The Secret to Creating Emotionally Resonant Video

By Jenna Briand, CCO

Rolling up my sleeves with teams of producers, directors, writers and editors working in harmony to make great video content is a rewarding part of my job. Not just because our craft service tables are well-stocked, or because, in LA, it’s what so many strive to do.

What makes it rewarding is what makes content creation, in any medium, rewarding — connecting with human beings. Colleagues. Subjects. Viewers. In order to do that well I have one fundamental rule: bring your talent, but leave your ego at the door.

When I or my team is engaged in telling a story that we want to connect viscerally with an audience, we have to walk a very fine line: bringing our own creative point of view to the table while always giving an honest look at the subject. We start by asking ourselves a few simple questions…

The 3 Questions Every Video Team Should Ask Before Starting a New Project:

• Do we feel innately passionate about this subject? If not, what essential ideas or common areas of interest will allow us to reframe our predispositions?
• How do we communicate this essence?
• Are we willing to put the needs of the story ahead of everything else? (On our sets, and for our clients, 100% participation required.)




As content creators we each have a lens of experience through which we run a story to effectively reach others. Our own expression of purpose, passion, and perspective are necessary, but can’t ever dominate.

Guiding teams toward an arguably more mindful approach — one where egos are checked and the goal of human understanding and purpose trump any one creative decision… that is when a video resonates. That’s what will connect with others and ultimately be remembered.