I had an epiphany this week.

It happened because I was seeking to create a video . . . to introduce an idea to others.

My first attempt was, I thought, “Pretty good”.  I mean, I was willing to share it with some people I trusted.

Less Is More
I’d asked for feedback and I got it.  In spades.  “You’re trying to cover too much.  FOCUS!”

Sculpting a Message 
Michaelangelo, the Italian artist and sculptor, created magnificent works of art that included ‘David’ and the ‘Pieta’, among others.  In the beginning of every masterpiece he created, Michaelangelo was staring at a big bland ‘block of rock’.

In his day, it was the equivalent of a ‘blank page’ in a Word or Powerpoint document.

Slashing and Burning is Best Done with a Laser
My original ‘message’ covered far too much.  Everything it included, suffered because of it.

So I sought to create an ‘under 2 minute video’.  That meant I had to do some serious ‘editing’ of the video.  And, the message I was seeking to convey to my audience.

Find The Filter
That’s when something rather amazing happened.  Creating a ‘shorter’ message forced me to refine what I was seeking to say.  I must credit my colleague, Craig Chapman with his challenge to craft a video that runs “under 2 minutes”.  Without that, I doubt the final product would have been what it is.

The Pleasant Surprise
As the message was filtered to fit the time allowed, it changed.  For the better. My original message was really a number of messages.  Not unlike an orchestra when they’re tuning up.  It was more cacophony than concert.  As the production time reduced, the message was refined.  It was tighter.  It was better.  It became a concert . . . where everything in it was in tune and harmonically reflecting the same note.

Once again, I am indebted to Craig Chapman of Cray Marketing for his admonition to ‘Cut It Back’.  Pruning is good for plants.  It’s even better for your marketing messages.

If you’d like to see the final product . . . VISIT THIS PAGE.

KEY POINT:
Less is (definitely) more and . . . better in the end!