Dion Barrett, Charted Architect at Fabric has recently been interviewed by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in an article that explains why video content is a great way to promote your practice and your projects.

The article reads:

Creating video content introducing your practice or showcasing specific projects no longer needs to cost a large amount of money or take up much of a practice’s time.

It can communicate in a very direct way, arguably conveying much more about the practice than a portfolio or written biography. It can show potential clients who are not familiar with architectural ideas and language how a practice works, who they are and can prove they can deliver the project the client wants.

Dion Barrett, being both a working architect and a filmmaker, can shoot footage at different stages right across the project to generate plenty of multiple-use video content.

“You can maximise content from a small project by shooting during the design and onsite stages – not only after completion,” he suggests.

Barrett likes to show process and activity in videos. He points out that the public often mistakenly think of architects as office-bound designers. Video can show clients that architects spend a lot of time onsite, which can be a powerful way to reassure them and inspire their confidence in a practice".

"Barrett urges practices to think about their USP (unique selling point): this is what a practice profile video should be communicating. He is starting to put together video content for the practice he works for, the Solihull-based Fabric".

“The videos will be a way to make the practice more personable, allowing viewers to relate to us. Our USP is that we offer design and build, and the videos will get that across.”

If architects are uncomfortable about speaking on film, then they should remind themselves that they are the experts here, Barrett suggests.

“If you are talking about a project that you are designing, remember that anything you say is probably going to be interesting. There are years of training, design reviews and education backing up our enthusiasm. Give it a go: you can always shoot another take.”

Read more here