These guidelines provide a recommended narrative structure for a HeroX crowdsourcing project's campaign video.
Your completed video should be 1-2 minutes in length. A perfect length is whatever the shortest amount of time is to most effectively convey the primary message of your video.
These guidelines are a basic formula. There is room for variance. In some videos, one step might feel more natural coming before another step even though it comes after that step in this formula.
Like a really good book, every moment in the video should be serving a purpose. There are three purposes to be served:
5-15 seconds.
Assume that no one has time to watch your video. You need to give them a reason immediately. Grab the viewer's attention with an opening statement - it could be a “Welcome to the crowdsourcing project” message, it could be a motivation for the project, it could be a scare tactic, it could be the introduction to the Status Quo section below. Whatever best provides an intention for the viewer to keep watching.
15-30 seconds.
What is the current status quo? What are the negative effects of that status quo as it pertains to the crowdsourcing project? Be explicit but concise. The purpose is to get the viewer to understand what the problem is and how it might affect them negatively. If you're going to list anything, only list the top 3 most important items on that list. Anything else on that list can be mentioned in text content on your campaign page.
5-10 seconds.
Depending on their complexity, some projects may require a bridge to segue from the status quo into the concept. Some may require only the statement of the goal.
15-30 seconds.
What is the breakthrough being sought? How will this breakthrough address the negative effects mentioned above? What other positive effects will this breakthrough have? How will it affect people? Keep lists confined to your top 3-4 most important items on the list; a good crowdsourcing project doesn’t need to be oversold.
15-30 seconds.
Call to action. What can the viewer do to make this breakthrough a reality? List up to 3 actions the viewer can take. If there are more than 3, you have the option to include them in text content and refer the viewer to that content.
5-15 seconds
An end card should repeat the pertinent info of the campaign - website URL, associated hashtag, SM properties, slogan, etc.
