HOST
Follow Jesse Oxford, Founder and Creative Director of OX Creative
@jesseoxford
@oxcreates
www.oxcreates.com

GUEST
Follow Bjorn Amundsen
@bjorn_amundsen_dp

INTRO

I have known Bjorn for probably around 15 years. I met him first as a graphic designer. Him and I collaborated on design. Then I knew him as a photographer as he picked up a camera and just started taking beautiful images. After that, I knew him as a cinematographer, and that's what he does today. Over the years, regardless of what art form he decides to pick up and put his skills and energy towards, he is amazing at it. I would describe Bjorn as a gentle challenger. He isn't like a person to always go along with what the latest convention is, but he wants to be on the cutting edge. But in his thinking and his pursuit of that, of creating things that stand out from the norm, is that he really critically thinks about things and wants to challenge the way things are done and the way things are thought about, but he does it in a very uplifting, encouraging way. So when I asked him the first question about what makes stories special, I wasn't surprised that he would respond with this.

QUOT-ABLES:

Jesse Oxford: When Bjorn thinks about storytelling, he thinks in three categories. Story, poetry and spectacle.

Bjorn Amundsen: I think that story is important, but I also think that poetry is important. And I think that some people respond more to poetry than they do to story. And I think poetry tends to be a little more abstract and open to interpretation. Story is usually a bit more linear or concrete. Like it's easier to follow.

BA: If you were to go to a firework show, you kind of set your expectations for, "I'm going to see fireworks." Nobody comes away from fireworks going, "You know, I just didn't think the story was there."

BA: What I personally, and a lot of other people that I know have responded well to, is to highlight the story of a human being who is in a place of struggle, but really making the hero of that story be that individual as opposed to the organization, because it's easier to connect to a person than an organization.

JO: As I reflected more on what Bjorn was talking about, it really has made me think more about the question, where are we choosing to take risks as storytellers? A lot of the times we take risks in the style, like the color choice, a visual effect, the music we use. But I think for most of us, a lot of the times we don't think about risks in terms of how we go about solving the problem. We know that when the world needs something, we're being asked to produce, for example, a three-minute video about it. But what if the best way to capture people's attention isn't a video at all? Or maybe we're telling the wrong side of the story.

BA: I think that all of us have a certain amount of bias. I think it's healthy to try and overcome the bias so that you can have a more well-rounded perspective.

BA: I would say to people who are doing nonprofit storytelling, I think a lot of times new and good things require risk. Finding the right collaborators who are passionate about story and who care about people and who have lots of production experience might challenge the way you've done things in the past. If you're working with artists and people who you trust and you're looking at their work and it's the kind of work that you want to do, I would encourage you to take some of those risky steps with those collaborators.