If you were to look up ‘creative entrepreneur’ in the dictionary, the definition should read ‘Dan Lamoon’. Over the last 20 years Dan has made his own way in video production, eschewing what he still refers to as “a proper job” to work on campaigns from Wonderbra to Wimpy Homes with his company Colab Creation.

Definitely one of life’s collaborators, Dan helped to set up ‘Webinart’, an online professional development programme for makers, artists and creatives, run in partnership with Creative Leicestershire.

He let me loose on my first ever live webinar, has truly rolled with the highs and lows of being a freelancer and certainly knows a thing or two about video storytelling. We caught up to talk about freelance life in lockdown and exactly how to create a brand story with video that captivates your audience.

So Dan, the idea of these conversations is to talk about what it takes to tell a really good digital story but first I wanted to ask you about the nature of being a freelancer and how you're dealing with all the uncertainty at the moment. You're obviously used to it?

Yeah, I think I'm pretty good friends with uncertainty. I like risk and I think that being a freelancer, you have to like risk. I've got some friends who are very risk averse and they're finding this period very difficult. The bit which is really interesting for me is that I actually like risk but I'm finding it very difficult too. It proves that so many entrepreneurs are finding this time scary because it feels completely out of our control.

I do think that to be a freelancer you have to be a bit of a control freak so I've learned to try and put as many things in my control as I can. If you want to be in control of your destiny you need to figure out the things you can be in control of. That's kind of the driver.

The scariest part is knowing how the work's going to come in but I'm kind of confident now in my career that it will. When I was in the early stages, in my 20s, I could take a lot more risks because there was only me but I was fed up of eating lentil curry so I needed to work and make some videos!

Yes, that's a good point. It's different when you become the breadwinner. Either you're getting all the jobs and you're winning or it's really quiet and you're worried.

The first two years are just a very scary time. It is all about that uncertainty and that's why anyone thinking to go freelance needs to have some savings to be prepared for a rainy day, although maybe not a storm like now. Cashflow is the main thing you lose sleep over but I think I've been quite fortunate that my parents gave me the confidence to do something like this.

Yes, I think you're right. Freelancing definitely takes a certain kind of personality and you have to want to go out and get the work and have a mindset where you're ok if things go up and down a bit.

Yes, you've got to have that want to connect with people, to reach out and learn about others. I think that's also the important part of storytelling. You know, you've got to look at a story from different angles and not just your own angle. That's the lesson that I've learned over the years. I don't make videos for me any more. I have to think for the customer and for their audience. They're the people who are going to pay me money in order to make something into a career for them rather than just a hobby.

That was a nice segue into storytelling. So one of the things I wanted to ask you is about how our appetite for video is massive now. Why do you think that is? Why do you think that's taken off so much?

Well, because we're lazy. And we're controlling everything through our phones and using keyboards less. If a picture says a thousand words, then a video says millions and I think that you can learn so much more through it. It's just that engaging, emotive storytelling. We'll sit in a cinema for two and a half hours because it's escapism. Some people get that through reading too but I'm dyslexic, so I've always liked video. It's a way for me to tell stories without making lots of typo's and then people not understanding. With a video I can start to tell more interesting narrative because you can have juxtaposition with shots. The voiceover can be saying one thing, the music can be saying another and then the visuals will be adding to it. It's like a whole picture.

In terms of brands telling stories with video, what do you think the opportunities are there?

I think it's got to come from the customer's perspective and not jump into sales. Corporate video is dead and I think that's why I love filming case studies. I like watching them too because it's a way of storytelling. I think if you put the customer first and you hear what the customer's needs are, and you are genuine about it, that makes a really good story. Any kind of narrative has to have integrity and you need to be able to see that across different social media online. You have to tell a story overall and I think that's the art, to collaborate so that everything fits together for the customer. Start with how the product will change someone’s life. Talk about why, use emotion. That's what I've always wanted to do through recording video, to try and find the emotion. We don't really make feature and benefit videos anymore. Where the story starts is how and why a product or service has changed someone's life.

What about if I run a really small business and I want to get started with video. Is an iphone ok?

The key with video is to get good sound. If a visual cuts out people are quite forgiving to that but we don't stop listening at all so there needs to be good sound. Just a little lapel mike is a great starting point and don't get me wrong, with professional kit you get really good high quality stuff but it costs money. So if your business is really small and you want to start telling stories with video on your iPhone or something like that, then you've got to see that as short term little wins in part of something much bigger. Start with a problem that leads to a solution. Think about the beginning, middle and end, the journey you're taking your customer on. Then maybe finish up with a Disney sing-a-long. Fireworks might work?

Ah, ok, I see where I'm going wrong with video. I've not been doing my my Frozen princess bit…

Yeah, you need more birds tweeting...! I think all stories have similarities actually. You've got to have that hero and it's the customer. That's the big thing, how you tell stories to help your customer see themselves as the hero.

Which brands do you think do video and storytelling with video really well?

I think Nike. Nike have always done a good job. And Apple stuff too because you know, it's infectious and it inspires you and it makes you think about how it's going to change your life. So yeah, those two out of the big brands. Then there's a local carpet company and I saw their video advert at the cinema and I thought it was pretty good. Although right now I can't remember their name, so maybe not that good!

Find Dan at Colab Creation here.

Dan Lamoon, Colab Creation