Produce Engaging Videos – 10 Tips from TED.com – The Science Behind it

Why is TED the greatest event video organization ever? From our personal experience of producing these events, we’ve put together a collection of tips, tricks, and the science behind how it works. Hopefully our learnings can help you generate ideas (worth spreading), to inspire greatness in the living rooms, offices, laptops and cell phones of the people who watch the videos via livestream, or VOD after the event is concluded.

TED is the GOAT at Producing Engaging Videos at Events

You’ve no doubt heard people refer to TED talks when creating their event vision. That’s because TED produces some of the highest quality events in the world, and delivers the most engaging videos from any event. TED mastered the video medium by delivering content that lives on for years – decades even.

And while TED events are some of the most exclusive in the world, they’re also the most inclusive. That’s because TED makes its video content free to everyone. People watch TED talks because the product is high-quality and the content ADDS VALUE to our lives. No matter where our interests lie.

Top Ten things we can Learn about Producing Engaging Video from TED talks

1. Have your presenters learn their lines. TED speakers memorize their talk – no notes whatsoever – they get coaching and practice, practice, practice.The speakers only look at the audience, not their feet, which is where the down stage monitors (DSMs) reside.
2. Bring in an interested audience. People who attend TEDx events are super fans (these are the butts you want in your seats)
3. Mic the audience correctly for ambient audio, laughter and applause
4. Utilize the laughter and applause to enhance the video experience
5. Design a beautiful set, and light it to make it POP
6. Light the audience for video, a blue wash looks great
7. Get lots of audience shots, and make sure to ISO record these
8. Learn from Tik Tok, short attention spans require concise keynotes
9. TED talks used to be 18 minutes long – at TEDxSF we coined the 5 minute talk
10. Start with a splash. Notice at the beginning of any HBO presentation there’s the 80’s video static with the audible fuzz followed by the low droning sound? TED starts with hundreds of videos compiling into a spinning globe. The audio is a single drop of water, followed by the TED branded canned applause. It’s an amazing splash, quick and to the point.
11. Bonus Pro tip: Remember, hundreds will attend the event live, millions of people will watch the event videos if they’re engaging, so take care of your super-fans, and capture their reactions with the proper lighting and sound equipment (so budget accordingly)

Observable Audience Response – The Science Behind how the Audience Makes Videos Engaging

Observable Audience Response (OAR) is a widely studied psychological phenomenon so important, researchers hypothesize that it sways presidential elections. Essentially OAR, or laughter, cheering, applause and booing, is contagious. Politicians with a positive OAR are seen to be more likable by a crowd than politicians with a negative OAR.

This particular study, authored by Patrick A. Stewart found that cheering and applause are more socially contagious and are more important to how much the audience likes the candidate than laughter. This is why you want superfans in the audience. This is why you need to mic, light and film the audience. Consider this, OAR can also be “sweetened” in post production. And this is why TED.com opens every single video they produce with the same perfectly sweetened, canned applause.

High Level – Engaging Videos Require an Engaged Audience – Capture It

If you can pack your audience with engaged super-fans and press, make sure to capture great video and audio of their reactions. In basketball, you want to be like Mike. To make engaging videos, be like TED. Sing along folks, “TED, we want to be like TED.” Use all of the laughter, cheering and applause. Make high-impact engaging videos that will live on for years to come.

TED borrowed from Late Night Television To Make More Engaging Videos – Can We Push it Further?

TED borrowed a lot of its tricks from late night talk shows like Late Night and the Tonight Show. If you really wanted to make the videos even more engaging… There’s still even more elements to borrow from Late Night television. We can imagine a world where events jack up the video engagement even more by casting a professional audience, using applause signs, or hiring a warm up woman. You could even have audience giveaways – like Oprah.

As much as this last statement is partially tongue and cheek… It’s probably happening already. Media evolves.

Why is Repertoire Qualified to tell us about TED’s secret to Making Engaging Videos

Repertoire has produced 27 TEDx events. We produced the very first TEDx and pushed our own creative limits at every event. Our goal was always to make the video more engaging, so more people would watch. We won an innovation award for producing a 3D film to start off TEDxPresidio.

In the 3D film, a Kung Fu artist summoned the “X” out of a cave and ran the X (doing flips) from the cave to the Palace of Fine Arts. At the end of the film, the actual Kung Fu artist ran down the Palace of Fine Arts aisle and leapt onto the stage, placing the X between TED and Presidio. He took a bow, did a flip off of the stage, and exited.

If you have an event and would like some tips or help making your videos engaging, or tips on reaching a bigger audience, reach out to us here. We’d love to hear about your project.