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“Story equals epic.”
Or so thought Ali Gallop, filmmaker and founder of There’s This Place, in the early days of his creator journey.
Ali grew up in the 80s when stories like Star Wars and Indiana Jones left people in awe.
But now? In the world of social media, Ali shares stories that are less about leaving viewers awestruck and more about sharing relatable ideas that spark conversations.
The travel and lifestyle videos that he makes for his clients like Meta, HP, Lexus, and Nikon reflect that.
His content captures relatable stories of real people experiencing little moments of joy that leave viewers desperate to share their version of the same thing. Which really is Ali’s goal — to connect with people.
Take his viral film on the London marathon, for example. It netted over three million views and showcases all that Ali stands for:
Want to learn how Ali makes such brilliant video content? Here’s his expert advice in his own words:
The Secret Recipe for Storytelling
1. Feed Your Mind to Generate New Ideas
2. Less Writing. More Talking.
3. Do the Hard Thing
4. Show, Don’t Tell
5. Depth Over Views
Ending Note: Tell Stories You’re Passionate About
1. Feed Your Mind to Generate New Ideas
When I look back through eight years of my work, I don’t see the camera, lighting, color grading, video effects, and other similar bits making my videos a success.
Sure, like you, I started off thinking that the technical stuff would give me an edge.
But it turns out, good ideas make good videos.
They resonate with people and that’s what makes them ‘feel’ something, helping you connect with them.
Question now is: how do you come up with good — or rather, better — ideas? By feeding your mind.
Listen to podcasts and audiobooks, read books, exercise, and change your surroundings. And don’t you limit yourself to stuff in your genre. Consume a diverse range of books and podcasts — history, politics, mental health, even fiction.
Every time I feel stagnant, I know I’m not doing one of these things enough. It’s crazy how a combination of movement, consuming content, and changing your surroundings helps your brain connect dots and come up with ideas.
2. Less Writing. More Talking.
The way I talk and the way I write is completely different.
Which means, even when I used to spend hours writing down a script for a video, I’d end up filming it in another way.
So, now I:
- Start by dedicating 20 minutes to dumping all my thoughts related to the idea on paper
- Then, I do a million run-throughs in front of my camera until I get the ideal message out
When you spend time braindump journaling, you write everything in your head on a specific topic. This act of dumping all your thoughts on paper gives you clarity on what piques your interest related to the idea and what your opinion on it is.
Use the clarity you get as your starting point. Then, start filming — record different angles to your idea.
Do it enough times and you’ll eventually capture your idea better and faster than you’d by spending time writing and rewriting a script on it.
Now of course, I realize that when you first take this approach, talking to the camera is going to feel awkward.
Even today, when I haven’t made a video in a few weeks and I come back to put the camera on, it doesn’t feel natural.
But the key is to keep practicing — because doing camera run-throughs really is a quicker route to capturing your ideas than spending hours scripting it.
3. Do the Hard Thing
Back in 2021, on a trip to Mexico, I wanted nothing more than to talk on camera in public, outside the comfort of my studio.
But every time I made a video, my personality just wouldn’t show on screen. Until eventually, it did — all those people staring at me stopped bothering me and I was myself on camera.
Know how? By practicing over and over again.
The reality is: talking to a camera is hard. Instead of giving up on it though, keep doing it.
Yes, that’s easier said than done. But repetition is the only way to get past the fear, to personalize your process, and build the muscle.
When you do something enough times, you start noticing stuff you enjoy and stuff that you don’t like. In turn, it helps you adjust your process so it becomes uniquely yours.
Another bit of my best advice here: think of talking to your best friend on FaceTime when you get in front of the camera. Because you’re comfortable talking to your friend, you overcome your nervousness.
4. Show, Don’t Tell
When you tell your ideas, people just can’t ‘see’ it the way you can ‘see’ it in your head.
I’ve struggled with it myself. I used to try to explain my ideas in every way to clients who just weren’t impressed enough. But I don’t bother telling anymore. Because now I make rough videos to ‘show’ my ideas.
In fact, I feel like I’ve wasted the last eight years of my career trying to convince brands to make so and so content. By shifting my approach and making videos for myself, I’m seeing more and more brands asking me to do the same for them.
The takeaway? Make rough videos to ‘show’ the vision behind the ideas you propose.
These don’t even need to be perfect. Because the initial effort you put in will bring people to your side right away, saving you time in the long run.
Watch the snippet from Ali's webinar on why showing your ideas is a lot more impactful than simply talking about them:
5. Depth Over Views
I live by making videos on things that I care about — not on stuff that I think people will care about.
Because the stories that resonate with people, ones that get them to share their experiences with me, are stories that are meaningful to me.
This is what I recommend you do too.
Find your purpose. Find what’s important to you. Then tell stories that you’re passionate about.
And rather than focusing on likes, views, or a million fire emojis, focus on depth and building true connections. When you do that, it’s all worth so much more.
Ending Note: Tell Stories You’re Passionate About
It’s common to let excuses like not having the right equipment or enough technical know-how stop you from making progress.
I’d pour hours into learning the technical stuff myself when I started — just to overcome imposter syndrome.
But because you can start today with just your phone, skip learning all the technical stuff. All these years later, that knowledge has helped me with nothing.
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Found this story helpful? Dive into other helpful resources like this one to build your video creation muscle:
- Talking Head Videos: The Ultimate Guide to Making Engaging Talking Head Videos
- Engaging On-Brand Videos: Visual Branding and Video Experts Share Their Secrets
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