- Today, I wanna give you a template
a process you can follow,
seven questions you're gonna ask before you shoot
every single vlog from here on out
that's gonna make it an amazing story.
That's really gonna help your channel grow.
(upbeat music)
Hey guys, my name is Tim Schmoyer welcome to Video Creators.
We're all about helping you guys grow your YouTube audience
so you can spread a message that reaches people
and changes their lives, and the stories that you tell
are the things that are gonna impact people the most
and when you do start impacting people
that's when people really gravitate
towards your vlogs, your channel, your story
and it really starts to grow.
A few weeks ago we talked through a Three-Act-Structure
and I showed you guys how to use that
same story telling format that Hollywood uses
and how to apply it to your videos here on YouTube.
Today, we're gonna kind of break that down a little bit more
and give you an actual process to follow
starting with these seven questions.
So question number one that you should ask
before you start shooting your vlogs is
who is the character?
It's very important that from the very beginning
of your videos you quickly establish
who is the character of the story?
Who am I rooting for?
Who am I following here?
Who is this story about?
And especially for some of you a family Vloggers
it gets really confusing cause sometimes
you're showing this person and that person
and this person and then people get a little confused
of like, whoa, what's this story,
Who is this story about?
And so you need to make it very clear from the beginning
either by simply showing some footage of them
or just getting right into the next question.
What does the character want?
This is the thing that sets the whole story
and motion from the very beginning of the vlog.
We know who the character is and we know what they want
and the rest of the story from that point forward
is answering the question for the viewer
are they going to get what they want?
Often you'll notice in television and movies
that the character actually just flat out states
what they want like, oh I just want that girl
or I just wanna win the Piston Cup.
Or I just want this or I wish that this person would just
or that whatever.
And they would just flat out state it
so it's very crystal clear to the audience
who the character is and what they want?
But the third thing is why can't they have what they want?
There are always obstacles and conflict
between the character and the thing that they want.
If there's no conflict
it's not a good story people care about
there has to be conflict.
What is preventing the character from actually
getting what they want?
But it's not enough just to have some random conflict
you also need a number four
which is what's at stake?
Another way of asking what this is
what is going to cost the character
if they don't get what they want.
The higher the stakes the more engaged this audience will be
because the stronger that question will be in their mind
that there brain needs to have resolved
before they can just leave your video
and move on to something else.
Which is will the character get what they want?
And wow, that seems insurmountable
I have no idea if there going to be able to get that.
But in any good story the main character
or the hero they have a guide.
And so the fifth question you need to answer is
who or what comes along to help the character
do what they couldn't do before?
In Star Wars, maybe it's like Obi-Wan Kenobi
coming along side of Luke Skywalker
and he gives him a sword, a lightsaber right?
Or it is Gandalf
coming along aside of Bilbo Baggins.
Or it is the Fairy Godmother with Cinderella, right?
There's someone who comes and equips the hero
to be able to overcome this impossible task.
But it doesn't necessarily just have to be a person
it could be a tool even
that the person discovered
that really helps them get what they want.
From that point on, the story progresses
maybe with another conflict or two
until it builds to the climax
which answers the sixth question.
Which is how does the character
ultimately get what they want?
Answering that question for the viewer
is very important for making them feel a sense
of satisfaction and like, I was cheering for the right team
I know they could do it like they got it you know.
And it makes us feel a sense of excitement,
but it can't stop there.
The point of the story is not actually
did the character get what they want.
The point of the story is actually question number seven
and that is how is the character changed as a result?
The difference between a good story
and a great story is
actually about the characters transformation.
How is this this person different at the end of the story
than they were at the beginning of the story.
How did this conflict change them
and how did it help them grow personally,
and how is that person different?
A character transformation
that we show over in the brief epilogue at the end
of a story after the conflict is resolved
and they get what they want.
That's what really, that's like,
that's what people really love
and makes the story really stand out.
I have two assignments for you guys
that will really help you take this
to the next level on your channel.
The first thing I want you to do is
write down these seven questions
and before you even start shooting
answer these seven questions.
I know sometimes that sounds a little bit hard
cause you're like, I don't know what's gonna happen today.
How can I answer these questions
when I don't know what's going to happen?
I would think of that this way
you hopefully have something
that you want to accomplish that day.
You have something on your calendar,
something on your schedule.
That's the thing that you the character wants.
So from the very beginning of the day
you kind of already have an idea
of hopefully what that story will become.
Now, things happen, things change
you think the days going this way
and actually it ends up going that way.
That's okay, shoot plenty of B-roll
throughout the entire day
and at the end then reflect back on the story
and if you need to fill in some gaps by sitting down
and doing some sit down voice over type of work
and just showing B-roll
and using those clips to kind of
transition the viewer from one clip to the next
you can totally do that.
The next thing that I want you to do is
click this video right here by Casey Neistat
and follow these seven questions
through that video.
He's one of the best story tellers
and Vloggers on the platform.
There's a ton you can learn from him
so click that.
There's also a link up down below, subscribe here
and I'll see you guys in the next video.