The Art of Video Storytelling

The past 10 years have seen extraordinary changes in how we create and consume visual media. Join freelance photographer Bob Krist as he explains the importance and plausibility of bringing videography into your visual media repertoire. Dive into all that this outstanding course offers you while you’re on your path to skilled videography.

Storytelling is at the heart of all filmmaking. Learn about the universal “Hero’s Journey,” and how such structures can be used to create engagement for any audience. Then, explore the pros and cons of a variety of video equipment options, from the smartphone to the camcorder, and everything in between.

Just a little pre-existing knowledge of basic photography concepts will take you a long way in videography. Bob reviews both overlapping and new terminology, including frame rates, slow motion, resolution, bit depth and rate, and sensor size. Understand how each applies to still photography as well as video.

The passage of time in film requires an important shift in perspective. Instead of considering your shot only in terms of a single frame, explore the role of sequence, flow, and motion in your final product. Learn to make best use of neutral density filters to allow for shots with diverse lighting.

We know that visual stories require a sequence of images, carefully structured to make manifest the content of your story. Continue your study of videography with an exploration of the five framings and 10 shots that constitute the visual grammar of video.

Travel with our teacher to a small lobster village on the coast of Maine. Watch as he makes a video and teaches you more about the five framings and 10 shots in the context of an actual film. Finally, consider character, story arc, visuals, access, and timing as you plot your journey to filmmaking success.

Why is good audio so important and how can you guarantee that yours is high quality, using equipment that won’t break the bank? Whether you are recording ambient audio, narration, music, or sound effects, Bob shares with you tricks of the trade that will have your video sounding professional in no time.

The best choice in video accessories depends on you. Where are you going? What will you be filming? How much are you willing to carry, and what are you able to spend? Dive deep into the world of gear in this lesson, exploring options in tripods, sliders, gimbals, lights, and even actioncams.

In this lesson, depart the studio and venture up the beautiful coast of Maine, to the fishing village of Port Clyde and the Marshall Point Lighthouse. Here, learn how to turn even the most static scene into a view-worthy story with cinematic movement techniques and easy-to-use specialty equipment.

Continue your on-location work and expand your grasp on the five-point rubric for judging a visual story, as you delve into the short personality profile. See firsthand how to scout the location, choose the subject, and set up for lighting, in this brief tribute to the work of Jim the Blacksmith.

With your subject and location selected, it’s time to explore the fine art of the interview—questions, framing, audio, even background. Then, the first steps of the editing process are explained with a focus on downloading, organizing, and saving your files in preparation for the next big step.

This final lesson traverses an open-source editing program to construct your project. Learn about how transcription benefits your process, and how to use it to arrange material and to generate a story arc. After you produce your masterpiece, Bob will teach you about video-sharing services to help you get your story to your audience.