What’s the Best Video Style for You: Deciding on the Best Fit
The World of 8 Billion contest is about more than facts. It’s about how you communicate and bring them to life. There’s no magic formula for creating a powerful video. You get to decide how your message looks, sounds, and feels. One of students’ favorite things about the contest is that they have the freedom to share ideas in their own creative style. They love that they get to research, develop, and produce videos that truly capture their voice, and their vision.
The way you share your message shapes the way people connect with it. Some storytelling styles spark empathy, others use facts to make people stop and think about a particular issue. Some students shine on camera while others like to be behind-the-scenes making videos that are told through drawing, digital animation or other art forms. Past participants have focused their video on a personal story, while others have opted to stick solely to facts and data. Whatever your style choice, there’s space for it in this contest.
Here are five popular approaches past winners have used. Learn about the main style elements then watch past student videos and see if any of them inspire you!
1. Personal & Storytelling Videos
Personal stories help you connect with the audience on a human level. Instead of simply hearing about the issue, they get to see it and feel it. Have you been going to a park for years and are noticing changes in the creek or plant growth that spark concern? Are there animals in your area that are being affected by cutting down trees to build shopping centers? If you have a connection to an issue and want to bring it light, this may be the right style for you.
💡 Before you start planning your video, ask yourself: “What event or experience made me realize the importance of this subject?”
📹 See It in Action: Student Videos Built on Personal Stories
2. On-Camera Explainers
Do you love being on-camera? If you do, then using an on-camera style is your moment to own the screen. Picture yourself as a creator or show host and use your voice to guide your audience through the issue. By breaking down big ideas in an easy-to-understand way, you lay out the key facts to help your audience see the problem and solution clearly. Mix in video clips, photos, graphs, and other visuals to back up your data points.
💡 Start your video with a hook like “Imagine if…” or “Did you know…?” to pull your audience in right away.
📹 Creative Inspo: Videos Featuring Creators On-Camera
3. Animated Explainers
Animations allow you to maximize your creativity in ways that filming sometimes can’t. Our past winning videos have included hand-drawn illustrations, students drawing live on a whiteboard, and even stop-motion stick-figure drawings moving across the screen. If you consider yourself more of a techie, you can definitely use animation software to create dynamic graphics, animated characters, and cool sound effects. Animations are great for explaining big concepts and showing a process over time. Although you’re not on camera, your video can still reflect your unique personality and vision.
💡Remember: Don’t overthink it. Even simple graphics can be powerful if they get your video’s message across.
📹See It Come to Life: Student-Animated Video Examples
4. Data Visualization & Infographics
When you think about it, the entire World of 8 Billion project is really centered around data and numbers. Population growth, resource use, and climate data, all show us that we need to pay greater attention to these issues. Data visualization is all about using charts, icons, and graphics to help your audience visualize data easily and better understand the scale of an issue. Instead of just saying “80% of plastic waste ends up in landfills,” you can show that visually in a pie chart.
💡 Choose the most powerful statistics and make them shine throughout your video.
📹 See the Concept in Action: Data Visualization in Student Videos
5. Hybrid Visual-Narrative Explainers
Sometimes, the most effective videos combine a little storytelling with narration, real-world footage, and graphics to create a polished and creative video. It’s a bit like a documentary, with a balance of emotion, facts, and visuals all in one piece. You might begin with a personal moment, layer in data visuals to show the bigger picture, and then wrap it up with an on-camera plea for action.. This style is engaging because the format shifts add variety and visual excitement.
💡Don’t be afraid to experiment with video styles. If you like a mix of approaches, combine them into something uniquely yours.
📹 Check out how other students combined styles: Hybrid Video Examples
Final Thoughts on Your Video’s Style
At the end of the day, your video is about using your voice and your ideas to make an impact. We can’t wait to see your creative sustainable solutions come to life on film in this year’s World of 8 Billion contest. 🌍✨
Image credit: Happy child recording video on smartphone set on tripod, gesturing (707131782 ©kanareva| DepositPhotos)
