We’re often approached by non-profit organizations who say they want to produce a video about their organization but they can’t seem to answer why. It’s the main reason why we’ve recently developed a questionnaire that we bring with us on all initial client meetings. It came as a bit of a surprise to one client we’ve had for several years who looked at it and joked, “what’s this, a personality survey?” And we responded, YES! It’s a personality survey for non-profits to try to get them to articulate who they are, what their story is, what they want to achieve, and why. Below are five of the most important questions non-profit organizations should ask themselves before commencing a video production:
1. Who are you in one line or less? While seemingly a simple question, I can’t tell you how many non-profits struggle with answering it. Often, it takes them a good 5 minutes when it should really only take one single sentence.
In the film-making world, we have what are called log-lines, essentially short synopses that give the audience a sense of the subject of the film and tease them into watching it. Log-lines are hard business but they make all the difference in how many people will want to see a given film. As an example, I’ve listed the log-lines for two of this year’s Academy Award nominees for best picture. Read them over and think about what each tells and teases about the film:
- The Artist: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Most striking is that each tells the who, what, where, when and teases the why. The “why” will be learned by watching the film. Each description is simple and direct while also not providing too many details. It’s also active, using verbs like “sparks” and “searches.” Using this model as a guide, let’s look at how the following new and innovative non-profits log-line their story:
- Charity Water: charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects. Learn more or donate.
- Pencils of Promise: Pencils of Promise builds schools in the developing world and trains young leaders to take action at home and abroad.
Just like the log-lines in the films, these non-profit loglines tell us the who, what and where. Yet, instead of teasing the “why” they tease the “how” by directing us to areas of their website or videos that demonstrate the “how” in more detail. And just like the log-lines in films, these descriptions use verbs like “bringing” “build” “combat” and “expand”. Log-lining or synopsizing your organization’s story is the first step before you can really begin to think about telling your story in film or video. It’s the first step for filmmakers, so why not non-profits?
2. What’s At Stake? Why Now?
This question gets down to why others should care about the issue you are presenting. What is the alternative if this issue is not addressed? An example: If we don’t provide clean water to x by x time, then x number of people will die. Whether its in words, in film, or on the stage, all stories are driven by some degree of tension. In the story of your non-profit, you must also demonstrate what the tension is and be able to answer the question “what’s at stake?”
3. What’s your goal? If you were a puppet master, what would you audience do?
The answer to this question can be a tangible action such as having viewers sign up for a newsletter, donate money, volunteer, or become a citizen lobbyist. It can also be a feeling, a connection, an inspiration, which may lead to action, involvement or awareness about a specific issue. You need to determine exactly what it is you want your audience to do and make sure that you have the tools and resources available beyond the film to help them do that.
4. Who Are You Speaking To? Who Is Your Primary Audience? Secondary Audience?
A lot of organizations will say that they want to appeal to everyone, but we ask them to narrow the field. Your biggest supporters may know a lot about your issue while outsiders may not. The young are apt to favor short and energetic communications while the old may favor stories that take time to unfold. Potential donors may be seeking information about the impact of their contribution while potential volunteers want to know what role they’ll have in your organization. Certainly there should be an element of universality to your story. However, to be most effective non-profits need to identify primary audiences and secondary audiences because there’s no one size fits all approach. Instead, communications should be tailored by the audience to which they are speaking to.
5. What will be the distribution method? Exhibition format?
Once you identify who your audience is, the next step is to identify how you plan to reach them. Is it through an embeddable video in your newsletter, on your website, at a conference opener or in a screening event coupled with audience discussion? The format and distribution method often drives length. For example, a web video should be three minutes or less (ideally under 2 minutes) while a conference opener might extend as long as ten minutes. And a short film screening coupled with a discussion would do well at a length of about 20 minutes. The goal of the project and the intended audience should always drive the content of the video and the exhibition format, which ultimately determines the length.
