How to Elevate Your Video Through Effective Storytelling?

Everything has a story.

That’s right, everything. The people you meet, the material things you interact with or use, and even the very space that you’re occupying while reading this. As storytellers and artists, we should always be sieving out the little things in life, to inject a fresh perspective into the conventional and mundane, and present it in the most creative and resonant ways possible.

In this article, we dig into the wonders of storytelling— how this creative expression applies to any kind of project, regardless of its medium or intent— and why we should always approach ideas from a narrative angle... Because who doesn’t love a good story, right?

And if you don’t... Well, we’ll try to convince you.

Why is Story Important?

There is a cause-and-effect element in the core of everything and everyone. Take the most random example: you could be working on a smashing business pitch that could change the lives of your consumers or cooking a sumptuous meal to impress your hot date.

Sure, they sound like pretty technical tasks, but it is the story behind your intent— who is my business proposition’s target audience, what’s their story? Where did I learn to cook this lovely meal that I’m sharing with this kind stranger, was it a unique family recipe? — that elevates the novelty of these seemingly ordinary undertakings.

A study states that ‘stories serve so many purposes in our lives, they are instrumental in cognitive, social, and emotional development’. Here’s the catch, the power of a good story, and even a bad one, broadens our imagination and taps into our emotions in the most magical ways.

What Makes a Good Story?

The possibilities of storytelling are endless. Even the simplest speck of idea could harness the potential to expand into something above and beyond. And while this may sound like a cliché, but a little thinking outside the box is key to effectively conceptualise and convey creative ideas.

Here’s a short exercise: you’ve been commissioned to do a series of ads for an insurance company. The company is trying to engage its clients in a fresher and more humanistic approach. How would you go about producing something unique? Think about it for a few seconds.

Here’s how the renowned Swedish film director, Roy Andersson, did it.

Employing his idiosyncratic brand of surrealism, Roy Andersson conceived this series of bite-sized advertisements for Swedish insurance company, Trygg-Hansa. The quirky ads depict humorous yet tragic vignettes that allude to the company’s punchy philosophy, “Sooner or Later, You’ll Need Insurance” — a rather bleak outlook that we can’t entirely reject... because accidents do happen.

While the ads may appear short and simple, they are always packed with a shocking and laugh-out-loud element that succeeds in subverting audiences’ expectations. It is truly an exemplary display of out-of-the-box creativity.

Seeing Things from a Different Perspective

At TSB, we’ve worked with many agencies and companies over the years. From producing corporate videos to live virtual events, we are always seeking new ways to innovate and tell our client’s brand story to the best of our artistic abilities. Every company/brand has a vision and mission, and we’re here to translate those ideas into impactful moving images.

Raymond Math & Science Studio (RMSS) is a local tuition center that advocates a fun and enriching learning experience for students to not only attain academic excellence but also grow to become responsible and remarkable individuals to society.

We’ve had the pleasure of working with RMSS on multiple occasions— to produce meaningful content that ties in with different festivities, holidays, and events in Singapore. Using RMSS’ motto, ‘Where Learners become Thinkers’, we had the idea of depicting life as the ultimate learning journey, something that mirrors RMSS’ stance on education.

Moving away from classic promotional ad tropes, we thought the best way to convey such touching and relatable human stories would be through the short film medium. These short films aim to increase visibility of the RMSS brand story in a subtle yet meaningful way, avoiding any form of hard sell but instead, focusing on what the brand stands for beyond its standard operations.

Here are 3 short films that we’ve produced with RMSS:

On Father’s Day, we delivered a tribute to fathers around the world with a short film that aims to shed light on the other side of tough love—a concept that is commonly misunderstood and exploited.

With A Taste of Love, we touched on the importance of family and the fragility of life, reminding everyone to cherish every moment with their loved ones, no matter how trivial they may be.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, we produced Superhero Dad to honor the frontline heroes that are working tirelessly to keep us safe till today.

To this day, To All the Bad Fathers has garnered 262k views, A Taste of Love at 167k views, and Superhero Dad at 498k views on RMSS’ Facebook page— a testament to the impact that narrative approaches have in connecting with more people and the potential to become viral.

Go Off the Grid

When it comes to effective storytelling, not everything has to be linear or directly related to a subject that you’re focusing on. It’s a journey that requires occasional detours and allows you to discover new things that could (unexpectedly) be of great value to your original ideas.

An excerpt from an infographic on Storytelling by ReferralCandy

Like metaphors, one’s imagination is limitless.

So, the next time you’re commissioning or producing a video, think not of the obvious brand or product that you want to sell, but the story of what you are selling.