The NEW #SmallWins by Art Storefronts!
Kenji Whitfield

Video content for a charity art auction, what actually works?

I got invited to participate in a charity art auction here in Portland and they asked all the artists to create some video content to help promote it. I have no idea what to make.

Most of my work is ink illustration, figure drawing, people caught in gesture. The obvious move is a timelapse of a piece being made, but I've seen a hundred of those and they blur together. I thought about filming the part where I'm redrawing the same hand for the fifth time because that's honestly what my process looks like, but I don't know if that reads as charming or just frustrating to watch.

Does anyone have experience making video for auction contexts specifically? I'm wondering if it should focus on the finished piece, the story behind the cause, or the process itself. What got the most engagement or actually helped drive bids?

Posted in The NEW #SmallWins by Art Storefronts!
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Shane Vozar4d ago

I'd make an artist's bio video just talking about yourself and your art. I make YouTube videos to drive traffic to my Ebay auctions.

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Yuki Ostrander5d ago

I've never done video for an auction specifically, but when I had to make a short clip for a local ceramics show, what helped me was breaking it into a few small pieces instead of one big production. Like, one quick well lit shot of the finished work, then a separate little clip where I just talked about how I made it and why I cared about the cause, then some casual behind the scenes moments from the event itself. Each one was maybe five to ten seconds. Stringing those together felt way more natural than trying to script one perfect video. And honestly, your idea about redrawing the same hand five times? That sounds more interesting than any timelapse I've sat through. The real process stuff tends to stick with people.

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