IN FOCUS
production for them or use the facilities to create content themselves.
That flexibility has allowed Reels in Motion to develop a look and production style tailored specifically to In Focus and Stuart’ s vision for the series.
Keeping the conversation natural
Stuart doesn’ t want In Focus to become another traditional corporate podcast dominated by business strategies and company milestones. The emphasis will be on interesting people and genuine stories, with guests encouraged to relax and allow the conversation to follow unexpected paths.
That ambition has influenced how Reels in Motion is approaching both the planning and editing of the programme.
Before filming, the team will consider the aims of each episode and how they should be reflected in its format, structure, guests, questions, music and overall flow.
Once filming is complete, the emphasis will be on preserving the personality of the conversation rather than attempting to edit out every imperfection.
Matt said:“ People don’ t want to feel like they’ re being sold to; they want to feel like they’ re part of the conversation. Where some business podcasts can miss the mark is when they become too polished or formal and lose that sense of personality and humanity.
“ If someone stumbles over a word, laughs or reacts naturally, that’ s okay. Those moments are part of what makes a conversation feel genuine.
“ For us, the goal isn’ t to make the people in front of the camera feel like presenters. It’ s to create an environment where they can be themselves and have a genuinely interesting conversation.”
Authenticity and expertise
For Reels in Motion, a successful filmed podcast depends on more than placing cameras in front of two people and allowing them to talk.
The team identifies two essential ingredients:“ authenticity and expertise”.
Guests need the personality to connect with an audience, but they must also have experiences, opinions or knowledge worth sharing.
Matt believes that combination has become increasingly valuable as audiences encounter growing volumes of content generated quickly and at scale using artificial intelligence.
“ We’ re surrounded by content that can be produced quickly and at scale, but your human voice is something AI can’ t replicate in the same way,” he said.“ That’ s what makes video, and particularly podcasts, so powerful. You’ re seeing and hearing a real person. You’ re hearing their opinions, their experiences, their personality and their expertise.”
The role of the production team is to create the conditions in which those qualities can emerge.
“ The cameras, lighting, sound, set and edit all matter, but they should ultimately serve the conversation rather than become the focus themselves,” Matt said.
A content goldmine
The full conversations will sit at the heart of In Focus, but each recording will also provide Staffordshire Chambers, its guests and the podcast’ s sponsors with material that can be used across numerous channels.
Alongside the complete audio and filmed episodes, individual recordings can generate short videos, trailers, photographs, social media posts, behind-the-scenes material and thought-leadership content.
“ One podcast recording can create months’ worth of content,” Matt said.“ You have the full episode, but you can also create short-form clips, teasers, behindthe-scenes content, thought-leadership pieces, social content and much more from that single recording session.
“ That makes the value of podcasting really difficult to ignore. You’ re not investing in one piece of content; you’ re creating a bank of content that can support your marketing activity for weeks or months afterwards.”
Demand for that kind of production is becoming an increasingly important part of Reels in Motion’ s own business.
After more than 20 years working in video production, the company sees podcasting as another way to combine its experience in storytelling and video marketing with the facilities available at Stoke Studios.
For In Focus, that expertise will help Staffordshire Chambers take one conversation and turn it into content capable of reaching audiences across several different platforms.
“ Whether it’ s corporate video, social content, brand storytelling or podcasting, what we’ ve always loved is telling the stories of exciting businesses and people in Staffordshire and beyond,” Matt said.“ In Focus is a great example of bringing all of that together.”
38 ISSUE 7