How can I pitch that? — Video prototype of Zombies, Run!
In this episode of “Mastering Prototyping Techniques”, we faced the challenge of how to effectively pitch an idea to stakeholders. We learned that a short video was a great way to pitch a product or idea to others. After learning relevant techniques, I went ahead and created a video prototype to utilize my learning. For this task, I decided to create a video prototype of the app “Zombies, Run!”, which was a game-based app designed for runners.
Design
Exploring the app
I started the process of the video prototype by exploring the functionalities of the app. I found that the app used a mission-based model to allow the runners to run in a game-like environment. During the missions, the app will prompt sound-recording to let users know the status of the mission, e.g. “The zombies are right behind you! Run faster!”. After exploring the app, I decided to pitch on the encouragement factor of the app using video prototype.
Ideation
I then proceeded to the ideation stage, where I think about various ways to pitch the encouragement factor of the app. By thinking about relevance to the users, I decided to design the video prototype around the problem of the users. In this case, the problem would be users were unmotivated to keep running because running was tiring and boring.
After identifying the problem, I built the story via storyboard and The Story Spine: Pixar’s 4th Rule of Storytelling. Pixar’s 4th Rule of Storytelling helped me build my video prototype, because it focused on the problems of the main character, and how the main character addressed her problems via some means.
In the story, the user found that she was unmotivated in running; however, after using the app, she was motivated and reach her fitness goal in the end! I also added some humor into the script to grab attention of the viewers.
Production
The production process of the video prototype was definitely really fun! I was fortunate enough to recruit two of my friends to be the actors in this video. For filming, I used my Nikon D7100 and later edited it using Adobe Premiere CC. The video was kept around 1 minute to make it concise and not burdensome for viewing.
Analysis
Overall, I think the process went rather well. I found myself really enjoyed the process of storytelling through video. I think the overall structure of the story and background music effectively communicate the encouragement factor of the app. However, realizing that this is a rather low quality production, I am interested in learning more about video making. I also plan to learn more about other storytelling techniques.
