1. Polestars: small publisher content marketing video
This 9:16 aspect ratio content marketing video is one of several produced for NewCon Press to promote a series of books on the company’s social media platforms. This is an overview of the first three titles.
The 9:16 format is ideal for viewing on phones as it uses the full screen.
There were several challenges with these videos. First, there’s a lot of information to include. To do this effectively, we had to decide what to leave out. A lot of people find this very difficult, so the temptation is to leave everything in, just in case. Confidence is needed.
If in doubt, leave it out.
Three covers from the series were used, with virtual cameras zooming in on each. The background image was a sample from cover artwork. As this image is dark, we chose white text. The text is mainly delivered “type out” style, although one section at the end, where there’s a lot more information, is “fade in”.
Type out text adds an interesting dynamic and feeds the information at a controlled pace. There then needs to be sufficient pause to allow the viewer to absorb the content before the next piece of text appears. But as they’ve read the text as it was written, this pause can be shorter than for other styles, such as fade in, where everything appears at once.
Fade in was used for the section with more text, as fade in can be quicker than type out, and we wanted to keep the video under 30 seconds. Why? A sub-30-second video will autoplay on Facebook and LinkedIn.
The font used for the title – Akbaal – is the same as that used by the publisher; the other font – Overpass – was selected for ease of reading, with a slight out-of-the-ordinary feel to reflect the books’ science fictional sense of otherness.
Dark and moody music finished off the piece, reflecting the visuals and tone of the books.
📧 Get in touch to discuss a project.
2. A Disorder 4 Everyone: short content marketing videos for LinkedIn
Urban Creative produced a series of video content marketing pieces for AD4E. These promoted talks and workshops by psychotherapists and academics on LinkedIn and Facebook.
1:1 aspect ratio made full use of the LinkedIn and Facebook video panes. These are under 30 seconds, so will auto play; there’s a thumbnail for when the autoplay stops.
Jo Watson at AD4E had already created online posters for these events; these contained all the necessary information – but too much for a sub-30 second video. The text was distilled down to the essentials.
The scribing hand controls the pace of delivery, meaning people can’t skim-read and miss details. A black background was used, with some text in white, some in a soft pink. For the white text we used a pen with a white body, even though the tip is black!
A variety of music was selected for these content marketing videos, some funky, some not. The serious nature of the subject matter meant funky music just wouldn’t be appropriate in some cases. Where funky music was used, things had to fall on the beat: we’re sticklers for detail at Urban Creative!
One challenge was that even though the people featured regularly give talks and run workshops, they don’t see themselves as public figures. This meant that none of them had a decent headshot, just grainy snaps scanned from old photos or captured on a phone. If you’re doing public work like this, you need a good photo! If you’re in the Midlands area, I recommend tworldstudio – tell Warren and Karen that Martin Sketchley sent you…
The feedback from Jo was that these content marketing videos immediately stimulated ticket sales.
📧 Get in touch to discuss a project.
3. Struggling with Morning Pages? A whiteboard explainer for YouTube
This is a follow-up to the most popular video on Martin’s YouTube channel, which has over a quarter of a million views, almost 9,000 likes and over 300 comments at the time of writing.
It’s a 16:9 aspect ratio whiteboard explainer with conversational voiceover (VO). A script was written, then rehearsed until it could be delivered largely without reference.
This video is a great example of how whiteboard explainers can convey complex concepts in simple, entertaining ways.
The scribing hand is particularly well-suited to this kind of explainer. It holds viewers’ attention, and controls the pace of delivery. The video is enhanced with subtle sound effects and a touch of humour.
📧 Get in touch to discuss a project.
Martin Sketchley 