Spike Jonze, armed with a boom box, a few camcorders and accompanied by the "Torrance Community Dance Group," set up outside a movie theater in Westwood, California. With very little pre-production, these six actors, playing people who couldn't dance, and Spike, portraying a choreographer who couldn't choreograph, produced an award winning video that is still praised for its genius.
So what's the secret and is it possible to recreate this sort of success? Viral marketing can promote your work like nothing else if you do it right. There are three key elements Spike Jonze tapped into when he created the video for Fatboy Slim's song, "Praise You."
First, remember that people are naturally curious and voyeuristic. We like looking at other people. Especially when other people are doing nutty and unexpected things that make us laugh. The old saying, "it's like a train wreck, you can't look away" is very true.
Second, the video has a simple premise, if you want to call it that. Ground breaking in its execution and different, yes, the video has a very basic concept. It isn't visually overwhelming. As much as people love special effects, they love a story they can follow.
And most importantly, people really dig the underdog. Spike Jonze's video was up against major productions at the MTV Awards that year. These videos had cost thousands of dollars and took weeks to shoot. "Praise You" was shot in 10 minutes with a budget of $800.00. And fans loved it. The Torrance Community Dance Group was made up of normal looking people, people like you and me. Though I'd like to think I can dance better than that.
In the end, you want to create a video that fans can identify with. Remember to encourage comments and allow them to share it with their friends and your video is ready to take off.
By the way, this is me, encouraging comments here. I'm always interested in your thoughts and opinions so please, drop me a comment.
Thanks for reading,
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