There’s a reason businesses large and small are turning to video production more and more – it works. Video is a powerful way to connect with audiences and tell your brand’s story.

By using sound effects, intentional prop selection, and dynamic visuals, you can create a video that demands attention, connects with your audience, and achieves your goals.

In this blog, we’re going to break down how each of these elements can help tell engaging stories. By following these tips, you’ll be able to create better videos that your brand can use over and over to connect with your audience.

Using Props to Tell a Story

When we think of props we think of all the elements the actors in our production need to tell the story. But sometimes props can drive the story.

For example, our clients at Share Food Program asked us if we could help them create a video that illustrates the work they do to combat food scarcity in the Philadelphia region.

Their Creative Director, Sheri Resnick, specifically asked if we could incorporate props and other special effects into the video. When these elements are selected with intention, they can transform an ordinary video into something exceptional.

The props we chose tied into the narrative in a way that was dynamic and interesting. Many of them reflect where Share Food Program is located. They represent Philadelphia – a city full of rich history, but also the poorest and hungriest big city in the country. Some of these props included:

• A book about Philadelphia
• A tiny Liberty Bell
• A photograph of the LOVE Statue
• A postcard of Independence Hall

The rest of the video is very prop driven as well, utilizing Share Food Boxes, food, photographs, post-it notes, calendars, and even a cork-board to help tell Share’s story in a creative and dynamic way!

Grabbing Your Audience’s Attention With Sound Effects

Another crucial part of Share Food Program’s video was the sound effects. For short, you might see this written in a storyboard or script as SFX. Sound effects can help to set the tone of your video and can be used to highlight certain elements of your story.

All those sound effects you hear (the bell, the book hitting the table, the post-card flip) were all purchased stock SFX that were carefully selected to match the scenes. This seems simple but it really does take a lot of time to source the perfect SFX.

By layering in some appropriate sound effects (a bell ringing, the swiping of a post card, the thud of a book hitting the table) we were able to engage all of the senses (except for smell…).

You can decide for yourself if it works, but our goal was to pull the viewer in during the first 10 seconds of the video. Share Food Program’s continued use of the video on their website, social media, and even on television!

Putting It All Together

Now that we’ve talked about how to grab an audience’s attention using props and sound effects, let’s talk about how to put it all together.

Pre-production

The first step in any video project is pre-production. During pre-production, you’ll need to determine the purpose of your video and who your target audience is. Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, you can start to put them together.

Robust scripting and storyboarding are critical to getting all the pieces in place and understanding how the story will flow. At the same time, you need to allocate time and resources to finding and sourcing the props used in the rest of the video.

The props have to “fit” thematically with one another so that there is a common thread to your video, similar to how the video’s graphics should align with your brand’s fonts and assets.

Selecting which props to use is just as important as filming them against the right background. Audiences are savvy and a background that doesn’t fit can lead to a disconnect. All those selections should be decided in the pre-production process to make for better filming and post-production.

Production

Production is where the actual filming of your video will take place. Following the pre-production script as close as possible is essential so that editing will go smoothly in post-production. It’s important to be clear about what you want to film and to communicate that to your team.

Post Production

This is where we edit everything together. Our editors will add in the sound effects we selected and make the necessary revisions to the final product.

Bringing Your Vision To Life

Prop-driven videos are dynamic, engaging, and can bring your story to life. However, they come with their own pain points in the creative process…which is why it’s important to know how to use each. Whatever your vision is, knowing this lingo will help communicate it to your video team and allow them to bring it to life. By using props, sound effects, and dynamic visuals, you can tell your brand’s story in a way that will connect with your audience.

Interested in creating a similar video for your brand? Contact our team to get started!