Speaker Spotlight: Killer Videos Save Animals’ Lives
Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess
Lights. Camera. Action. If you want to put your love of cameras, video and technology to use helping to save shelter pets, then you do not want to miss Lisa Richman’s session: Killer Videos that Save Lives: Visual Storytelling 101 for Shelters & Rescues.
Lisa, an award-winning director of film and video with over 25 years of experience, will walk attendees through a 101 session in 
which they will walk away with the knowledge and insight necessary to make a video that can help a pet find a forever home. “Even if you’ve never done video before, you won’t feel intimidated and you will walk out of here knowing how to use video for your blog and for your shelter.”
A picture may speak a thousand words, but video, Lisa says is more of a “powerful storytelling tool.” Simply put, she explains, “A still photo won’t give you a true feel for the personality of the animal while video will.”
She said she got into video and behind a camera as a way to bring things to life. “Once I saw how powerful video was I know I wanted to bring that to videos and help animals find homes. I’ve always loved pets and when I became more educated on how many animals are abandoned and left in shelters I knew I needed to find a way to plug in.” And for her, video was that medium.
Because I have a poodle that acts as though she’s in witness protection the second I pull out a camera, I asked if she will be offering tips on capturing the essence of a pet that simply may be camera shy. “I will definitely talk about ways to get the pet more comfortable in front of the camera and help his personality come through.”
Individuals who are looking for ways to become involved or to volunteer at a shelter and offer this expertise as a way to help more pets find homes will find this session ideal. Lisa explained. “I want to make video accessible for any one, any shelter of any size. Shelters simply cannot afford to invest millions of dollars in equipment and production and post production for video, but it can be done effectively on a shoestring.”
Much of the presentation, she shared, will be geared toward how to work in a shelter environment, but that isn’t to say that anything she talks about can’t be applied to the attendees’ own blog. “We will talk about how shelters can harness the power of video even if they don’t have a lot of money and I’ll talk about practical ways to put video into practice for the shelter operator.”
Because putting the topic into practice is crucial, Lisa says, for the attendees to see. She will be calling an audience member and a pet up to the front of the room and will show everyone just how quickly and easily they can put the message she’s shared into practice. “I let them run the camera and show them that this isn’t impossible. I offer them the feeling of ‘I can do this!’” before the session ends.
Lisa says that once attendees hear about the success rates and other positive impacts that video has had on the number of animals adopted, chances are they will be anxious to get back to their own shelters and start making their own videos!
About Lisa Richman: Her shows have been featured at such international events as the Olympics, and have competed and won industry acclaim alongside such telecasts as HBO, The History Channel, National Geographic and Discovery Channels, to name a 
few. She sits as a judge on the International Silver Telly Award council, critiquing worldwide television campaigns every spring. She is also owner of the pet blog, A Tonk’s Tale, which is consistently ranked as one of the top cat blogs in the U.S. She is considered an influencer in pet related social media. A Tonk’s Tale has a daily presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr, as well as on atonkstail.com. Lisa works with two of the largest no-kill organizations in the midwest to train shelter staff and volunteers how to make effective and compelling videos for adoptable pets. She is also a published author whose latest work can be seen this fall in a new anthology of pet rescue stories, entitled Rescue Me: The Stories of 12 Cats, Through Their Eyes. Connect with Lisa on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Do you use video on your blogs or have you always wanted to? If so, this is the session for you! Make sure you mark it as a must-attend on your program. Haven’t registered yet? You should do that today!
(Photo Shutterstock: Chihuahua with camera)
