Leadership in Focus: Bringing Out Your Best on Camera
April 03, 2017
Veteran filmmaker Vern Oakley has written a book distilling his decades of experience humanizing companies into a new book about the process, and power, of film.
Before my wife and I had children, I used to photograph weddings with her on the weekends. Driving to a wedding photographers convention in Las Vegas from Los Angeles with some friends of ours, the woman who would eventually shoot our wedding turned to us and said "I'm thinking of adding a few explanatory videos to my website." My wife, bless her dear heart, replied, "Just make sure they're good." I laughed nervously, because that's what I do in the face of seemingly obvious, vaguely insulting suggestions.
I didn't know how prescient she was. Our friend never made her videos (most likely the result of my wife's admonition that they not be terrible), but in the decade or so since then we've all witnessed a flood of awful business videos online. The fact that we all carry a video recorder around in our pockets has led to a lot of really bad video recorded. And shared. And a lot of instances where we're left asking "why?"
Vern Oakley knows the answer to that question. He knows how how powerful they can be when they're done right, and he knows how to do them right. A veteran filmmaker, he's been on a mission to "humanize the world’s most successful companies" for three decades, and he's won a mountain of awards and accolades for his work, because he know one simple thing:
A company video may be a far cry from a feature-length movie, but each format is powered by the same fundamental principles of film.
Film is beloved in cultures worldwide in large part because it's such a powerful vehicle for storytelling. Stories connect humans in a way that not much else can. We turn to then to understand ourselves and others, and as we share our stories with one another, we slowly build a legacy, a culture, or even a company.
Even charismatic people ordinarily at ease in any situation can freeze up and seem stilted when in front of the camera. Which is where Vern comes in. Oakley founded Tribe Pictures way back in 1986, and has been helping people be themselves on camera, and assisting companies and their leaders master the medium to build their company cultures and legacies ever since. He knows what he's talking about. And in Leadership in Focus, he will walk you through the process, from beginning to end. He'll teach to show up as your authentic, and imperfect, self on screen, how to set up a successful shoot, what to do when the camera is rolling, and what to do when it stops. He's the kind of person that can fix a film shoot with a well placed question or a simple bit of direction, and help you figure out how to use the resulting work to build, inspire, and engage your tribe.
Videos can help you build a stronger brand, mitigate a crisis, and move your audience to action. They can deepen the connection and raise the level of engagement you have with your audience—whether they are employees, investors, or customers. Just make sure they're good. Vern Oakley's new book, Leadership in Focus, can help.
We have 20 copies available.