency through your year-long social video output and keep production costs right down.


Call us (020 3575 1210) to discuss annual content packages starting from £6k + VAT. hello@campaignfilm.com

 

Helpful? Please share....


When you meet someone who is good, you get a feeling, don't you? Today I met Kirsten, a vet in a rural patch just outside Frankfurt, Germany.



She fed me breakfast at her woodland cottage, introduced me to her four rescue dogs, I met her toothless thirty year old stallion, her husband and a dead puppy that she keeps in the freezer.

 

The last patient to see Kirsten during her Saturday afternoon clinic is a Maltese puppy, his owner wants to know if he's been trafficked and if he'll survive to see his 18th week, such is the fate of many farmed puppies. 


Kirsten tries to work out if this Maltese has been dred by puppy dealers

Puppy farming is big lucrative business, poorly regulated and is an attractive proposition for people willing to risk imprisonment in order to mass produce popular and often inbred designer breeds that fetch a high but competitive price compared to what you might pay for a sought after breed.


The market place is online – of course – and eBay Inc. has come under fire from animal welfare groups for enabling untraceable transactions between dealers and pet owners. 


What's needed, according to Four Paws, is a mandatory seller identity verification system implemented across all classifieds sites, and they want eBay Inc. to lead the way and I can see why, because eBay Inc. own Gumtree, Craigslist and similar classified listing sites across the globe – I did not know that.


This is the investigaion film we made that can tell you rest of the story.


We partnered with the Wildlife Trusts to produce a call to arms asking for political engagement to re-network nature across the UK.

David Attenborough

David Attenborough gave his support to the campaign to reconnect the UK's wild places.


We used CG artists to create an 'energy butterfly' that represents a force of nature that can connect wild places together across the UK.


People asked me following the filming what it's like to work with David Attenborough. It was a dream come true to work with him, and of course very nerve wracking to begin with.


The Wildlife Trust published this statement following the release of the film.


“We’re delighted to see our vision for a Wilder Future come to life on screen and love how our creative partner, Campaign Film, has captured Sir David Attenborough’s sense of hope in nature’s story. Last week, the State of Nature report showed the harsh reality facing our natural world, but we know it’s not too late if we act now for nature’s recovery. We’re writing the next chapter for wildlife with our supporters, who are joining in the call for a Nature Recovery Network, alongside Sir David, believing as he does that “nature can recover – given the chance”




This is the team that worked on it...

Director // Andrew Davies

Talent // David Attenborough

Writer // Alice Trueman DOP // Lewis Davies Animation // Emily Clarkson 3D animation // Ethan Shilling Make up // Rachel Mcdonald Client // Wildlife Trusts

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