“How do you measure success? How do you measure success? If you measure it in monetary terms, I’m a complete failure. If you measure it in terms of attainment of great status, I’ve failed as well. But if you measure it in a boxing sense.. well yeah, I’ve been fighting for a 100 rounds now and I’m still on my feet. That’s not bad…I’m still on my feet. That some sort of success”
Rev Father Dave Smith
A pre-shoot by Ramy Daniel, in preparation for a future documentary project telling a story of Syria – one that he is waiting for the final pieces of planning to come together for.
Father Dave Smith, also known as Fighting Father Dave, is an Anglican priest, working out of the Dulwich Hill community. In 2013, Smith visited Syria and spoke out against all proposed forms of Western military intervention in the conflict.
The documentary film talks about the work he has being doing in the Dulwich hill community, the history of Dulwich hill over time, his boxing, and what led him on his journey to his humanitarian work in Syria.
And here is a little more footage from us, SUNDAY MORNING – a glimpse into Father Dave’s day-to-day in his Dulwich Hill church.
The next project that this will lead to, will be shot with Rev. David B. Smith in Syria and share the truth about what the media isn’t doing a great job at; informing you with what’s really going on there.
Find out more about the inspirational Father Dave and his work in Syria here:
Smith is also a published author and has taken a very public stance on various human-rights issues, most especially the Palestinian occupation and the current war in Syria where he opposes all forms of Western military intervention.
Smith is best known for his work with at-risk youths, especially in his use of boxing for those suffering from substance abuse problems and anger management issues. He is also a 6th degree black belt and a professional boxer.
Smith has been twice awarded Marrickville Citizen of the Year award and was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2004 and 2009. In 2012, he broke the world record for the most continuous rounds boxing
What is your media content promoting? Is it unique? Can you differentiate yourself in the marketplace? Consider the following potential competitive advantages:
Price
Technology
Service
Selection
Experience
What problem are you solving for your customer?A good way of brainstorming about this, is asking the question, what do I focus on, to achieve the objective of the video? Narrow this down to a simple outcome, for example:
Promoting a new solution for an old problem – focus on the problems of the old solution to highlight the benefits of your new solution.
Launching a new product amongst existing customers – focus on the benefits of what happens when you start using the new product.
Getting more people to visit your establishment – what does your establishment have that others don’t? Are people looking to meet other people, are they looking to dance and to enjoy exotic cocktails? Is this something your establishment can offer?
2. Who is your competition?
How should your media content be different or similar to your competition?
Sometimes this can come down to simply having more of a brand, more of a personality. Something that connects more with your target demographic. Sure your pizza delivery service may deliver pizza in the same amount of time, but perhaps it’s the people MAKING your pizza that are unique.
3. Who is your target audience?
For Example:
Prospective uni students?
Prospective clients?
Internal demographic?
People aged 30-40?
Narrowing down on the target audience for your media content will help you answer a lot of the other questions in this how-to guide.
If your demographic is prospective uni students, than a video campaign focussed more on social media may gain more traction that a traditional video channel format.
4. What medium will you be showing the video through?
How can you use this medium to your advantage in the media content?
If it’s Instagram, then the benefit of closer and tightly framed shots means less cost and effort to maintain the background frame in terms of design and talent effort.
5. What are the specific business goals that you want the video to drive?
The ‘call to action’ emphasis of the media content will be influenced by these business goals. Do we aim to intrigue, to persuade, to shock, to galvanise opinion?
For example ,increase in KPI’s such as:
Views
Downloads
Traffic
Referrals
Awareness
Clicks
Inquiries
Shares
Links
Reposts
Calls
Sales.
6. Aesthetic and Style of Film
What do you want the audience to think, feel and do after watching your media content? Tone/Image: What style do you want? Informal, warm, humorous, direct, or functional?
Do you have any reference videos you would like your video content production team to watch to help them get more of an idea of the aesthetic?
7. Will you require paid actors, or will you provide your own?
There are often some hidden gems working for you that would love to be in front of the camera. People that speak naturally and eloquently, who improvise well.
Sometimes having proper actors can make a world of difference to how professional and convincing the media content looks.
8. Timelines and Budget
Clearly communicating these key deliverables early on avoids any last minute surprises and makes production meetings more efficient.
9. Key Deliverables
Budget – this will help your content creator narrow down on how to best utilise equipment, locations, talent.
Are special effects or animation required?
Critical dates/milestones?
Project start date
Completed video due date?
CONCLUSION
Starting the briefing process for media content helps you to narrow down exactly what it is you want, and means less time wasted (and charged) with your chosen content provider. It allows you to draw on input from various parts of your team and quite often some of the ideas generated are likely to be very useful. The briefing process puts you in firmly in control of the project, and sets you up for a great collaborative effort.
So what are you waiting for? Get started on your video project now!
