Talented, or “talent”?

"Oh my gosh ... that video that you shot of me. Wow. I didn't know that I talked like that!" No, you don't. But those are your words - just not in the order that you said them.

When I'm working with my clients I need to develop a personal story. One that takes the viewer on a journey of exploration leading to discovery. What is being said by the client in a brand story, or customer for a user experience story, has to be true and from the heart. But even with loads of research and personal insights I can't write a script and have them read it with anything resembling the way that they would naturally and enthusiastically speak.

Not gonna happen. They aren't Gary Oldman or Cate Blanchette. Wouldn't that be nice?

Instead I do guided conversations with them. We just chat and I record the whole thing. Usually with cameras rolling and sometimes just the audio alone. The process is simple: more than the questions themselves, I lead them through a series of mental and emotional places whereby they tell me the things that are important to the story.

Not an interview and never a "testimonial". Gad I hate that word - "Do you swear to testify?" Yuck.

Then in post production I construct the final story from what we talked about. For me it's easy because I've done my research, learned more through the guided conversation and then it's just a matter of making the things said flow naturally into the story that is in my head, as spoken by my subject.

I had coffee the other day with a fellow who saw one of my pieces and was shocked that the voice over narrative wasn't written and then performed by the subject who is someone who he knows well. He, a writer, wanted to compliment me on my writing abilities.

Thanks Paul!

It's not writing but the re-writing/editing that makes those things work the way that they do. Along with my method of making my subjects give me the material to work with. Here's a short piece where I'm doing one of my guided conversations that ended up being a voiceover for the narrative.