BBC Capital video brief

BBC Capital videos are stories about the global economy taken to a human scale, a personal scale. They are counterintuitive, informative and smart stories at the intersection of work and life. They can be surprising, moving, inspiring or even funny, they always provoke a reaction in our viewers and start a conversation.

We believe in highly emotional, human stories, which help our viewers connect on a personal level and then understand the bigger picture of a trend in society or a big shift in the global economy, using numbers and clever data visualisations. This video is a good example: China’s ‘Pearl Bro’ making millions from live streaming.

What makes a good Capital video

Capital videos have to be original stories and hit different marks:

– They have a strong angle and a strong headline, something you would click on.

– They present a powerful case study in an immersive way, they tell a story that for some reason is exceptional, it’s something you would tell your friends about.

– There is a basis of solid journalistic research. Through one personal story, they highlight an important, relevant, bigger issue (for instance we tell the story of Pearl Bro to explain the booming live-streaming industry in China).

– This bigger issue can be pinned down in few interesting stats that give the wider context of the problem and can be presented with a graphic or a data visualisation.

– All the videos have a kind of magic that makes them unique.

The immersive engaging storytelling of “This American Life” + the counterintuitive analytics of “Freakonomics” + the visually stunning treatment of “NYTimes Op-docs”

(We also welcome one-off story ideas, but here are some special series that we’re looking to commission currently)

This video series tells the stories of new economy stars you wouldn’t think are stars. They’re the next generation Instagrammers, live streamers and YouTubers who made a business out of it, and even became rich thanks to their internet presence. How much of their viral content turns into actual profit? Can we understand what is the secret of their success and what is the bigger picture behind their story?

“My Commute” is a digital video series that will show remarkable stories of people commuting around the world. Every video focus on one extraordinary aspect: whether it’s the longest commute, the most dangerous, the most entertaining, or even just particularly interesting.

Our videos will give a new perspective to the universal experience of commuting and turn it into an unexpected, inspiring, daunting or thrilling immersive experience. We’re also using these extraordinary and surprising stories to illustrate bigger, broader trends that affect people around the world. For example, our pilot (below) touched on the housing affordability crises in many cities which force people to live far from where they work. It will give the audience something they can take away with them – whether it’s a new perspective, a conversation starter or an action they can incorporate into their daily lives.

Each video will be a character-driven, self-authored piece which asks why these people commute in this way, how long it takes and what it costs, relative to their income.

A series that looks into why and how we spend. We are looking at original stories that delve into the world of psychology and behavioural economics to understand the suprising reasons we part with our money. A series that offers useful, psychological insights both to buyers and sellers. What are the surprising personal stories that explain our compulsions or need to buy?

Supreme and the business of scarcity (coming up)

The videos are tailored for mobile and digital audiences.  Each digital video will be character led and immersive, like a short doc.  There is no reporter and no narrating voice. We will use text and subtitles to encourage mobile phone viewership.

HD 1080 H264 is the preferred format. We will send you templates for text and subtitles. We would need three versions of the same video:

– One clean version with split audio tracks – 4 minutes.

– One version with text slides and subtitles. This version can be between 2 minutes and 4 minutes.

– One version cut square for Facebook. Maximum 2 minutes. Stills for promotion.

Fees are discussed with editors at the commission stage.

WORKFLOW

We typically discuss thoroughly the idea with our freelancers before filming. We are also happy to give guidance and advice throughout the production. When we receive the first cut via Vimeo we often ask for a second version to make it fit to our format and our digital audience and make the piece as amazing as possible.

We ask that you strive for 50-50 gender balance in your reporting — meaning, the gender parity of your sources should be as close to 50% female, 50% male as possible. This is part of is a company-wide initiative across the BBC that seeks to address a long-standing challenge in media: too few women as expert sources.