Storytelling through video

THINKING AHEAD: Founded in 2011, Animus Studios works with marketing agencies and with individual companies on video strategy or videos. Above, Animus Studios partners Justin Andrews, left, and Scott Beer discuss strategies for upcoming projects. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
THINKING AHEAD: Founded in 2011, Animus Studios works with marketing agencies and with individual companies on video strategy or videos. Above, Animus Studios partners Justin Andrews, left, and Scott Beer discuss strategies for upcoming projects. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

The writing adage “show, don’t tell” applies to moving images as well. If you want to explain what a company does, who it serves, and why, a video has to tell that story.

East Providence’s Animus Studios is making a name for itself by focusing on telling those stories.

Led by Justin Andrews, Scott Beer and Arty Goldstein, Animus Studios specializes in video strategy and production.

How important is video to a company website or for use in advertising? It’s the way many people get their information.

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“It’s not about writing anymore,” Andrews said. “You can’t rely on the written word when you’re trying to communicate an emotion, a feeling, about what your company does.”

In recent years, most company executives have realized that they need a video strategy, he said.

The company portfolio includes work for varied clients, such as the University of Rhode Island, NASA, Bank of America and Dave’s Marketplace.

Animus Studios works with marketing agencies and with individual companies on video strategy or videos. Often, a company wants a single video when the first contact is made, Andrews said. They may have something specific in mind, in terms of the audience or what they need to share.

Videos can be designed for internal or external audiences. So, one company may want a video for training purposes. Others want videos that will attract new audiences.

One of the most common requests from companies for video is the business overview, which tells visitors what the company produces, what they do. This is essentially a mood piece, said Beer. “It leaves you with a feeling of what they do,” he said.

How to do that well, and in less than two minutes typically, is where Animus comes in.

The initial steps in the process amount to an interview, in which they determine what the company wants to accomplish as a business, whether it wants to sell something specific, or build brand awareness, or inform the public.

Often, once the video is completed and the company officials can assess its impact, a single assignment can turn into an extended relationship, in which Animus provides additional services, Andrews said.

What makes a good video? What makes a bad one? “The story is the most important part,” said Beer. “It’s how you tell that story that’s going to make the customer see it the way you want them to see it.”

So, for the URI men’s basketball team, to build excitement in advance of their season Animus Studios created “Rhode Work,” a series of videos that captured the movement of players and the ball, and the cheering of audiences.

Another popular video was for Dave’s Marketplace, showing a narrative of where its fresh fish come from. The filming took the video crew to Boston, and featured an engaging, exuberant manager. The video had more than 30,000 views on YouTube as of early April.

“We don’t look at things as ‘that’s not possible,’ ” Beer said. “We say, ‘how do we make that happen?’ ” •

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