Master this one element for powerful stories and better rates

Early in my filmmaking career, whenever I got a new client gig, I’d often film whatever the client asked for OR I’d show up and shoot whatever seemed to make the most sense.

That approach led to inconsistent results, films that often lacked any sort of emotional resonance, and to be honest - the work just wasn’t worth all that much.

Then I started doing one thing differently and slowly, but surely, everything changed.

Consistent results. Clients kept calling me back. And our rates shot up into the six-figures per project range.

So what’s that one thing that made SUCH a huge difference?

It’s what we call ‘Storyfinding‘. It’s the idea that you need to start by listening, by having discovery conversations, and spending more time finding the story than you ever do actually bringing it to life.

Today I will walk you through a few key steps you can start immediately to embrace more Storyfinding into your work. *I’m also going to introduce you to a free AI Storyfinding assistant that’s totally free for the next 7 days…*

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

First, let me offer you some proof as to the value of Storyfinding. This is a screenshot of a Four Seasons film we made a few years back that was one of our highest billable projects ever and generated over 3.1M views on their YouTube channel.

Now, we generated these results and Four Seasons was able to put their trust in us to deliver BECAUSE of this thing we call Storyfinding.

If you’re not going through some flavor or Storyfinding now, here are 3 big ways you’re missing out as a filmmaker:

• Average or Mediocre Stories: Remember, a story is only as strong as its characters. If you’re not taking the time to find unique, strong characters, you’re settling for less. This lack of depth translates to films lacking in emotional resonance.

• Lower Perceived Value: Think about it - one filmmaker just shows up and shoots, while another takes the time for discovery interviews, crafting a unique narrative. The latter not only creates a stronger film but also adds immense value for the client, justifying higher rates and repeat business.

• Less Impact: Ultimately, it’s about impact. A stronger story, with well-crafted characters and conflict, leads to measurable results. This is the essence of why we all do what we do.

Alrighty, so hopefully you’re on the same page as to the value of Storyfinding - now let’s talk about how to embrace and our free AI tool to help you out.

Here are three things you can start doing for all of your projects to embrace Storyfinding:

• Research and Understand the Story Space: Dive deep into the context of your film. Learn about the subject matter, industry, or community to get a full perspective.

• Conduct Discovery Interviews: Have informal chats with insiders, experts, or those affected by your story. Listen to their experiences and insights.

• Identify and Evaluate Potential Characters: Look for individuals with compelling desires and traits that align with your narrative. Assess how they could connect with and impact your audience.

In short, take time to listen, talk to people, and by doing so you will understand your client, what they do, and find much stronger characters, conflicts, and other story elements needed to craft a powerful film.

Now, this is where shit gets really crazy.

We’ve made a ‘Storyfinding Maestro GPT’ - an AI assistant that can help you with Storyfinding. And it’s totally free to use as much as you’d like for the next 7 days. It guides you through the process, helps draft discovery emails, explains the value of Storyfinding to clients, and much more.

To make this Storyfinding Maestro your own, simply click this link and it will open up in your own ChatGPT account.

You do need a ChatGPT account to use this custom GPT - sorry, not our rules.

But if you do have ChatGPT, just click the link to load the GPT and start using it right away. I’ve been testing and refining this sucker all week and I gotta say, it’s results are pretty impressive.

*Let me give you an example* - say you’re doing a film for a local coffee shop. You just signed the gig and aren’t sure where to start. Hit up the Storyfinding Maestro GPT, plug in the URL for your client, and ask it to help you brainstorm potential characters - this is the exact output it came back with in a couple of minutes.

Some great ideas to help expand your thinking and consider different perspectives and unique ways to tell the story.

Now, the Storyfinding Maestro GPT is super powerful and can help a ton. But it is in beta and AI is new tech, so expect some hiccups. Give the AI feedback and help course correct if you need more info or want some revisions to an email it drafts.

Try it out and hit me back with what you think.

• Patrick

ps - we are so, so close to having the Muse Turbo Transcript GPT ready to go, which would make reviewing your transcripts, pulling quotes, and getting the top lines assembled in your editor a dream. A couple more kinks to work out and then that one is on it’s way as well!