How to Create & Use Video to Achieve Any Goal
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Chris Cochrane, an award-winning video storyteller, demonstrates that creating professional-quality video is simple and accessible to everyone using basic tools like smartphones. He explains why video is the most effective communication medium—because it entertains, shows real-time action, and creates emotion—and provides practical steps from planning and recording to editing and uploading on YouTube.
Key takeaways
- Video is the top reason people use the internet (over 90%), making it essential for any organization wanting online visibility and membership growth.
- You don't need expensive equipment: smartphones with built-in cameras can produce video quality comparable to professional $50,000 cameras; free editing software like iMovie comes standard on most computers.
- Follow basic principles when creating video: keep footage in focus and steady, record audio close to the subject, keep videos short, use humor for memorability, and inject genuine passion into your content.
- Upload videos to YouTube and share across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and tag them with your organization's URL to drive traffic and improve search rankings.
- Use video templates from affordable sites like Wistia, Rocket.io, and Adobe Spark to transform amateur footage into professional-looking productions in minutes without graphic design skills.
About Chris CochraneChris Cochrane is an internationally renowned video storyteller whose work appears regularly on Great Big Story, a major YouTube channel. He founded a television and video production company that became one of North America's largest before selling it in 2003, and has received numerous awards including Emmy and Gemini honors.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
Meeting for the week of September 10-16, 2018
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: How to Create & Use Video to Achieve Any Goal
Speaker: Chris Cochrane
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page.Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time.Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you; read it while on public transit, waiting in line for coffee, or even at the park! Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley!
Here’s a message from President Andrew:
Greetings Members and Guests,This week we have Chris Cochrane, a wonderfully thoughtful and service-minded Rotarian who recently transitioned from our e-Club to a Terra Club near his home. Although we miss him dearly, I am grateful and humbled that he returns to our club to present something he’s passionate about: using media to do meaningful work. Inspired action is so often a more emotional than rational decision; not only is video a fantastic medium to share inspiration but tenacious and generous people also have the power to inspire. In the short time I’ve known Chris and from the few conversations I’ve had with him, he has instilled in me a grittier and entrepreneurial spirit.What videos have inspired you into action? What people have driven you to self-improvement? Let us know in the Disqus below or by e-mailing me at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com and maybe we’ll share them on a future meeting page.
Sincerely,
Andrew Taw,
PresidentRotary eClub of Silicon Valley
Weekly Funny with the Lady of Laughter (LOL)
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Yvonne Kwan, our “Lady of Laughter!”
September 12 is National Video Games Day! Here are some jokes that are sure to win a cheesy chuckle. (Also, has anyone else heard about this Fortnite craze?!)
Why are cats so good at video games?Because they have nine lives!
What do you call a Minecraft celebration?A block party!
What do you say when you lose a Nintendo game?I want a Wii-match!
Weekly inspiration
Every week we start our meetings with a short video highlighting innovation, inspiration, entrepreneurship, or social change.
Hidden in the town of Osawano, Japan is a sculpture garden with 800 lifelike statues of Buddhist deities alongside replicas of real people. Commissioned by Mutsuo Furukawa, this collection was recently re-discovered in 2016 by a photographer who stumbled upon the abandoned park. It is said that the people depicted were friends and family of Mutsuo; however, it is unclear whether or not they were aware of their stony clones.
World of
Take a trip outside your comfort zone and come back with a broader perspective
Learn more at https://www.rotary.org/en/travel-force-peace.
Coffee with a Rotarian
A natural part of Rotary is the networking and the fellowship you get out of meeting other Rotarians. Coffee With a Rotarian is a monthly program of our club where we match participating club members for one-on-one virtual (or in some cases in person) coffee meetings, so they can learn more about each other. This program is organized by member Tzviatko Chiderov.
This week we have Yvonne from Newark, CA, USA reporting on a chat with Cecelia from San Jose, CA, USA.
Despite living in the same geographical area, this was the first time I got to speak with Cecelia for an extended period of time! (Shoutout to CWR!) I learned more about Cecelia's family, Rotary history, and we talked about the wonders of traveling and the fact that she wants to move to another country for her retirement; Mexico, Spain, and/or Italy are at the top of her list. We also discussed some of the amazing projects that she had the opportunity to audit as part of her role as the district TRF grants chair. I'd encourage anyone who is confused about anything TRF-related to reach out to Cecelia -- she is a wealth of knowledge!
We encourage all club members to participate in Coffee With a Rotarian. You can sign up here!
Service report
Tell us about service you've done recently in your community.Click here to fill out The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
On the first meeting of every month, we feature service reports from club members for the previous month. Thanks for your service everyone!
For members only
Past Announcements
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Member name badges will be shipped out soon.
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Claim your @siliconvalleyrotary.com email address! Email Webmaster Mitty at mittyc@siliconvalleyrotary.com to get set-up with your own @siliconvalleyrotary.com email address.
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Join our members-only Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/rotarysiliconvalley/
Our events & projects
We hold our meetings online, but we do regular service projects and social events in the Silicon Valley! This section is updated every week with our upcoming events. We welcome guests to all of the events and service projects listed here.
Also be sure to join our Meetup Group for automatic calendar updates and to RSVP for our events! These are open to all guests as well!
Past events
Here is a screenshot from our last online member social!
Upcoming events
All times are Pacific Time! (San Francisco time)
Our friends at PROJECT HIRED have an event coming up that they've invited our members in the Bay area to attend:
Ability @ WorkSeptember 20, 2018 @ 8:30AM — 10:00AMCelebrating 40-years of assisting job seekers with disabilities to gain and to sustain employment!
More info and tickets at https://projecthired.networkforgood.com/events/7120-ability-work/
More events coming soon! All events are open to guests, unless otherwise mentioned. Feel free to join us! If you ever have questions, please email inquiries@siliconvalleyrotary.com
What would you like to do?
Hey Members! What would you like to do? We’re working on putting together some exciting socials and impactful service projects for our upcoming quarter’s event calendar. Let us know what you want to do by posting in our members only Facebook Group (if you don’t have access, please request it with Webmaster Mitty). Remember, you’re only taking advantage of the full impact of Rotary when you’re stepping up to get involved.
Happy Dollars: do good by sharing something good
Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.
Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use, and the message that you leave for happy dollars will be posted in our online meeting the following week for the entire week for folks to see! (Pending that it’s appropriate!)Here are the happy dollars contributions from last week!This section is usually updated on the early hours of Saturday, so contributions made over the weekend may not be listed here.
Member Rory Olsen made a $20 donation.Please apply my gift to Polio Plus. All is well.
Member Brian Liddicoat made a $15 donation.Just finished a 2-week construction law trial in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. I love being in trial: it's the highlight of my professional practice: a real rush.
Member RushtonHurley made a $50 donation.Please apply this to my TRF contribution. It's in honor of Ange and Brett's upcoming wedding - may you two find happiness and purpose in all you do!
Share your happy dollars thoughts with us and help with doing good around the world.
Selected comments
Every week at the bottom of our meetings, there is a comments section for members and guests to tell us what they enjoyed about the meeting or to ask questions to the speaker. We select a few comments every week from last week’s meeting to be featured during this week’s meeting.
Here are the comments selected from last week’s meeting.
Rushton Hurley said:Governor Tim, it was great to get some time with you. The challenges of running one's business, running a Rotary district, and attending to potty training make for no small set of commitments. Thanks for helping us spread the word of what our district can be.
Nan Herron said:Thank you! It's interesting to hear how organizations with so much history are willing and able to stay au courant and innovative with creative planning! I'm so impressed by the level of dedication as well as the diversity of the group! (And, who knew that knives could be therapeutic?!)
Steven Shags Shagrin said:Sorry to have missed the recording session, Gov! Great message.
Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this week’s meeting after you watch the program below, and perhaps you’ll see your comment featured next week!
Program: How to Create & Use Video to Achieve Any Goal
Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how those contribute to service to others.
Chris Cochrane is no stranger to our club as he was one of the founding members. Also, Chris has an international reputation in his field of video and film production.In producing this video, Chris has taught us so much and we thank him for the lessons received. Two of the lessons were on the use of humour and the use of curiosity in video. We hope that you enjoy this video as much as we did in producing it. It was a lot of fun.
Additional Resources:
For those people who would like to become more involved in Video, Chris has provided a list of equipment and software that he uses. This information will save you about 200 hours of research and thousands of dollars for purchasing unnecessary equipment. Please contact the Programs Committee at programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com for a copy of the list.
The following is the list of videos shot by Chris:
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Video which Entertains & Educates. Created for Canada's Heritage Minutes in the mid-1990s. Used now online and on TV to educate and entertain. (Chris was the Cinematographer) - https://vimeo.com/cochrane/superman
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Video with Emotion. True story experienced by the singer and Chris. (They've been lifelong friends). The singer wrote and performed the song based on their experience. This video is one of the most viewed online in the world every November 11, Veterans/ Remembrance Day. (Chris shot & edited this video in the early 2000s) - https://vimeo.com/cochrane/music2
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iPhone Video. Short product demo video for a small business. It's used now on the internet and as a TV commercial (Chris wrote, shot using an iPhone, edited and voiced this video) - https://vimeo.com/cochrane/greenclimber
Share your thoughts or ask our speaker a question in the comments at the bottom of this meeting page!
Upcoming program recording schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always https://zoom.us/j/5104080000. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).If you can't join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
