Motion pictures began in the 1890s. They were short and rudimentary by today’s standards. Despite their limitations, they had one thing that today’s great movies have – they told a story.
I’ve been fascinated with movies and how they are made since Grade 8. My classroom had 3 cameras and a control panel, with the ongoing task for our class being to tell stories through film. We broke into groups and wrote our stories, and then did our best to film them. And, some were surprisingly good.
I remember filming a commercial for a Parker Brothers Yo-yo. I remember it as being incredible, which it might have been (or maybe not) in relative terms for a handful of grade eights. I also remember a story we wrote and filmed about an elixir that provided the fountain of youth – but with one catch, it actually killed you. Dave Scott from our group, who I have been told went on to make movies in his career as a special effects guru, figured out how to make bodies disappear on film when they drank the elixir; a bit like the 1960s Star Trek series and their transporter scenes. Way cool.
Pivoting to today, more video content is uploaded in 30 days than major U.S. television networks have created in the past 30 years. Globally, over 500 million hours of online video content is viewed every day. YouTube has over a billion users, that’s almost one-third of total global internet users, with 85% of the US internet audience watching videos online regularly. There is no better case to creating videos or ‘making marketing movies’ than increasing viewership and engagement numbers.
At Clever Samurai, our business is to tell our clients’ brand stories. Drive home their point of difference and the reason that their customers should deal with them. Video content is one of the many ways that we do that.
Here are links to a few video content examples that we’ve created:
Mellow Walk
This Canadian safety footwear company has a real difference. Their safety shoes are actually attractive. Imagine That.
Mellow Walk Footwear - The Unsafe Safety Shoe
Alectra Utilities
This second largest municipally-owned hydro utility in North America cares about its customers and how they manage their energy consumption. Imagine That.
Alectra Utilities - Who We Are
Phantom Screens
This fabulous consumer product can help homeowners love their home more, through their innovative and durable retractable screens. Imagine That.
Phantom Screens - Hurricane Elvis
