Video Research
What is research for video production?
Research is about asking questions, but good research is about asking the right questions. When creating any type of content the core questions that need to be answered are:
- What is this content about?
- Who is the target audience of this content?
- Why is this content being created?
The answers to these questions will help define the idea for the video in a way that is clear and manageable. More often than not a video production will face problems when the answers to these questions are not clear. So, even when you might feel the urge to start recording and learning all the technical skills, we highly recommend that the research phase of video production is taken seriously. Let’s go through the questions to understand what they mean conceptually for the idea, and practically for the production. Remember that these questions are connected, the what will always be connected to who and why. So even when we separate them for educational purposes, keep in mind that they constantly inform each other.
WHAT?
In our last module we went through the specifics of a video; what is a format, medium, and channel, and how they determine what the audience might see. With this information, you can decide what is your video going to be about. The ‘what’ of a video has to do with the story and the format. What is the story you want to tell and in which format do you want to present it?
Let’s see an example of a case we had recently at RNW Media:
Part of our endeavors as an organization dedicated to social justice is related to Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights. Together with one of our partners, we create content that enables young people to make informed decisions about their bodies, lives, and actions when it comes to sex. Part of this great mission has to do with changing the mentality that surrounds sex: a change in perspective from shame/taboo/violence to pleasure. This focus, called “The Pleasure Approach” puts pleasure as the guiding compass of how we approach SRHR education. Recently, we started thinking that it might be a nice idea to have a more personal take on what does actually pleasure means and so, we decided to conduct a series of interviews to showcase how different people feel and go about pleasure in their lives. From this example, you can probably notice that the video came from a need that we as an organization saw in our work. We saw the importance of sharing multiple personal takes on pleasure both to connect young people around the world and let them know that pleasure is a journey of self-discovery and growth, but also to keep the conversation going.
This example provides a very clear answer to our core questions. Can you identify them?
- What: a series of interviews that showcase how different people approach pleasure
- Who: this content is directed at young people
- Why: two reasons, one, to expand the understanding of pleasure, and two, to keep the conversation going
WHO?
Another important question to answer is: who is our content directed to? Our target audience is the intended audience our content has and there is also a specific reason why they are our target audience. Our approach to target audience mapping departs from the idea that we are talking to someone for a specific reason, you want to get some re-action from them. So, first, you need to understand who are they, what they believe in, and how could you possibly influence their behavior.
WHY?
Our final core question to answer is: why are we creating this content? This is related to the purpose of this content, what do we want this content to do? Think about the different reactions that video content can produce in people when watching. To give some examples that come often in video production that non-profit organizations create:
- Inform: to share relevant, factual information with people who need it
- Sensitize: when thinking about a social justice cause, often is important to create awareness and empathy around the topic.
- Call to action: to create an actual response to a situation, think of protests, collect signatures, etc.
- Fundraising: usually content that wants to raise funds for a cause, share the vision and mission of the organization, and ask for support from different stakeholders.
- Open-up conversations: content that creates the space for people to reflect on a complex topic and that invites them to have discussions/debates/brainstorms about them
Key takeaways
Remember then our core questions: what, who, why, before starting your process of video production.
- What is this content about?
- Who is the target audience of this content?
- Why is this content being created?