How To Be a Better Storyteller — Transcript

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1. 0:00Most creators think that storytelling is
2. 0:02complicated, [music]
3. 0:03but actually, it's not. And by the end
4. 0:05of this video, I will teach you
5. 0:07everything you need to know to start
6. 0:08mastering it. I've learned this
7. 0:10firsthand by spending over 15 [music]
8. 0:12years behind the camera as a
9. 0:13professional and making over 2,000
10. 0:15videos as a content creator myself. I
11. 0:18started from zero and built an audience
12. 0:19that's reached [music] millions. And
13. 0:21none of this happened because of fancy
14. 0:23camera gear or editing tricks. And in
15. 0:25fact, some of my best [music] performing
16. 0:27videos were built around just normal
17. 0:29everyday life, my perspective on things,
18. 0:32and just things that I found [music]
19. 0:33interesting. What made them work wasn't
20. 0:35ever necessarily the subject at hand, it
21. 0:39was how I crafted the story. This is a
22. 0:41creator's desk, a show [music] about the
23. 0:43process, strategy, and day-to-day
24. 0:45reality of building a career as a
25. 0:47creator. I've lived it, and now I'm
26. 0:48sharing everything [music] I've learned.
27. 0:51And today, I'm going to break down
28. 0:53exactly how you can do the same. Number
29. 0:55one, the core story arc. Every good
30. 0:58story follows the same structure. Setup,
31. 1:01conflict, resolution. And look, your
32. 1:04video doesn't have to feel or look like
33. 1:06a movie. It doesn't even need to be
34. 1:08fancy with a script, dialogue, or
35. 1:10effects, but your content does need
36. 1:12these key pillars. And if you don't,
37. 1:14your story is going to feel flat. And
38. 1:16that's not just filmmaking, this is
39. 1:19human psychology. This is how we've told
40. 1:21stories thousands upon thousands of
41. 1:24years around fires, in books, in
42. 1:27scriptures, in movies, and now through
43. 1:29our phones. Our brains are wired to look
44. 1:32for patterns, beginning, middle, and
45. 1:35end. And if you don't introduce [music]
46. 1:37these patterns, the audience is going to
47. 1:38lose interest. This is where I see
48. 1:40creators most slip up. The setup.
49. 1:43Establish who, what, when, where. You
50. 1:46need to give the audience context so
51. 1:48they feel grounded to your story from
52. 1:50the jump. [music] The setup should
53. 1:51answer, "Where am I? Who should I care
54. 1:53about? Why should I care?" Without it,
55. 1:55the viewers feel lost immediately. You
56. 1:57know? It's like opening a map and not
57. 1:59knowing where your starting point is.
58. 2:01You can't follow the journey without it.
59. 2:04A beautiful shot, something cinematic,
60. 2:06sure, it might grab some attention, but
61. 2:08without context with your setup, you're
62. 2:10going to lose them fast. So, next time
63. 2:13you film, try this. Start your setup in
64. 2:16one sentence and one shot. Like, "I'm in
65. 2:19my kitchen and here's a problem. I'm
66. 2:21somewhere and this is what happened."
67. 2:23Simple formula, which leads this to
68. 2:25this: conflict. This is what makes us
69. 2:28follow the journey past the hook. And I
70. 2:30don't mean conflict as a fight or
71. 2:32something negative, just something
72. 2:34inconvenient, unexpected, something that
73. 2:37incites and sparks curiosity. Without
74. 2:39conflict, there's no tension. That means
75. 2:42no reason to keep watching. So, next
76. 2:44time you're making something, make sure
77. 2:46you ask yourself this: "Where here in
78. 2:48this journey might make somebody ask
79. 2:50themselves a question or continue
80. 2:52watching? What is that?" [music] You
81. 2:54want to think from a viewer or
82. 2:56consumer's perspective. So, next time,
83. 2:58just highlight that and that will be
84. 3:00your story's conflict. Next, [music]
85. 3:02resolution. Resolution is what's going
86. 3:04to make your story satisfying, even if
87. 3:07you cliffhang it. If you propose a
88. 3:08question but never answer it, people are
89. 3:11going to feel cheated. It's [music] like
90. 3:13walking out of a movie theater 10
91. 3:15minutes before the ending. Nobody does
92. 3:17that. So,
93. 3:18>> [music]
94. 3:18>> don't make somebody sit through that.
95. 3:20You need to make sure that your story
96. 3:22closes a loop.
97. 3:23>> [music]
98. 3:23>> So, for example, I made a video about
99. 3:25things in my family's Filipino household
100. 3:28[music] that didn't quite make sense.
101. 3:30And the resolution throughout that
102. 3:31entire video was every time I revealed
103. 3:34an odd object or something that doesn't
104. 3:36make sense, I would explain it. So, the
105. 3:38viewers got clarity and that payoff kept
106. 3:41people watching. So, as you're writing
107. 3:43your next story or whatever you're
108. 3:44making content on next, you need to ask
109. 3:46yourself, "Did I answer the conflict or
110. 3:50the question at hand?" If not, your job
111. 3:52is not done and you shouldn't go out and
112. 3:54start shooting. So, when you hit all
113. 3:56three of these things, the setup,
114. 3:58conflict, resolution, even the most
115. 4:00ordinary moments become watchable. It is
116. 4:03now telling a story. Because a story
117. 4:06isn't about the craziest visuals or
118. 4:08cinematics or using the fanciest gear,
119. 4:10it's about giving your audience a
120. 4:13journey to care about. Number [music]
121. 4:14two, emotion is the real hook. If the
122. 4:17story is the engine, then emotion is the
123. 4:20fuel. This is what fuels the entire
124. 4:23story because
125. 4:24>> [music]
126. 4:24>> at the end of the day, people don't
127. 4:27really remember what you showed them or
128. 4:28what it looked like, they remember how
129. 4:31you made them feel. And this is why even
130. 4:33the most simplest clips go viral. It
131. 4:35either made you laugh or sparked
132. 4:37nostalgia. You know, our brains are
133. 4:39literally wired this way. Psychologists
134. 4:42call this the emotional memory effect.
135. 4:45When emotion is attached to information,
136. 4:47we actually retain it longer. We
137. 4:49remember We want to share it and we
138. 4:51value it more. So, here are some things
139. 4:53that creators tend to overlook. They
140. 4:55focus only on visuals. The shots look
141. 4:58great, but there's no feeling. It
142. 5:00supports a good story, but it can't make
143. 5:03a bad story good. They confuse relatable
144. 5:05with emotional because just showing
145. 5:07something common isn't enough. You need
146. 5:10to make people feel something about it.
147. 5:12They try to force emotion by over
148. 5:14explaining instead of just letting the
149. 5:16moment breathe, letting it sit. And I've
150. 5:19tested this a lot in my own videos. Some
151. 5:21of my most shared posts weren't the ones
152. 5:23with the best production, they were the
153. 5:25ones where people commented, "Wow, I
154. 5:28felt that. I feel seen. This is me."
155. 5:31These are some of the things that get
156. 5:32shared, saved, and remembered. It's
157. 5:34simple. Humans are connected to human
158. 5:37emotion. So, every time I write a story,
159. 5:39this is what I keep in mind. Identify
160. 5:42the feeling you want to create. Do you
161. 5:43want your viewer to laugh, to feel
162. 5:45suspense, to reflect upon themselves.
163. 5:49You need to decide this before you
164. 5:51shoot. A lot of creators focus on what
165. 5:53they want to say, but not what they want
166. 5:55the audience to feel. So, next time
167. 5:57you're in your writing process, write
168. 5:58down the one emotion that you want your
169. 6:01viewer to feel [music] because that now
170. 6:03becomes your entire story's North Star.
171. 6:06And now you need to match every creative
172. 6:08decision to that feeling from your tone
173. 6:11of voice, your pacing, your music,
174. 6:14[music] and even the framing should
175. 6:16reinforce that feeling. If you want
176. 6:18suspense,
177. 6:19>> [music]
178. 6:19>> cut faster. Use closer shots. If you
179. 6:21want the audience to feel calm, let the
180. 6:23edit breathe. You don't need to cut so
181. 6:25fast. Use more calm music. A common
182. 6:28mistake that I see here is the mismatch
183. 6:30between the mood and the visuals, like
184. 6:33using an upbeat song over a serious
185. 6:35story. You're breaking the trust here.
186. 6:38Does this choice push the emotion that I
187. 6:40want the audience to feel, or does it
188. 6:43fight against it? Give people a release.
189. 6:46If you build emotion, you can't leave it
190. 6:48hanging. You know, every laugh needs a
191. 6:51punchline. The tension needs resolution.
192. 6:54Inspiration needs a takeaway. Something
193. 6:56that I see so much is creators build the
194. 6:59energy, but never deliver the payoff.
195. 7:02When I see stories like that, I'm
196. 7:04disappointed. So, next time you're
197. 7:06sitting with your edit, try this. Watch
198. 7:08the beginning of your video, then skip
199. 7:12all the way to the end. Ask yourself,
200. 7:14did I answer the question? Did I pay it
201. 7:17off? Did I waste my viewer's time? Did I
202. 7:20promise what I said I was going to
203. 7:22deliver? If not, it's back to the
204. 7:24drawing board. And before we get to
205. 7:25number three, here is a word from our
206. 7:27sponsor. If you're enjoying this so far
207. 7:29and [music] you want to go even deeper
208. 7:31and build the entire foundational system
209. 7:33that makes this all possible, I built an
210. 7:36online academy called Content College.
211. 7:37[music] Inside you'll learn how to plan,
212. 7:40write, film, edit, and post with a
213. 7:42creative system designed to help you
214. 7:44grow without [music] burning out. And
215. 7:46it's more than just courses. You'll also
216. 7:48be getting my color grading preset, my
217. 7:49sound effects pack, my templates,
218. 7:51worksheets, and how I film and edit my
219. 7:53videos from start to finish. And it just
220. 7:56[music] starts there because there is so
221. 7:57much more inside. And I'm not just
222. 7:59showing you how I make my videos, we'll
223. 8:01be working on your videos together
224. 8:03[music] every step of the process. The
225. 8:05skills you need that won't be affected
226. 8:07by an algorithm. If you're serious about
227. 8:09taking your content [music] to the next
228. 8:11level, check out Content College. The
229. 8:13link is below in the description. So,
230. 8:16now let's get back to number three,
231. 8:17stakes and tension. If story is the
232. 8:20structure and emotion is the hook, then
233. 8:23stakes are what keeps people watching.
234. 8:25Because without this tension, without
235. 8:28something at risk, your story has no
236. 8:31driving journey, nothing to push the
237. 8:33viewer moving forward. And this doesn't
238. 8:36mean life or death or some
239. 8:38all-encompassing
240. 8:40end-all, be-all problem, something just
241. 8:42has to be on the line. Some common
242. 8:44mistakes that I see are if nothing is at
243. 8:46risk, the viewer has no reason to care
244. 8:49about the journey, no reason to care
245. 8:50about the outcome. So, they stop
246. 8:52watching. They confuse stakes with being
247. 8:55dramatic. [music] Because like I said,
248. 8:57tension doesn't have to be extreme. It
249. 8:59could be as simple as running out of
250. 9:01daylight before you finish filming,
251. 9:03[music] or missing your bus or the
252. 9:04subway, or spilling your coffee and
253. 9:06you've been looking forward to that
254. 9:07coffee all day. They forget to pay it
255. 9:10off. I've said this earlier, but let's
256. 9:12dive deeper. If you build tension, you
257. 9:14need to release that tension. In so much
258. 9:16of my content, it isn't [music] about
259. 9:18the visuals. It's about the what if,
260. 9:21it's about the what's next, it's about
261. 9:23what if this doesn't work.
262. 9:25>> [music]
263. 9:25>> Am I finishing it on time? What if this
264. 9:27whole setup fails? What can I learn
265. 9:29here? What is the risk involved if I
266. 9:32don't finish watching this video? This
267. 9:35is what keeps people invested until the
268. 9:37very end. So, when I'm building out my
269. 9:39story, this is what I keep in mind. I
270. 9:41make the viewer ask a question. The
271. 9:43moment somebody thinks, "Wait, what's
272. 9:45going to happen?" You've got them
273. 9:47hooked. A common mistake is telling too
274. 9:49much upfront. If the outcome is obvious,
275. 9:51then there's no reason to stick around.
276. 9:53It's like, have you ever gone to the
277. 9:55movie theaters and seen a trailer and by
278. 9:57the end of that trailer, you're like,
279. 9:59"That's really cool, but I don't need to
280. 10:00watch it anymore because I pretty much
281. 10:02just seen the whole movie." Yeah, that.
282. 10:05So, next time when you're writing, try
283. 10:07this. You want to hint at the challenge
284. 10:10or the conflict at hand, but don't give
285. 10:12away the solution. But, you [music] do
286. 10:14want to hint that you're going to solve
287. 10:16it. Raise the tension. You want to make
288. 10:19the risk feel like it gets bigger
289. 10:21throughout the video, [music] even if
290. 10:23it's just by adding urgency or some sort
291. 10:26of mini conflict while trying to solve
292. 10:28it. A common mistake [music] I see is
293. 10:30keeping the stakes flat. It never
294. 10:32escalates. Your viewers are going to
295. 10:34lose interest. [music] So, next time as
296. 10:37you're writing, ask yourself, does it
297. 10:39get harder? Does it become funnier?
298. 10:40[music]
299. 10:41Is it still uncertain more than it was
300. 10:43at the start? If not, you need to
301. 10:45continue writing out your story more.
302. 10:47So, next time you're crafting a story,
303. 10:49make sure you include all of these
304. 10:51steps. This gives your audience a reason
305. 10:54to stay locked in until the very last
306. 10:57second. This is the difference between a
307. 10:58video that people scroll past and a
308. 11:01video that they can't scroll away from.
309. 11:03All right, that is everything on today's
310. 11:06topic, but now it is your turn. Every
311. 11:08episode, I answer a handful of questions
312. 11:11submitted by you all, rapid-fire Q&A
313. 11:13style, all picked and sorted by my team,
314. 11:15[music] so I'm seeing them for the first
315. 11:18time. Which one is better, Sony, Canon,
316. 11:21Fuji, or Nikon? The best one is the one
317. 11:23that you already have. I'm going to be
318. 11:25so completely honest,
319. 11:26>> [music]
320. 11:26>> any of these cameras don't help tell my
321. 11:28story better. It doesn't. If the story
322. 11:31sucks, [music] these cameras aren't
323. 11:33going to make it better. If the story's
324. 11:34good, all of these cameras are going to
325. 11:36do the same exact job. I have so many
326. 11:39niches I want to make content about. Any
327. 11:41advice on how to navigate that without
328. 11:43burnout? Try all of them. See which one
329. 11:46you like the most. Honestly, you're not
330. 11:48going to figure this out just by
331. 11:50>> [music]
332. 11:50>> feeling, you know, analysis paralysis
333. 11:53and being stuck with should I go this
334. 11:54way, this way, this way, or this way. If
335. 11:56you're not trying, you're not learning.
336. 11:58And if you're not learning, then you
337. 11:59have no data to base this off of. I've
338. 12:01tried so many different styles of
339. 12:03content before [music] I found the one
340. 12:05that I saw myself enjoying most and can
341. 12:08be doing the longest. Do you export in
342. 12:101080p or 4K? [music]
343. 12:12If I'm doing YouTube, it's going to be
344. 12:144K like this, but if I'm putting it just
345. 12:17vertical social media, 1080p is more
346. 12:20than enough. Is there a certain number
347. 12:22of reels or carousels we should be
348. 12:24posting each week? Yes. The answer is
349. 12:27whatever number it is that won't burn
350. 12:29you out. Some people have capacity to
351. 12:32make something almost every day. Some
352. 12:34people have the capacity to only do
353. 12:36something once a week or once every 2
354. 12:38weeks. So, whatever is the most
355. 12:40sustainable for you is the path you
356. 12:42should take. Good art, good content made
357. 12:45with good emotion and a story arc will
358. 12:48reach people. But, you won't get good at
359. 12:50this if you're not trying enough. So,
360. 12:52the strategy is to do just enough to
361. 12:55learn from, but also not enough to burn
362. 12:57you out. Well, that wraps us up. If
363. 13:00[music] you've made it this far, comment
364. 13:02the word Shiba down below so I know
365. 13:04you've made it here and that y'all are
366. 13:06the real ones and this is our little
367. 13:08inside joke. And also, before you go,
368. 13:10make sure you subscribe to the free APCC
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373. 13:19[music] be sure to like, comment,
374. 13:22subscribe, hit the notification bell,
375. 13:24and I'll see you back here in 2 weeks,
376. 13:26[music] same place, same time. And if
377. 13:28you haven't already, go follow me on the
378. 13:30other [music] platforms because
379. 13:32everything I post on every platform is
380. 13:34different. All right, see y'all.