The Art of Planning for the Unpredictable – Tips for Vlog-Style Filming, with The Founder of Artistic Initiative Agency

Back in the early days of Artistic Initiative Agency, when the agency’s founder conceived the idea of translating the vlogging style of filming characteristic of YouTube videos into the world of corporate marketing, he faced a complex dilemma: how can you organize in a professional way something that cannot be planned out?

“What makes our content different is that we do not script our videos,” said the founder of Artistic Initiative in a recent interview. “As a matter of fact, it is impossible to script that kind of video.”

Over the past year, Artistic Initiative Agency gained notoriety for pioneering a new form of social media marketing, the agency coined “high-end social media.” This marketing rising star curates personalized, cinematic quality content for companies and CEOs to transform them into social media influencers.

In 2021, Artistic Initiative experienced a wave of explosive growth thanks to this innovative proposal, opening two offices in Atlanta, GA, and Houston, TX, and surpassing its own revenue projections by a remarkable 1,000%.

Artistic Initiative’s vlog-style videos have transformed into the agency’s signature work and its most significant challenge. In the corporate marketing industry, where every detail matters, and there is no room for error, how can one give cohesiveness to a video that is meant to be improvised?

From his years of experience, the founder of Artistic Initiative has learned that, although it is impossible to predict what will happen when recording a vlog, having a clear game plan before a filming day is critical.

“To capture the essence of an event, it is important to understand how to tell a story,” said the founder. “You must have an idea ahead of time of what you are getting yourself into and what you want to walk away with.”

In an interview back in December 2021, the founder of Artistic Initiative shared some tips for filming professional vlogs for corporate marketing. The founder agreed to sit for this interview with the condition that his identity remains anonymous.

The spontaneous nature of vlogs makes this style of video impossible to script. Unlike commercials, which require a higher level of meticulosity and planning, vlogs are raw and do not follow specific guidelines. However, as the founder points out, the spontaneity of vlogs is what makes these videos engaging and entertaining.

“When you get raw footage for a vlog, it is ok to be natural, it is ok to improvise, it is ok to get bloopers and get someone messing up and put it on camera,” said the founder. “At the end of the day, a vlog is not meant to be something serious.”

Adapting this filming style for use in the corporate world presented unique challenges for the founder and the Artistic Initiative team.

The founder has found that the preparation before a filming day is a determinant factor when creating the best vlogs. Not having a game plan and coming out with talking points in the spot only adds to the mental load of stabilizing the camera, focusing on the screen while being aware of your surroundings, finding the best angles, and all the other factors that come into play in filming.

Not having a clear course of action “is stressful. It only compounds the multitasking,” said the founder. “The best advice is ensuring that all your equipment is ready and that you have a clear game plan; knowing that you want an intro, you want v-roll, you want some conversation, and you want an outro.”

Even though it is difficult to predict what will arise during a filming day for a vlog, the founder explains that it is still possible to give some direction to the scene and help tell the story.

“We are directors behind the camera,” said the founder. “I won’t tell the person in front of the camera what to say, but I can incite a conversation and talk with the other person until I get something natural and spontaneous that will make for a good video.”

Artistic Initiative’s signature vlog-style of filming has revolutionized the world of social media marketing. This original concept breaks from the traditional commercial ads, helping create more engaging content for CEOs and corporations.

Today, Artistic Initiative is close to launching its consulting program, Artistic Initiative University, and a mastermind program. With these two new services, the founder desires to help business leaders understand the latest trends in social media marketing and give young creatives the tools to build their own social media agencies.

By Juan Sebastian Restrepo, In association with Artistic Initiative Agency