The Importance of Video Marketing for Lawyers with Chris Gray

Why Video Marketing Matters for Law Firms
with Chris Gray of Story First

In today’s competitive legal landscape, standing out online is no longer just about having a well-designed website or strong SEO—it’s about building trust before a potential client ever picks up the phone. That’s where video marketing for lawyers is quickly becoming a game-changer. Instead of relying solely on written content and credentials, law firms now have the opportunity to connect on a human level, showing who they are, what they stand for, and why clients should trust them during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

But despite its growing importance, many attorneys still hesitate to get on camera. Whether it’s fear of how they’ll come across, uncertainty about what to say, or simply not knowing where to start, these mental blocks prevent firms from taking full advantage of one of the most powerful marketing tools available today.

In this episode of The Optimized Law Firm Podcast, Patrick Carver sits down with Chris Gray of Story First to talk about why video marketing is becoming one of the biggest opportunities for law firms. Chris shares how law firms can use cinematic, story-driven video to build trust, improve conversions, and stand out in a crowded market.

Topics Covered:

• Why story is the foundation of effective law firm video marketing
• How video helps law firms build trust and improve conversions
• The “three T’s” of a strong video: tension, truth, and transformation
• Which types of videos tend to produce the best ROI
• Common mistakes attorneys make with video
• DIY tips for filming better video content without a huge budget

Video Marketing for Lawyers Three Main Takeaways

1. Story-driven video helps law firms build trust faster.
The best legal videos are not just polished—they communicate empathy, authenticity, and the human reason behind why an attorney does what they do.

2. Video can be a major conversion tool for law firms.
A strong homepage video, attorney profile video, or testimonial video can help potential clients feel connected before they ever make contact.

3. Law firms do not need perfection to get started.
Even DIY video can work if attorneys focus on the basics: good audio, good lighting, a clear message, and the confidence to show up authentically.

Read The Full Transcript:

00:00:02:20 – 00:00:34:17
Unknown
Hey, I’m Patrick Carver, and I’m the owner of Constellation Marketing. Welcome to the optimize law firm podcasts and I’m really excited to have Chris Gray from Story First joining us and recently met Chris and we got to talking and he has a business that does cinematic quality video production for law firms. We know video marketing for lawyers is going to be a big deal over the next couple of years and probably way beyond that, of course, but I’m really excited to have you on.

00:00:34:17 – 00:01:04:16
Unknown
So welcome, Chris, and excited to hear about Story first. Yeah, Manuel, first of all, just thanks so much. I’m super thrilled to be here, man. Super glad to get the chance to talk to your audience. And yeah, I’m looking forward to our conversation now. Awesome. Well, again, pleased to have you in. You know, I think kind of what I’ll start with is everybody kind of knows video marketing for lawyers is important.

00:01:04:16 – 00:01:28:15
Unknown
And so I think, you know, what I’m hoping to accomplish with this is kind of get people, you know, on their way a little bit with like actionable steps that they can do. But I think, you know, before we dive into some of the more actionable or tactical type stuff, tell us just a little bit about yourself and and who you help how you got into in the video and and a little bit about your business history.

00:01:28:17 – 00:01:41:26
Unknown
Sure, man. I could go on for days. About how much time do you got? You know, I’ve had a crazy life, man, for sure. And one of the things that a lot of people don’t know about me is I actually spent 20 years as an automotive painter.

00:01:41:26 – 00:01:54:14
Unknown
And so I was in a completely different industry. I’ve only been professionally doing video now for the last ten years, but prior to that, again, I was in a completely different industry and,

00:01:54:18 – 00:02:01:25
Unknown
I had actually been listening to a bunch of podcast from like Tony Robbins and Gary Vaynerchuk for like six months. And so

00:02:01:25 – 00:02:08:28
Unknown
So I just literally quit left cold turkey. And so here I am, man, with a wife who’s just went through surgery.

00:02:08:28 – 00:02:30:06
Unknown
I’ve got, you know, a three year old now I’ve got a newborn baby, and I come home and I’m like, So I quit my job today. And, you know, so didn’t wasn’t received as well as I thought it would be. But nonetheless, and I fought for like a year really just trying to to make it in doing anything video related.

00:02:30:06 – 00:02:54:14
Unknown
I was like on all kinds of sets. I was doing commercials. I was I was I was pretty much the poster child for fake it till you make it during those years, man, I was just like anything I could try to do to get around people. And it came to a point man after about close to a year of that where, you know, financially it was just like, Man, if something doesn’t change, I’m going to have to tuck my tail.

00:02:54:14 – 00:03:14:08
Unknown
I’m going to have to go back to painting cars. And I’m just going to have to admit that this didn’t work. And and lo and behold, I ended up seeing a job post for an INC 500 marketing agency that specifically worked with law firms and they were looking for a director of photography. And I was probably the least qualified person to even apply for that job.

00:03:14:08 – 00:03:31:09
Unknown
But I actually made a video and sent it to them on Facebook on why they should, why they should hire me and to make a long story short, that ended up working out. And so I got that job. And so I spent a good while there at that agency. And and that was really like college for me, man.

00:03:31:09 – 00:03:48:15
Unknown
I mean, that’s where I learned so much about not just, you know, law firms, but just filming in general, just about law firm marketing, about stories that make a difference, like what works, what doesn’t work. And there were things that I, you know, that I saw there that I didn’t like as well. But for the most part, man, it was a good experience.

00:03:48:18 – 00:04:05:28
Unknown
And I left from that company, ended up starting my own business story first. And, you know, when I left there initially I had signed a non-compete and also the owner of that company was a good friend of mine, and he was really like one of my first mentors. So out of respect, I kind of went a little bit of a different path.

00:04:05:28 – 00:04:24:05
Unknown
At first I was doing pretty much all kinds of videos for, you know, from real estate, anything you can think of. But I, I did want to niche back into law firms and it was really just a few years ago where I kind of finally took the step and I was like, I’m going back 100% full end to just helping law firms.

00:04:24:05 – 00:04:46:11
Unknown
And so for the last three years or so, that’s pretty much all that we’ve been doing with video is helping smaller, I’d say, law firms that, you know, anywhere from solo practitioners all the way up to we worked with law firms, I think, that have had, you know, ten, 12 attorneys. And so so that’s yeah, that’s a really long waiting answer to that question.

00:04:46:11 – 00:04:49:01
Unknown
But that’s kind of a little bit of a backstory on me.

00:04:49:01 – 00:05:07:00
Unknown
it sounds like you’ve got great experience, you know, doing videos for law firms and kind of moved around a little bit. What do you think? You know, separates you or kind of what you bring to it or like your style compared to other video production companies out there?

00:05:07:00 – 00:05:30:20
Unknown
Like what? What’s kind of the story? First difference? Well, I think you just said it right. It’s story first. You know, I think one of the things that a lot of firm videos are missing is the story aspect. But but to circle back, I would say to that it’s you know, it’s one it’s strategy. You know, a lot of people can just you could hire, you know, somebody down the street to just come in and film a video for you.

00:05:30:20 – 00:05:51:22
Unknown
But if you don’t have a plan on what you’re going to do with that video or the videos that you get produced for you, it’s just going to be a waste of your money. And so I think one of the things about us is we work with a lot of agencies like you and I, and, you know, we make sure that all the videos that we do there, there’s a place for them and we know what’s going to happen after the fact.

00:05:51:22 – 00:06:26:11
Unknown
And so having a strategy upfront I think is really important. And then like I said, I think too, it’s really honing in and finding the story because I think that so many people, man, they just they they put stuff out there and maybe they’re scared to be vulnerable or they’re scared to say certain things, but like, it really takes a lot of, you know, strict strategy to really figure out like what the story is for that firm and to, you know, tell it in a way that’s going to resonate and really connect with somebody who’s potentially going through the worst time of their life.

00:06:26:11 – 00:06:48:12
Unknown
And they’re literally just looking for somebody that they feel like they know, like and trust. Yeah, I have a for the next question, I have an answer, at least in my take on it. But I’m curious what you know, what you would say from from your point of view, which is at a high level, what why is video a worthwhile marketing effort for law firms?

00:06:48:12 – 00:07:08:25
Unknown
Like what do you think it enables them to do or the benefit of it? Well, it’s I mean, that there’s tons there. I mean, I guy, there’s so many I mean, it it’s it’s going to help differentiate you from everybody else. I mean, that’s probably one of the biggest things is that, you know, everybody can say we care about our clients.

00:07:08:25 – 00:07:28:08
Unknown
You know, they can say these things, but having a video that that really gets to the heart of that is really going to help differentiate you from anybody else. And not to mention it just is going to make everything else work better, too. I mean, so if you’re already doing SEO, if you’re already getting traffic to your website, you know, people are going to stay on your website longer.

00:07:28:10 – 00:07:53:09
Unknown
There’s there’s a there’s a lot of reasons why I think from a high level that it’s a it’s a very worthwhile investment. What, what are your thoughts on that? Yeah, I mean, for me, there’s kind of two tracks, right? Like there’s the, the, the one that I think, you know, your videos squarely help with is just this idea of conversion optimization or conversion improvement.

00:07:53:09 – 00:08:14:06
Unknown
And I think you know what what you’re saying matches with, with what I think which is that if you’re if you don’t have a friend who’s a lawyer, if you don’t have a cousin or you know, you’re you’re basically going to go on Google and look for the person that kind of feels right, that looks like they have the credentials and everything.

00:08:14:06 – 00:08:44:20
Unknown
And so, you know, when all of that stuff is is roughly equal and, you know, everybody’s got reviews. Everybody can say they can do the case. They can get you the big settlement. I do think that people are are going to choose folks who resonate with them. And so I see the video as a very compelling part of that, where, you know, you actually get to kind of introduce yourself and, you know, build something of a relationship before they even 100%.

00:08:44:24 – 00:09:04:06
Unknown
I think it’s a I think it’s a it can be a huge differentiator and really let your personality shine through with your business where you know, too and I know you’ve heard it said that, you know, people buy based off emotion and then they justify it later with logic. And that’s so true. And that’s why I like I think that, you know, having those credentials and having all those things are great.

00:09:04:09 – 00:09:27:12
Unknown
But again, when you know, a mother who has just been served divorce papers and all of a sudden the whole life that she had planned out is is completely gone and she’s in the worst moment of her life. She’s not necessarily looking for an attorney who’s got these incredible credentials. She’s looking for somebody that she can feel like, man, they’re going to they’re going to understand what I’m going through.

00:09:27:12 – 00:09:41:01
Unknown
And so that’s why I think, you know, having having good quality video and even more so, having a good story on your website is to me, I mean, it’s just you got to

00:09:41:01 – 00:10:06:21
Unknown
any kind of free tips you can give on the story aspect or what people should maybe think about in terms of kind of cultivating. Yeah. Looking through for their own, you know, elements to maybe it’s not even just a video, but I think what you know, what you’re talking about with having a story, you know, is relevant to video, but also can be used in copy on their website, Right.

00:10:06:26 – 00:10:28:22
Unknown
It’s kind of in the ads, kind of the whole approach because you know, there’s just you know, there’s no shortage of lawyers. Right. And and so it’s it’s definitely all about sticking out. Yeah, sure. You know, I like to think of this kind of as like the three T’s, right? So it’s like what would make for a really good video?

00:10:28:22 – 00:11:00:05
Unknown
And that’s tension, truth and transformation. And so, you know, if you know any good movie you’ve ever watched, any good video I’ve ever watched, there’s there’s some sort of conflict. Right? And so like, I think that you’ve got to create those tension moments in your video when creating video marketing for lawyers. And whether you do that through a client testimonial, who’s talking about the phone call that they got at 2 a.m. that their son was in a car wreck, or it’s the attorney who’s talking about, you know, the childhood where she grew up.

00:11:00:05 – 00:11:11:29
Unknown
And she she watched her parents go through this terrible divorce and now she’s, you know, doing, you know, family law, whatever the case may be like, you’ve got to create those tension moments. And then the second part of that is truth and

00:11:11:29 – 00:11:22:21
Unknown
to me, truth is, you know, I feel like so many attorneys have been conditioned to feel like they can’t ever just drop your shoulders, you know what I mean?

00:11:22:21 – 00:11:43:26
Unknown
And be like a real person. And so, so many people, man, they’ll just throw up a teleprompter or they’ll just, you know, start reading a script. But like, what really is going to make a video stand out is you being willing to just be who you really are and actually just speak truth. And so, you know, I think too, it’s about finding the why, like why you really do what you do.

00:11:43:26 – 00:12:10:18
Unknown
And I know a lot of people may think like, well, I just do this because it pays the bills. But if you really dig deep enough, you’ll find that there’s usually something, whether it was someone, it was a moment, it was something that caused them to go down the path that they ended up going down. And those are the real moments that, you know, that do humanize you and bring you down to the level that the person watching goes, Man, this guy gets it, or he, you know, and then and then it’s transformation.

00:12:10:18 – 00:12:29:12
Unknown
So obviously at the end, you know, it’s you want to see the before stay in the after state. And again, you do this through either client testimonials. It can be the the before the after the attorney the the attorney who saw his dad get in a car wreck when he was a young kid. And yeah, the insurance company screwed him over and this, that and the other.

00:12:29:12 – 00:12:55:14
Unknown
And now he’s fought for the last 20 years for people just like him. Like there’s got to be the moment of transformation as well. And I think that if you can get all three of those T’s in your video, you’re going to have a good video. It’s awesome. It’s a great, great way to put it there. What do you what would you say to attorneys who are not interested in getting on camera or they feel like, oh, I’m good, I’m not good on camera.

00:12:55:16 – 00:13:15:17
Unknown
I don’t have that skill set, that sort of thing. What you know, what do you typically say to them or I guess maybe just advice you can give to people who do feel kind of camera shy or that they’ll be, you know, goofy or whatever, you know, whatever they think they’re going to look like that’s keeping them from from doing it?

00:13:15:19 – 00:13:35:01
Unknown
Well, you know, I would say I mean, I this is me talking about how, you know, so, you know, I don’t want to seem like I’m trying to sell myself or something, But I mean, that is one of the things that that we try to do, at least with my with my business, is like our process is very much driven around.

00:13:35:03 – 00:13:53:17
Unknown
You know, we don’t use actors, we don’t use scripts, we don’t use teleprompters. And so when we come in and we set up, I mean, you’re you’re not even going to really know that the camera’s there. And it’s really just as simple as me and you having a conversation like this right now. And so I know that there’s a mental block sometimes of being scared of how you may look and things like that.

00:13:53:17 – 00:14:10:24
Unknown
And from a psychological level, I don’t know how you get over that, but what I can tell you is that we make the process super easy to where, again, it’s very driven by conversation and we do a lot of research on the front end to make sure that we’re we’re driving the narrative of the videos. We create the direction that we want.

00:14:10:27 – 00:14:21:04
Unknown
But as far as being nervous, I mean, or just saying, hey, I don’t I don’t want to put myself out there. I mean, I mean, put yourself out there or, or your competitor. Will

00:14:21:04 – 00:14:35:05
Unknown
Yeah. I think I guess a couple of things come to mind with that is, you know, number one, I think lawyers put themselves out there already all the time, you know, not in that everybody’s a trial lawyer, but they have to pitch all the time.

00:14:35:05 – 00:15:04:21
Unknown
They have to present they have to present themself to clients. And so I don’t think that that that skill set is really there. They’re at odds, right? I think it’s just a matter of there’s something about, you know, being in front of a camera that elicits this this fear. The other thing I would say is just from my own personal experience or thinking on it, which helps me to some degree, which is I just don’t think anybody cares, right?

00:15:04:21 – 00:15:24:04
Unknown
Like, I’m not that important. And like, even though, yes, this will be seen by potential customers. Yes. Like, you know, I think, you know, in your head when you’re doing stuff like this or getting on camera and you’re like, oh, I have to make it perfect because somebody out there is with a, you know, a report card grading, you know, grading me.

00:15:24:04 – 00:15:41:15
Unknown
And like, you know, it’s just there’s going to be these, like, you know, kind of made up social consequences. I agree. I mean, you have to just don’t exist. And like, you know, I just think people are like too busy. They don’t care ultimately don’t care about me. So, I mean, I’m a I’m it wasn’t works that could happen.

00:15:41:19 – 00:16:01:19
Unknown
I’m a perfect example. I’ve got them I mean, you could probably tell I have the most country voice ever And you know, there’s a part of me that’s like, man, I wish it was cool and smooth. And I was like, Matthew McConaughey. But it really comes across as hick a lot of times. And so that was hard for me to get in my head to, like try to get on camera and be myself because it’s like I’m scared of what people may think or they may think I’m uneducated or this or that.

00:16:01:19 – 00:16:17:10
Unknown
But man, it’s really that’s just a mental block you got to get past because again, if you want to if you really want to stand out, if you want to look different than the guy down the street, then it really takes you being willing to put yourself out there. Yeah. And I think I mean, don’t you think authenticity just played a huge part in that?

00:16:17:13 – 00:16:40:03
Unknown
I mean, as far as, you know, not trying to be something you’re not, you know, and, you know, that comes through and like, you know, you may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but my my bet is that the more authentic you are showcasing yourself, that’s probably the the, you know, the foundation of why you’re successful at selling clients to begin with.

00:16:40:03 – 00:17:01:19
Unknown
Right? Yeah, not 100%. I mean, people are yearning for like authentic content right now, too, especially when you see all the slop that’s blowing up right now and you’ve got you know, videos of, you know, yeti’s doing all kinds of crazy stuff. And there’s nothing wrong with that, Some of that stuff and it’s fine. But at the same time, people are definitely looking for human interaction.

00:17:01:19 – 00:17:25:26
Unknown
They’re looking for real people that are okay to just be who they are. And so, yeah, I think I think it’s more important now than it ever has been before. What do you think are the highest rely types of videos that law firms can make and and maybe even cover what are some of the different types? Yeah, because I mean, I don’t necessarily know, you know, correct terminology for it.

00:17:25:26 – 00:17:48:24
Unknown
And so we’d love to get your thoughts there. Well, I think that that that probably is dependent on the firm and what they’re going to do with the videos. You know, specifically, I would say that, you know, at least for us, like within all of our packages, we have what we call a heartbeat video or some people call it a brand video, but this is kind of like the main video that this is why I do what I do.

00:17:49:00 – 00:18:06:05
Unknown
And this is the video that’s got the testimonials kind of embedded in it. And it’s the social proof and it’s the it’s the video that lives, you know, on your homepage. And it’s when that video goes off, it’s like the decisions made for the person, they’re like, this is this is my guy, this is my woman, This is this is who I’m calling.

00:18:06:05 – 00:18:30:21
Unknown
Right? And so that’s kind of like the main video. And I would say that’s the highest ROI if you already have a lot of traffic coming to your website because again, that’s just going to make your conversions go through the roof. If you don’t have any traffic on your website, then that may not be the case. You know, it could be something that’s that’s more short form that you’re running ads with or whatever the case may be.

00:18:30:23 – 00:18:53:16
Unknown
As far as like some of those different types, again, I would say you have like brand videos and then I would say you have like profile videos, like attorney profile videos, because you probably know this too, that like the most visited page on a website is usually on attorneys, website is usually the attorneys profile page because people want to see who they’re actually, you know, going to be dealing with and work with firm.

00:18:53:18 – 00:19:20:11
Unknown
So having a 90 second video up there that that literally shows the human side of who you are. Again, it’s just going to make, you know, conversions go through the roof and yeah, you know, practice area videos, that’s another type of video that we do with a lot of the even the agencies that we partner with, they really like those from the standpoint of like SEO, also embedding those into like the Google profile and for helping with like ranking and stuff like that.

00:19:20:11 – 00:19:44:04
Unknown
And so profile videos, I mean, in practice area videos are essentially just, you know, videos that they’re very keyword rich and it’s very much more around like, hey, do you know, do you have a case? You know, But again, those those videos still serve their purpose. And then, I mean, one of the you know, I don’t even know I didn’t start, but there’s one of the highest ROI videos, I mean, is obviously going to be just testimonials, right?

00:19:44:04 – 00:20:16:05
Unknown
Like social and that’s but that is kind of why I put it in with the brand video when creating video marketing for lawyers, because again, with our brand videos, we always put that social element in the brand video. We try to at least get a snippet of it in that main video as well. But about standalone testimonial videos, I mean, they’re worth their weight in gold, man, because when you can get other people, you know, saying that they’ve been through this and you know, then you can see, you know, them come out the other side and then they’re recommend this attorney that’s that’s usually the last that’s usually the last step for somebody makes a phone call there.

00:20:16:05 – 00:20:19:09
Unknown
So, you know, testimonial videos are huge.

00:20:19:09 – 00:20:55:05
Unknown
I think different applications for for it and and so I think what you’re describing, especially for the Heartbeat video, is definitely what we try to replicate. Or we have the same strategy for when somebody hits a home page typically because that’s usually where the majority of traffic is going to go to first. And so we try to basically make that same great first impression where somebody gets on the website and we want them to say, Yep, that’s exactly what that’s exactly the service I’m looking for.

00:20:55:08 – 00:21:18:13
Unknown
And then I think they go through this process mentally of, okay, does it, do they look legit? Have they done it before? And so then, you know, you start to layer in the badges and the reviews and the real case results and stuff like that. If you can get testimonials right, I think that’s that’s an even bigger deal and absolutely helps.

00:21:18:15 – 00:21:51:10
Unknown
And just, you know, I think to the benefit of all of this is going to be moving into this year and beyond. I think a key benefit will be increasing time spent on Web sites. I think a user metric from the SEO and I perspective is I think that’s going to be a big factor where their Google and other tools are, you know, basically looking for who’s who’s actually a legitimate person.

00:21:51:10 – 00:22:11:25
Unknown
Right. And has good experience and all of that. And so someone’s staying and getting value out of page presumably from from staying there I think is going to be a big deal. Yeah. And even like trance, like having the transcripts for those videos and then embedding that into like the schema on the back end and things like that also help a lot with search and with like ranking.

00:22:11:25 – 00:22:37:09
Unknown
And even now like I and like, you know, trying to rank for, you know, getting picked up in air engines like Chad up and stuff like that. So yeah. What what do you think a video should communicate in the first 10 seconds to really get a hold of a potential clients attention? Because I think such a big component of video marketing for lawyers is is probably the hook.

00:22:37:09 – 00:23:08:01
Unknown
And that that’s really the key piece of success for YouTube videos. But what do you think about that? I think that it it somewhat is dependent on, again, the type of video, whether it’s an organic social media video, a paid ad, or potentially a brand video. But I think across the board in all of it, it’s about the potential client being able to see themselves in it.

00:23:08:04 – 00:23:27:27
Unknown
And and so that’s why even with us, like we try to start out our videos with, you know, something that’s out, you know, outside of an office, you know, whether it’s, you know, walking in nature or this or that. So I think that, you know, just trying to get the person to that that’s watching the potential client to see themselves in that video.

00:23:27:27 – 00:23:51:28
Unknown
And I think, too, like, you know, leading with with empathy, you know, and, you know, making the video again, not so much about like us and what we do, but, you know, trying to make it more about them. And so, again, I you know, I mean, there’s a whole thing on hooks, right? And like, so I don’t know, that’s that’s that’s kind of a tough question that to answer.

00:23:51:28 – 00:24:12:13
Unknown
But I think that and some of that is, you know, I feel like it. You just kind of got to know what you’re doing to find the right hook. You know what I mean? I wish I had a better answer for that. But I think I think you you know, you land on something important, which is the being able to see yourself in the in the set up.

00:24:12:13 – 00:24:36:18
Unknown
And I think, you know, that personal connection reinforce is kind of everything we’ve been we’ve been talking about with, you know, the reason of the value from it getting, you know, getting someone hooking them or kind of getting them, you know, for you to kind of break out of the, you know, average of other lawyers. Right. About what we’re all they’re competing.

00:24:36:21 – 00:25:10:13
Unknown
You’re starting your video out with a a graphic like you’re done. You know what I mean? Like I can say don’t do that. That’s yeah, that’s funny. So all of that dovetails in my next question, which is what is the biggest mistake that attorneys make with video? The the intro graphic is that that your is the animated graphic before, you know, a solid 7 seconds before they ever say a word?

00:25:10:16 – 00:25:45:28
Unknown
No, I think I would say probably it’s, again, well, there’s multiple answers to this. But if we had to say biggest I would say making the video all about them and like their credentials versus like trying to make the video into what the person who’s going to hire them is wants to see. And second of all, I again, I would just say like putting out a video.

00:25:45:28 – 00:26:05:15
Unknown
One of the biggest mistakes, you know, attorneys do is they just hire a videographer to come in and shoot a video and then, you know, stick it on their website. And they don’t they don’t have, again, any sort of a strategy behind that. That’s that’s a that’s a big mistake as well. So, yeah, I don’t know if that if if that answers your question, but yeah, I mean that makes sense.

00:26:05:15 – 00:26:30:01
Unknown
I think the the key point that I’ve taken away from this is, is the the value of of the story of the strategy around it because I think, you know, video or people people say this and I hear this a lot with like social media, you know, where it’s like, oh, we need to be on social. And, you know, I think that I think social can be very important.

00:26:30:01 – 00:27:08:26
Unknown
But just throwing up a couple of posts every, you know, every now and then is like, I’m not going to do it right. It’s not going to like, you know, build you a following or build you it. And so I think, you know, it all comes down to strategy. And even with I stuff coming up and you know, the ability to write a post for every day of the year with zero car a little cost I think strategy will be more important right because there’s so much there’s going to be so much noise that you know it’s so easy to to do that.

00:27:09:00 – 00:27:40:10
Unknown
The key differentiator is is going to be that strategic piece of it. Yeah, no, for sure. What so let’s talk a little bit about kind of end with just almost like a, you know, a little discussion or some tips for the DIY approach. So some some folks like, you know, let’s say in conjunction with with what you do, I think, you know, what I’ve seen from you guys is you have beautiful videos.

00:27:40:12 – 00:28:10:22
Unknown
I think for something like YouTube, a big piece of it is is frequency and volume and so recording at home or recording, you know, ongoing and adding I think can be a big advantage or it can be a big opportunity for lawyers if if lawyers are going to make video content. What what are a couple of key things because I’ve gone through this process myself and I’ve learned a few things just as far as like, how can they do this?

00:28:10:25 – 00:28:31:22
Unknown
And I can say on the cheap, but I can say but I would say like, you know, without investing an enormous amount of time and energy. Right. And capital to it, where you can go from, you know, just producing or putting up saying it looks very amateur to a few things that can really elevate your your production. Yeah, sure.

00:28:31:24 – 00:29:00:13
Unknown
I would start that probably with saying number one is like get your audio right because I think that audio is a is a huge part of a video because if you mean take take for instance you know Blair Witch Project right. Like you could hardly see the footage. Right. But what a throwback shout out. But it really it really stood out in the box office and so it’s just a testament to like you can almost have really poor video quality.

00:29:00:13 – 00:29:24:05
Unknown
And as long as the audio is good, people will still watch it. But if it’s the reverse of that and you have poor audio, even with a crystal clear video, people are balancing the second they see it. So, you know, there’s a lot of little microphones that you can buy, you know, read some good Amazon reviews that are not super, super expensive, but they’re at least going to elevate the quality of your video, even if you’re using an iPhone or a little DSLR or something like that.

00:29:24:05 – 00:29:44:00
Unknown
So I would say, you know, again, a quick little search on trying to find a good a good quality microphone that’s just going to to get your audio in place. And then I would say again, I think there’s different levels of this if you if you’re trying to go completely free. I mean, iPhones nowadays, they shoot really good video.

00:29:44:02 – 00:30:03:09
Unknown
Some Android phones do really good video. But I think that you do kind of need to know some basic principles. I mean, for one, set that phone up on a little tripod, you know, get you something where you can frame it up and, you know, it’s not going to be all moving around and, you know, get something, you know, where you can set it in a certain kind of way in your office.

00:30:03:09 – 00:30:24:04
Unknown
If you’ve got windows, try to position yourself where you’re getting, you know, some of that window light hitting you and you’re not going to be just completely in the dark if you can’t afford any sort of lighting or anything like that. And I would also say that there is just like a million videos on YouTube on very, very basic like filmmaking tips.

00:30:24:04 – 00:30:43:11
Unknown
And so I think that, again, from a very free level, you know, or very cheap level and maybe just a few hours of research, you can find what you need. But the biggest thing is, is that you want good audio and you want to be lit well. And if you can at least hit those, that’s a good starting point.

00:30:43:11 – 00:31:16:21
Unknown
And then I would say, you know, third, third to that would just be like, know what you’re going to say, you know, and really kind of dial in that story before you start talking. And I will say to, you know, like again, to your point, if you are making videos for YouTube and you’re trying to crank those things out like super fast, like I see nothing wrong with with putting out videos for my phone or from I even have this little thing right here that I’ll sometimes this is the DJI Osmo like we I even you like behind the scenes stuff with this sometimes and you know there’s nothing that you know, they even talk

00:31:16:21 – 00:31:36:01
Unknown
about like the quality triangle where it’s, you know, you almost don’t want all of your video to be, you know, perfectly 100% rational. You know, there’s, there’s value in in having different stages of it. And so but I would say like, you know, for like a home page video on your website potentially, you know, invest a little bit more than than a DIY cell phone video.

00:31:36:01 – 00:32:01:27
Unknown
But, you know, so I don’t know if that helps, but yeah, for sure. I mean, I think the you know what I would would offer as well and that is that, you know I think it’s just about getting going right And you don’t need to spend thousands on it and you know, and I I’ve kind of had this inner battle with myself where I’m like, well, I need to get you know, I need to get a legit camera.

00:32:01:27 – 00:32:25:19
Unknown
I need to get, you know, a legit line before I can do it. And then I do it. And I’m still kind of the hold up of, you know, it’s just I just need to sit down and make the videos right. And and so I think just getting started and, you know, from my perspective, the biggest thing I’ve I’ve seen make a big difference is like the lighting is is crazy.

00:32:25:19 – 00:32:53:10
Unknown
How how different or better of a product I think can go out there with with the lighting but you know I mean you can get all this stuff figured out on YouTube chatting about your closet and and then beauty beauty of Amazon, too, is, you know, you can find stuff that is going to be pretty pretty low cost and well rated.

00:32:53:10 – 00:33:27:00
Unknown
So you know, you have some you know have hedge against buying bad stuff or like yeah well insurance with it so cool Well I really appreciate the discussion today and Chris tell us where where we can we’re folks can find you online. Yeah sure So our website is the story first dot com E story first dot com and then we’re on all the social media channels with we are story first and so yeah I mean

00:33:27:00 – 00:33:41:23
Unknown
Awesome. Well if you’re out there interested in getting cinematic quality and I really mean it because if you look at their videos on their website, they they’re beautiful. So take a look at check out his website. And if you shouldn’t get videos done, give Chris a shout.

00:33:41:23 – 00:33:50:09
Unknown
But that’ll be it for this episode. Thanks for listening. And we will be back soon with another new episode.