Visual storytelling. It’s the art of using images to convey a narrative through mediums like photography, illustration, animation, and video. This concept can help an audience make sense of complex information and elicit emotions, making it more likely that they’ll remember the piece.
To help you understand what visual storytelling adds to video, watch this social media advert from Instagram.
The 30-second spot, with its rhythmic editing, does a great job of displaying the different functions of Instagram’s latest features. However, there’s no real visual storytelling within this spot. In comparison, let’s look at this commercial from Google which introduced Google+ in 2011.
In it, Benedict Cumberbatch reads a passage from William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” with the fitting music of Alan Silvestri’s “Cast Away End Credits.” For many years, this has been one of my favorite commercials due to its simplicity and the universal experience it portrays—memories and the passage of time. In the commercial, we see Tom evolve from a youthful bachelor to a proud grandparent.
So what does the Google+ ‘Tom’ advert do differently than the Instagram video? It successfully uses visual storytelling to create a memorable, emotional ad. In this article, we will explain what visual storytelling is, the key elements of it, break down good (and bad) examples, and how you can use it to your advantage in your own videos.
What is visual storytelling?
In video, visual storytelling combines cinematography, editing, sound, and VFX to create a compelling video. The concept of visual storytelling may seem contradictory. You might think, isn’t any video shot with intent a form of visual storytelling? After all, anyone with a cellphone can start recording and producing video content.
But with visual storytelling, the aim is to show, not tell. We’re essentially taking what would just be an aesthetically pleasing image and adding depth to it. We leverage composition, color, and motion to tell the story without relying solely on dialogue.
However, visual storytelling is more than just visual communication. It’s about evoking emotions and connecting with the viewer. Visual storytelling is not just a term used in conjunction with TV shows and films. It can also be used by businesses and creators to help build your brand identity and produce better content.
Key elements of visual storytelling
As I mentioned in the last section, one of the core components of visual storytelling is showing, not telling. The more you can demonstrate the concept without having dialogue or narration to explain it, the better the emotional payoff will be. These elements can be loosely broken down into the following.
- Narrative arc: A compelling video follows a clear narrative arc with a beginning, middle, and end to maintain viewer interest and deliver a positive impact.
- Characters, emotion, and empathy: Strong, relatable characters evoke empathy, making the story more impactful by connecting with the audience on an emotional level.
- Composition: The use of cinematic key elements such as camera angles, blocking, lighting, and color schemes enhances the narrative, adding dramatic tension and making the story visually appealing.
- Pacing and editing: Effective pacing and smooth editing keep the audience engaged and ensure a seamless viewing experience, supporting the narrative structure.
- Sound design: Audio elements, such as music, sound effects, and dialogue, are crucial in setting the mood and emphasizing critical moments, enhancing the overall impact of visual storytelling.
Of course, like all elements of art, these aren’t concrete rules that need to be followed strictly. Think of these elements less as boxes to check and more as tools to leverage in your videos to make them stronger.
Let’s examine this great commercial from sports brand Everlast to review the key elements in greater detail and see how they supplement the art of video storytelling. “Greatness is Within” is a spotlight on American boxer Deontay Wilder and how he boxes for the most important thing in his life: his daughter.
Narrative structure
First, a compelling video will typically follow a clear narrative arc, even if it’s only a minute long. This arc will include a beginning, middle, and end. This classic structure helps to maintain viewer interest and ensure the message is delivered effectively. To effectively do visual storytelling, a video should begin with a clear and compelling concept that aligns with your message and audience.
In “Greatness is Within,” Deontay arrives at an empty gym and is the only one in the locker room and the boxing ring. He trains hard and passionately, and this training montage is interwoven with footage of Deontay at home with his daughter. Toward the end, through television footage and announcer recording, we hear Deontay defeating his opponent, interwoven with celebrations with his daughter.
This ad has a clear narrative structure. We understand Deontay’s journey and his journey to winning his match at the end. But it’s not just the narrative that makes this story a great representation of visual storytelling—it’s also Deontay himself.
Characters, emotion, and empathy
Strong characters are essential for connecting with the audience. Whether real or fictional, characters need to be relatable to evoke empathy, making the story more impactful.
In “Greatness is Within,” we have one of the most universal and relatable human experiences: a parent trying hard to succeed for their child. We want to root for Deontay to do his best because we see how hard he’s trained and how he cares for his daughter. He’s not just a boxer – he’s a father.
If the main character was someone audiences wouldn’t want to root for, it wouldn’t be so effective. Great visual storytelling gives us characters we understand and want to succeed because we see ourselves or our loved ones in them. Authentic stories will always resonate more with audiences.
Composition
Unlike art, photographs, and even written text, video can shift and change imagery throughout the content. As such, the use of camera angles, framing, lighting, and color schemes can significantly influence the tone and mood of the video, adding to the other elements at work.
In our example, the entire commercial is dark and gritty. There is a low-key lighting setup in nearly every frame, with powerful spotlighting creating a hard light on our protagonist. This thoughtful visual composition enhances the narrative, helping create dramatic tension and making the story more visually appealing.
To see more examples of how composition can be used with visual storytelling, I recommend following cinematographers. They often have the most artistic pallets. Below are a few I personally follow for inspiration.
Pacing and editing
Even with the narrative, characters, and composition being refined in pre-production and production, the editing in post-production can also dictate how compelling the visual storytelling is. Effective pacing keeps the audience engaged, while smooth editing ensures a seamless viewing experience. In “Greatness is Within,” look at the editing cuts at the start of the commercial.
Each shot has around 3-4 seconds of screen time. However, in the middle, where Deontay is training and fighting in the ring, the length of each edit is less than a second—just a handful of frames at most.
This build-up within the edit is visually identifiable as the start, middle, and end, which aligns with the narrative structure. A video editor should have keen attention to detail, among other skills, to help them understand how to support the visual storytelling elements created in the early stages of production.
Sound design
The pacing and editing of video content are directly intertwined with sound. Audio elements, such as music, sound effects, and even dialogue, play a crucial role in visual storytelling. While the formal definition does not denote audio specifically, it’s important to realize why many filmmakers say that sound is the most essential part of a film. The correct audio can set the mood and emphasize critical moments.
In “Greatness is Within,” sound plays a crucial role in helping build up the critical moment of the spot. If you watch the commercial on mute, you can tell how the story loses some of its impact without the dramatic music, punching sound effects, and the announcer’s commentary.
When there is no visual storytelling
Understanding these fundamentals can be challenging. To better understand what visual storytelling adds to a video, let’s look at a commercial that doesn’t use it. This is another Everlast commercial called “The Choice of Champions.”
Compared to the “Greatness is Within”, there is a clear thematic difference. “The Choice of Champions” serves as a showreel to showcase the Everlast equipment and the Everlast fighting roster. As the title suggests, the brand is the choice of champions. However, this spot is more focused on visual candy.
The cinematography is gorgeous, the sound effects are powerful, and the editing is electric, but it lacks the lasting impact that “Greatness is Within” has.
Why video is an effective medium for storytelling
Visual storytelling can also be applied to photography, comics, art, etc. However, when it comes to video, the concept is slightly different because of motion. With its multisensory foundation, videos can integrate a variety of visuals and sounds to create compelling visual storytelling.
Most importantly, with camera movement and editing, you purposely direct and guide the viewer through the scene to help evoke a specific message. Unlike static images or written content, videos can convey complex messages quickly and memorably with these techniques.
The impact of visual content on audience engagement
In 2024, video content will make up 82% of all internet traffic. More than 78% of viewers consume video content weekly, with nearly 55% watching online video content daily. What does this tell you? Within a week, at least one in two people will likely engage more effectively with your brand if you have video content.
As reported by Wyzowl, a significant 82% of people have been convinced to buy a product or subscribe to a service after watching a video about the brand’s services. Additionally, marketing statistics show that video significantly boosts engagement:
- 90% of video marketers report that video has helped them increase brand awareness.
- 86% of video marketers say video has helped them boost web traffic.
It’s also worth noting that Hubspot has reported that 89% of consumers want to see more videos from brands in 2024, indicating that creating video content by default will lead to higher audience engagement.
Using video storytelling in marketing
For marketers, video storytelling has become invaluable in today’s video-first landscape. Implementing the techniques in this article allows you to produce video content that transforms the passive viewer into an active customer. The art of video storytelling can go far beyond traditional advertising by creating media that resonates on a personal level and leaves a lasting impact.
For instance, take this beautiful spotlight on Helene Cyr. It’s a 2:30 video that highlights why Helene is a photographer.
In this example, we have a well-crafted customer testimonial video highlighting real experiences and challenges, showcasing how your product or service provides meaningful solutions. If you were to watch the video without looking at the description, you likely wouldn’t realize the video is an ad for ACD Systems, a photo software company. Taking this approach with visual elements humanizes your brand or product and makes your message more memorable.
But more notably, video is an effective medium for storytelling because of its shareability in this digital age. Modern audiences overwhelmingly prefer video, to the point that even Instagram, which started as an image-sharing social media app, has become video-first. As such, the potential to enhance brand visibility and engagement using video on these platforms cannot be underestimated.
Including compelling narratives in your videos can boost conversion rates, guide viewers through decision-making, and encourage actions such as signing up for newsletters or buying a product. In essence, video storytelling captivates and entertains, effectively driving business goals by building stronger connections with your audience.
Is visual storytelling the same as mise-en-scene?
If you’re already somewhat savvy with filmmaking, you might think visual storytelling is simply mise-en-scène after reading the above. And to a degree, it is. If you’re unfamiliar, mise-en-scène refers to the placement of objects before the camera. It’s a French phrase from theatre that roughly translates to “placing on stage” and how these elements can evoke specific emotions from the arrangement.
However, in filmmaking, it accounts for:
- Actors
- Costumes
- Hair and makeup
- Set design
- Location
- Lighting
- Composition
- Shot blocking and camera placement
- Depth of space
The mise-en-scène of a film is defined by the arrangement of these elements and how the audience perceives them. This arrangement is what makes each film unique.
However, while mise-en-scène is a component of visual storytelling and plays a crucial role in setting a story’s tone, mood, and context, visual storytelling itself would be defined as a broader concept that includes elements beyond what is presented on screen.
Examples of visual storytelling
Now, let’s examine a few examples of video storytelling content to highlight when this concept is used at its best.
Nursery Rhymes – Goon Studio
The short film Nursery Rhymes exemplifies visual storytelling in its simplest form. With no distinct characters, editing, or sound beyond the diegetic elements at the location, it relies entirely on composition, particularly blocking. Blocking is a term that describes not only the placement of characters but also how the camera moves with them.
Nursery Rhymes proves that impactful visual storytelling can be achieved without dialogue, editing, characters, and sound.
Lacoste – ‘The Big Leap’
In this spot, Lacoste, a sports brand, uses visual metaphors in its commercial to display the sentiment of athletes who often face moments requiring a leap of faith. Instead of common sports scenarios like a buzzer-beater shot or a Hail Mary pass, Lacoste’s commercial depicts a man on a first date experiencing the butterflies of potentially kissing his partner.
This metaphor is interwoven with scenes of the man on a skyscraper, symbolizing the leap of faith he must take. Combining these elements, Lacoste effectively grounds the advert in relatable human emotions through smart composition and editing.
Create powerful videos with strong visual storytelling with Storyblocks
As video content continues to dominate online platforms, creators and brands can craft memorable content that resonates with viewers and enhances brand identity by understanding and utilizing the principles of visual storytelling. Next time you watch an ad, look for ways it uses visual storytelling. Do you care about the characters? Is there a clear narrative? Once you start seeing how videos successfully use visual storytelling, you can better incorporate it into your work.
With a Storyblocks subscription, you’ll have access to all the captivating assets needed to create powerful videos with strong visual storytelling. From 4K and HD footage to music and sound effects, you can download and test out over 2 million royalty-free stock options with your videos. Sign up today to start downloading instantly!
