Cole Heilborn (00:00):

Welcome back to another fireside episode. It's been a bit since I was last on the mic talking solo, but I wanted to talk about an idea that I've been thinking about recently, this idea of function over form when it comes to production work, when it comes to telling stories and when it comes to developing creative and creating commercials, things like that. I think it's easy for us filmmakers to get caught up in all of the creative options that are out there. When a brief comes through the door or when we put together a brief with a client there, there's hundreds of creative choices that get to be made that help influence the outcome. Things like locations, talent, lighting lenses, and the list goes on. But all of those choices, while they're exciting and they greatly have, they have a big impact on how a project looks and feels.

(00:58)
If there's no consideration for why the project exists in the first place, none of those factors really matter. And at the end of the day, I talk a lot about storytelling, and we talk a lot about developing good creative and developing tools to get your content out into the world on this podcast amongst other things. But something that I don't think we talk a lot about, something that I want to talk about today is this idea that video production should be solving problems. That's what it's there for. Yeah, it's great to tell a neat story. Yeah, it's great to make something that's beautiful and represents your brand artistically. There's nothing wrong with those things, but what if those things could also be solving real problems in your business instead of just being a line item expense? There is a oversaturation of content out in the world.

(01:49)
I don't remember the stat, but it's a ridiculous number of hours of video that are uploaded to YouTube every day, and I think it's because of this that we have two options as an industry. Either we keep shouting into the void or we take a step back and we create work that actually stands out. And whether the work that we're creating is positioned at the top or the bottom of the funnel, it doesn't really matter. I think what we need to be putting first and foremost is an understanding that the work that we should be creating should be solving problems. And it shouldn't be adding to the noise. It should be standing out from the noise. I'm not suggesting we stop posting on social or we stop paying attention to algorithms or trends. I think what I would like us to reconsider is just think about are we adding to the noise or are we standing apart from the noise and creating things that are true to our brand, that bring value to our audience, that entertain our audience, that build customer loyalty, and ultimately impact the bottom line. I think if we're putting those things first, if we're creating from a problem solving mindset, those things will be the outcome. Creating work that stands out and actually moves the needle is difficult. It's a lot of work.

(03:14)
It requires, the first thing requires is a deep understanding of the brand and the problems that that brand faces. And this is why I've always been so conflicted about this idea of filmmakers or photographers reaching out to brands and pitching stories. And we've done this. We've had some success with this. We've had, we have not had success with this, but what troubles me about that approach, and I think it's approach that a lot of us take when we're trying to find work. We're trying to build a network, we're trying to build a portfolio, is that we're just trying to get out there. We're trying, trying to show up with initiative, but I feel like what that initiative lacks is an understanding of the brand, an understanding of what problems the people face inside the brand, and without an understanding of what's happening inside, then how can a filmmaker show up and help solve that problem without an understanding?

(04:14)
If you're going to blindly pitch a story to a brand and hope that it happens to align with an internal need, the chances of that happening are far and few between. It's because of this that we rarely will go out and try and cold pitch projects. Sometimes. If we have a long relationship with someone and we have an understanding of their needs, then we will reach out with ideas or potential stories as they come through the door. But that happens very rarely because we want to be seen as problem solvers. We don't want to put the story or the creative first. We want to put the problem first and then use the story and the creative as a way to solve that problem. And by putting a story first, you're assuming that whether intentionally or not, you're communicating that understanding the problem isn't important. So what does that mean?

(05:06)
Well, that means that for the most part, many of our clients just come to us with a problem. They say, Hey, we're trying to help build brand awareness, or, Hey, we're trying to educate about this product, or We want to tell this athlete story because it aligns with our brand values and how we show up in the world with an understanding of what we're solving. Then we can come in and flex that creative muscle and try to figure out a creative way to make the project stand out. Try to find a story that is unique and fresh and different than what's out there. Creative work is layered to solve a problem. It requires a clear brand identity, a thorough understanding of the audience, a comprehensive marketing strategy, a distribution plan, budget, and time to do the thing, a compelling creative concept or a story, and then finally a team to pull all of those elements together to actually work in harmony and row in the same direction and accomplish what you set out to accomplish. And so that's what we're all about here at Portside. We are problem solvers. We just happen to be filmmakers solving those problems. Thank you for listening to this episode. If you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry and need help bringing a video project to life, head over to portside pro.com to get in touch with us.

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