In a fifty-year film career, Hitchcock pioneered a number of visual effects that profoundly influenced filmmaking. Often called “the Master of Suspense,” he had a signature style of storytelling, characterized by unique camera angles and movements that engaged the emotions of the audience.

For example, one of the most famous of these was the “vertigo effect,” invented for the 1958 film of the same name. It’s achieved by simultaneously zooming in and pulling the camera away from the subject. Below, we take a look at a few more of Hitchcock’s iconic shots, including what makes them interesting and how they might work in your videos.

1. The High-Angle Shot

One of Hitchcock’s most famous shots is the high-angle. For example, Hitchcock often placed cameras up high to get shots from the top of a staircase (as shown). He also used the rafters of a large room, or balconies.

The high-angle shot creates a sense of drama in a number of ways in Hitchcock films. It gives a full overview of a scene; provides a momentary objective view of a dialogue or an argument; shows a character as entrapped in a space or alone in a space; and reveals to viewers a danger that the main character can’t yet see.

In your videos, the high-angle can accomplish something similar by providing a scene-establishing shot of the place where the action is happening. It can also be used to show action “in the heat of the moment” from a high viewpoint. This would work particularly well for design processes, organizational problem-solving, or any other scene with lots of activity and visual appeal.

Image credit: Shadow of a Doubt, 1943

2. The Extreme Close-Up

Hitchcock used the extreme close-up shot to communicate a visceral sense of a subject’s emotional state, with a certain intimacy that’s always slightly uncomfortable — for example, in the famous shower scene from Psycho (above).

For your videos, close-ups can work to integrate emotion (though of a different kind, we hope) into standard interviews or monologues by video subjects. Alternating close-ups of a speaker’s hands, eyes or mouth, for example, can make the viewer feel closer to the speaker — literally and figuratively — while communicating the speaker’s underlying emotion about what he or she is saying. This would work well in videos that engage elements of passion, inspiration, or motivation.

Image Credit: Psycho, 1960

3. The Circular Shot

Hitchcock is also known for his use of a circular shot that literally pans around the bodies of the actors. He often used this to feature leading ladies or actors involved in a romantic moment. This type of shot creates a particular kind of relationship with the characters. It usually feels very personal and revealing.

The circular shot is a powerful one. It would be an effective way to showcase a beautiful product, or to reveal the mastery of creatives, company leaders, or presenters at work. This shot is best used to express key climactic moments of a video’s narrative — it’s not to be taken lightly!

Image credit: Notorious, 1946. Wikipedia.org

4. Reflection Shot

Made famous by Strangers on a Train (1951), the reflection shot is one that is trademark Hitchcock. This shot uses a reflection – in glass, a mirror, and water — to show the story through a different lens. For Hitchcock, this was a way to “show without showing,” – diverting ever so slightly from the horror at hand to give a momentarily distanced view.

For your videos, you can try using a reflective shot to give a similarly voyeuristic or distanced view of conversations, meetings, interactions with clients, etc. This type of shot serves to displace the viewer from the action.

Since it puts them in a more analytical, outsider position, it can also be used to break tension in an emotional moment. For example, a great use would be as an alternating shot during an interview.

Image credit: Strangers on a Train, 1951

This has been, of course, only a small window into the fascinating world of Hitchcock’s cinematography. We’d love to get your input if you’re as much of a fan of Hitchcock as we are.

If you have a visual moment from Hitchcock you want to add to our list, share away! Please leave it in the comments below or tweet to us.

The post Hello, Hitchcock: Replicating Angles to Enhance Your Videos appeared first on SproutVideo.

Kickstarter even teaches people who may not know much about video campaigns how to create effective content with their Kickstarter School. They do this by boiling it down to three straightforward steps. In this post, we take a closer look at those steps, with takeaways you can apply to your next video.

1. Tell a Great Story

Kickstarter advises crowdfunding hopefuls to tell a story, but they don’t exactly spell it out for you. Filmmaker Andrew Stanton did a wildly popular TED talk on storytelling in which he explains that to craft an appealing story, you have to appeal to the emotions first. People generally WANT to care about something, and the function of a compelling story is to help make them care.

Ideally, Stanton says, you do this by focusing on a character who in some important way is just like the person you want to reach. Your video story should explore the quality or problem that the character shares with her audience — that’s what the story is about. By the end, you should reach a helpful truth.

It’s easier said than done, but it’s a good start for structuring a compelling video campaign.

The best Kickstarter videos highlight project heroes who are actually a lot like you and me. Their stories are about struggles and passions that we can relate to and therefore we care. As a result, those projects are much more likely to get funded.

If you’re trying to convert people with video, try to tell a story that will resonate with your viewers on an emotional level. If you do, your viewers will be that much more likely to respond to your call to action.

2. Keep it Short

Kickstarter says, “Be concise.” Once you know your story, cut it down to the essentials. Then cut it down again.

3. Focus on Rewards

Sometimes, just telling a great story isn’t enough. You might need to incentivize your viewers to take the next step by offering them something as well. What are you offering your customers? This should be at the forefront of your mind when running a video campaign.

Kickstarter projects, for instance, offer a variety of rewards in exchange for donations. Videos that highlight specific rewards are likely to do better than those that don’t. Make sure it’s obvious what the viewer will get in return for taking the action you’re asking him or her to take.

Wrapping Up

So, remember, if you want to use your videos to help get conversions follow these three simple principles:

• Tell a story to connect with your viewers on an emotional level.
• Keep it concise so your viewers don’t get bored before your call to action.
• Highlight what the viewers get in return so they are motivated to take the next step.

Questions? Comments? We’d love to get your input.

The post Converting With Video: The Kickstarter Way appeared first on SproutVideo.