Leading up to the Visual Storytelling Conference, we’re putting the spotlight on some of the instructors! Meet them and find out what you can learn from them at the conference, plus some pre-conference insights.
Don’t have your free ticket yet? Register today and join us for free, March 10-13, 2022!
Sriram Emani
A TEDx speaker, music video producer, successful entrepreneur and a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies, Sriram Emani has spent over ten years honing and refining stories of corporate executives, family business heirs, entrepreneurs, and artists from over 30 countries to help them connect with iconic brands like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Disney, Lincoln Center, Sony Music and more.
Sriram’s approach to storytelling through performing arts breaks traditional barriers to unlock the creative potential in any team setting and provides an inclusive and collaborative environment for solving problems. He focuses on uncovering the influences and experiences that make each individual unique and creating a powerful advantage for the entire team.
Born and educated in Mumbai, India, Sriram holds an MBA from MIT.
After graduating, he traveled North America, staying with a different family in a different city every week for a full year. Together, this has given him an unparalleled understanding of eastern and western cultures. He now lives in Boston, MA where he is the founder and CEO of IndianRaga, the largest Indian arts platform in the world with over 2,500 videos produced globally and seen by over 100 million people across 65 countries.
Can you tell us a little about what you’ll be teaching for the Visual Storytelling Conference?
“I’m going to be teaching how to streamline video production to get more done with less. This is particularly relevant for content creators who are working with small budgets and teams spread across different cities or countries. Video production has evolved dramatically thanks to smartphones and conferencing tools, and this is going to be an interactive discussion on how to optimize the process.
“Attendees can expect a structured yet interactive discussion on each step in the process. Even if they have a set process that works well already, this could be a great way to brainstorm and exchange ideas with other attendees to get some new perspectives. The main focus will be on video production that does not need teams and creators to be in one place, but I welcome attendees with a variety of use cases to join in.”
How did you get started in videography?
“I launched my startup in 2013 and we needed to get some videos produced on a shoestring budget. At the time I had no idea of how the process worked, and as I learned the various steps involved I had no choice but to find the most efficient way to manage it within budget. After we launched the videos we got several requests from artists and producers to participate in more collaborations with us globally, so I put together a process to optimize these productions as much as we can.”
What makes you push the envelope in terms of your creativity?
“Video is here to stay, and is increasingly becoming the medium of choice for education as well as entertainment. To be at the forefront of this space, it is imperative to leverage video production in a way that is engaging and exciting for consumers across ages and geographies. At the same time, it is also changing very fast, so videos produced just a few years ago might not be relevant anymore in terms of production quality, editing style and even creator choice.
“My team and I are constantly thinking about how to get more done in less so we can afford to redo our video library as often as needed without spending a fortune on it. Consumers constantly give us feedback on what is working for them with our videos, and what can be better, and this makes us explore and experiment with new models and approaches.”
What’s one piece of advice you can give related to your courses?
“I’d say come with an open mind to discover things along the way instead of expecting a to-do manual. The course is less about giving a specific set of instructions and more of sparking conversation on new methods of creating efficiency at each step.”
What’s one challenge you’ve had in your career, and how have you overcome it?
“Delegating a creative process to the team is one of the biggest challenges in any storytelling/media field. I overcame it by meticulously dividing the process into creative and administrative steps, and creating a cross-functional team that separated the creative and the operational aspects. I also figured out how to create the right metrics to ensure as much adherence to process as possible, so we could maintain the same standards for video collaborations across multiple global cities.”
