The Art of Listening

It's all about communication, video, that is. Our clients hire us to communicate for them in a strong visual way, to tell their story for them. What I love about the work I do is telling that story, weaving it from start to finish, it is extremely satisfying.

However, what I am most proud of throughout the whole process of making a video, is when I master the lost art of listening. If I didn't pay close attention to listening to my clients and listening to the people I interview, I mean really listening, I could never effectively tell their stories. In video and in life, it is an art worth striving to master.

The effects of not listening can be disastrous. Businesses do it all the time. Just try NOT listening to a customer's concern and see what great things that does for your business. I have spent hours on the phone to customer service of one place or another, simply trying to get someone to really hear what I am saying. I can guarantee that anyone reading this has had that experience...why?

The Art of Listening can so easily become a lost art. It isn't always easy to stop our internal noise long enough to hear the world around us. Listening; it requires paying close attention in the moment and being conscious of stepping out of yourself long enough to hear someone else's point of view. We can't really ever experience life in another person's shoes, but we can stop long enough to listen and really hear that person's story. In life as in video, it can lead to great things.

Comments

These are the kind of comments we love to get about our work. The following was said of a recent campaign video we produced:

"We just showed the video to our Foundation Board and their jaws dropped!"

"They were starstruck"

The only thing better than producing something you can be proud of, is having the praise of the client it was produced for. As soon as the campaign video is finalized, I'll post it here...

Constant Interest

True that the Academy Awards are right around the corner, and us video folks are nowhere in the vicinity, but the work we do is of constant interest. Last week, I videotaped readings from Toni Morrison's writings; the DVD I created from that was sent to Ms. Morrison as part of a celebration of her birthday. This week, Frank will be covering an event featuring author and civil rights activist Angela Davis. We aren't making any blockbusters yet, but our video work presents new and quite interesting opportunities at every turn.

Cabin Fever? Nah...

Here in Maine, it is the height of cabin fever season. However, in the world of video, one gets to go out and about, thus staving off the claustrophobia of Winter. Here are some of the interesting outings taking place at videops.com. Frank is hard at work with MPBN, covering camera for high school basketball. Tonight, I'm headed up to Colby college to film a celebration of author Toni Morrison's birthday through readings from her works. Other recent projects: a safety training video and a project with Maine General Health. Soon to be at work for the Maine State museum on an editing project. Cabin fever? Not as long as there are videos to be made.