O.K., it's not the MTV version, but a nonprofit can make an interesting and engaging video quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Here are some simple steps to get you started:
1. Develop the idea: What are you trying to convey? Why? Who is the most convincing "character" to tell your story? Think about what will persuade your target audience and get them to take the action you want.
2. Write out the story line: What will your characters say and do? Sometimes it's a good idea to script your characters, other times it's not (but that doesn't mean you shouldn't provide message points). Where will they be? What's the background? What other footage will you need to tell the story? Do you need text or voiceover to enhance the story?
3. Record it: Be prepared to do several takes and shoot from different angles to get the best light. I shot 35 minutes of video for the 2-minute video below.
4. Edit it: I'm not a Mac user, but Apple's i-Movie software is very easy to use (I'm a recovering luddite and it took me only 90 minutes to learn to use the main features.) Before I start editing, I usually review all the footage several times, identifying the best content from a message and visual perspective.
5. Pull together the story: Add type, slides, graphics, or whatever you need to tell a cohesive story.
6. Add music: Whether you pay for it or get it free, I highly recommend adding music to your video.
7. Market it: After all, the point is to get your target audience to watch the video.
Here's a video I recently created for Coro New York Leadership Center. From start to finish it took me about 8 hours.
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