The attached draft videos represent an exercise to make a slate of Digging for Idols videos intended for various platforms (along with varied aspect ratios and runtimes). In past video work, I might start with the longest one (1:30) and use it as a starting point to repurpose, chopping downward to the smallest (30 sec) but in this case, I approached them each foremost with suitability for their intended platforms in mind, which influenced creative choices along the way.
Broadcast Ad (30 seconds)
Being realistic about the limitations of the runtime and the uniqueness of the product, I took a slightly more avant-garde approach. The video contains very little information and instead plays like a paced montage of clips from the pod, all intentionally out of context with no backing music, narration, or explanation. This could, perhaps, get someone’s attention amid a sea of loud and traditional broadcast advertisements. It’s a higher-risk approach, perhaps, and I’ve very deliberately stripped out any color (outside of the final logo) or movement, instead highlighting the audio. The stark differentiation between it and most other ads could serve to pull in viewers who are curious about what they’re hearing.
Storyboard
| 00:01 to 00:06 | Audio: “Arlo the Burping Pig” vs Survivor Burps game premise. Visual: Still from recording session. |
| 00:06 to 00:12 | Audio: Survivor castaway messages us while recording. Visual: Still from recording session. |
| 00:12 to 00:16 | Audio: Clip from interview with castaway Rita Verreos. Visual: Image from interview. |
| 00:16 to 00:20 | Audieo: Taylor reacts to Christopher’s research. Visual: Still from recording session. |
| 00:20 to 00:26 | Audio: Castaway Daniel Lue talks about his cast assuming season 6 was the final season twenty years ago. Visual: Image from interview with Daniel. |
| 00:26 to 00:30 | Audio: Taylor reacts to Christopher chugging vegan “clow blood.” Visual: Christopher showing his tongue like the season 3 cast. |
Instagram Reel (45 Seconds)
Given that Digging for Idols regularly posts vertical reels, this is a familiar platform. Taking a wholly different approach to the prior video given the norms of Instagram reels, I began by cutting down audio from a discussion about the podcast’s origin and purpose down to the specified length. I then added a TikTok style text overlay as a boilerplate. In it, our co-hosts speak while a visual montage plays out highlighting various still images, clips, and graphic designs for DFI. Most likely this reel would be promoted outside of the followership as it explains the show to those unfamiliar.
| Audio 00:00 to 00:40 | Co-hosts discuss the inspiration for and format of the podcast as a primer for potential listeners. |
| Visuals 00:00 to 00:06 | Images of Co-hosts. |
| Visuals 00:06 to 00:14 | Screen cap of scrolling through podcast episodes on Spotify. |
| Visuals 00:14 to 00:21 | Jump cuts through Christopher’s “Damu Bar” chugging. |
| Visuals 00:21 to 00:25 | Co-hosts interviewing castaway Daniel Lue. [still] |
| Visuals 00:25 to 00:29 | Co-hosts interviewing castaway Rita Verreos. |
| Visuals 00:29 to 00:40 | Misc. DFI images. |
| Visuals 00:40 to 00:45 | Vertically oriented “Dig in” graphic. |
| Audio 00:40 to 00:45 | “Welcome to Digging for Idols” episode excerpt. |
Facebook Video (1 min. 30 sec.)
This platform and runtime arguably allow for more in-depth discussion of the podcast’s goals and content. I began by writing a 90 second script, rehearsing it, then recording it using Riverside.fm, our podcast production service of choice. I then used it as a skeleton to build around with various still images, clips, and b-roll. It’s less hyper-edited with more detail and a slower pace.
Rather than a storyboard for this one, I will include the script—though it may not match 100% as I did my best to deliver it extemporaneously—because it guided all the supplementary choices.
“Hey, it’s Christopher from the Digging for Idols podcast. Do you like shows about weird intersections in pop culture or niche entertainment interests? Well, we’ve got a weird one for you. My co-host Taylor and I are big fans of the show Survivor, and we noticed that if you compile all the acting performances and appearances by Survivor players in other tv series and movies, you get well over 600 credits. That’s basically what our show is all about.
Each episode, we pick one acting performance by a Survivor castaway—whether it be in a feature film, short film, music video and in any capacity, starring role, non-speaking role, cameo—whatever it is, we watch it, we connect it to their Survivor experience and rate it on a Survivor themed scale. And we jump all around the show’s history covering legends as well as players who maybe didn’t quite become household names. It’s a very different way to engage with the fandom because we don’t recap episodes of Survivor.
This is not just a show for Survivor fans but anyone who enjoys digging through IMDb pages and reflecting on the relationship between different areas of entertainment. Along the way we do lots of giggling, get into some of the hot goss, and we’ve even had some Survivor castaways on the show. You can get Digging for Idols wherever you get your podcasts so come check out the pod and say hi on any of our socials @diggingforidols.”
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