This is where it all begins……mostly
Story boarding is essential to my story telling process
This is a quick lesson in staying connected to your clients even long after the “job” is finished.
The story of the Property Resources Commercial begins several years ago with a single phone call from a guy in need of a photographer for his very simple and intimate wedding in Raleigh.
Part One
Mark called me needing a photographer for his wedding the very next day, it was a weekday and I was available, we quickly agreed upon a price and we were off. I shot the wedding and delivered the photos and that was that….except, Mark had asked what other kind of photography I shot.
This is a question I truly dislike but I answered in my usual way, I said my favorite type of photography involves me being behind the camera and my subject being front of it. Then I gave my normal explanation about how I’m looking to tell a story, a good story! Everyone and everything has a story, some are worth telling and those are the ones I’m interested in.
Part Two
About a year passed and I received a call from Marks wife Cindy, she asked if I’d be interested in shooting the employees of their Commercial Real Estate Company, they all needed headshots. I said I’d love to! I got to photograph Mark and Cindy again as well as all of their employees. I was honored that they thought of me and I enjoyed working for them in a different environment. We chatted a little after the shot and I relived their photos a few days later.
Working in different situations with people over time give you the opportunity to learn a lot about a person if you care to get to know them or their business. It was the second encounter with Mark that I thought he was a really interesting guy, self made kind of a go getter and at 60+ years old he had no intentions of slowing down.
Part Three
About another 9 months past and I received a call from Marks Assistant asking me to come in for a new employees headshots. This was great I thought to myself, at this point if a client has called on you three times for the same service you can be pretty confident they appreciate the work you do for them and potentially that relationship could grow beyond the initial service offered.
After I finished shooting the new guy mark and I had a pretty informal impromptu meeting about an idea he had for a video. The initial idea was super simple and I was absolutely confident this was well within my skill set but I was unclear of the end game, meaning what is the story? Mark described the idea to me and that’s when the story boarding began.
Without getting into every detail of 3 meetings, multiple emails, texts and lots of talking, I can tell you without a doubt that had I not created a visual reference for Mark, this commercial would not have been made anything like what you see below.
Previous to this video, must of my work was in Weddings and short infomercials for non-profits. The more I let Mark talk the clearer the vision became for this commercial. Let your clients talk and explain what they see, even if they are not visual people you can help them to see their dreams and ideas come to life!
Have look at the finished project and thanks for checking out this story!
