Your viewer hasn’t booked a meeting with your video. They’re halfway through a feed, thumb poised, giving you a chance to get to the point. A long introduction about how delighted you are to be here may test that arrangement.

The opening needs to give someone a reason to watch. That reason might be a problem they recognise, something they want to learn or a moment that makes them curious. Work it out before you film, rather than hoping the edit will discover it.

Start with the people you want to reach, then give them a reason to keep watching.

Give them something worth staying for

Start with the person you’re talking to. What are they trying to do? What do they already know? A prospective customer and someone who has used your product for years may need quite different explanations.

Once you’ve chosen the message, give it a shape. Set up the idea, develop it and deliver the promised payoff. Even a short film needs somewhere to go. If your opening asks a question, make sure the rest of the video answers it.

Make each shot earn its place

Think about where you want the viewer to look. Framing and lighting can draw attention to a person or a detail. Camera movement should help us see something. Expensive equipment won’t decide any of that for you.

In the edit, cut the repetitions and the bits that delay the point. Keep enough breathing room for people to follow what they’re seeing. A useful pause can do more than another transition. Overlays, jump cuts and effects belong where they help the film along.

Listen to it, then watch it on mute

Clear dialogue starts with a suitable microphone and attention to the room. Check background noise before recording. In post-production, balance the speech and music so the viewer isn’t struggling to hear the words.

Then check the sound-off experience. Captions can help people follow speech when they can’t listen. Make them readable, and check names and numbers. The picture should still give viewers enough context to know what they’re looking at.

Post it, then pay attention

Plan versions for the places the film will appear. Consider the frame shape, length and how the opening works in that setting. Check it on a phone. Text that’s perfectly readable on an editing monitor can be tiny in your hand.

Choose an action that suits the video. It may be a visit to a page, a comment or an enquiry. Give viewers a clear way to do it, and respond when they get in touch.

Afterwards, look at where people leave and how many reach the end. Compare that with the response you wanted. Use those findings to shape the next version. If you’ve got a film that loses people before the point, Ace Media can help you work through the opening and the edit.