Your Iconic Image : Storytelling to Grow Your Brand
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Jude Charles
JudeCharles & Company
Jude Charles is a story-driven filmmaker, brand strategist & speaker.
For over 15 years, he has been producing documentaries for purpose-driven entrepreneurs.
He lives and breathes YOUR brand. He digs deep to find the compelling stories that no one else knows & then leverages those stories to scale your business.
www.marlanasemenza.com
Audio : Ariza Music Productions
Marlana: Jude Charles is a story driven filmmaker, brand strategist and speaker for over 15 years. He has been producing documentaries for purpose driven entrepreneurs. He lives and breathes your brand. He digs deep to find the compelling stories that no one else knows and then leverages those stories to scale your business. Welcome Jude.\\xa0
Jude: Marlana! Thank you for having me. It is a pleasure to be on the podcast with you today.\\xa0
Marlana: Well, thanks. So I know that I have a specific way that I go about telling stories for still images. But I know that you\'ve got your own specific way of doing things. So talk to us a little bit about that.\\xa0
Jude: Sure. So my specific way that I\'ve developed over the last 15 years, I call it dramatic demonstration of proof. And what that means is instead of you just telling me your story, or you telling me how awesome and amazing you are, what I look for is the truth, I look for a dramatic demonstration. So growing up, I used to watch crime drama tv shows. So if you think of like NYPD Blue or law and order, I used to watch that with my bed. And one thing I loved about watching those kinds of TV shows is that the detectives are always searching for the truth. And very much in the same way I am searching for the truth. I don\'t just allow the client to tell me, this is their story. This is who they are like I\'m pulling on the thread to make sure that what they\'re saying is the truth. But also when I go to film them when I go to film their stories. Is this truly the way you\'re telling this story? Is it truly how it\'s happening. I remember a client that I have in San Diego, his name is Stephan Georgia. And he tells me in our roadmapping session, I do a roadmapping session with a client before and he tells me that, you know, he loves to empower people like he\'s driven to empower others. But yet, I wanted to see that for myself. And it\'s funny if you if you ever watched that story with Stephen George I in the first 30 seconds of the video, he\'s playing a guitar. And then his daughter comes in. And she\'s screaming, crying at him playing the guitar. But what he does next to me, actually illustrates that he really is a person that loves to empower others that he\'s not just doing it in his business. But he\'s also doing it with his daughter, I won\'t give away exactly how he handles the situation. I encourage listeners to go and watch it. But that, to me is what that\'s how I tell stories, because the story is about a very, very specific moment in time. And what I\'m doing is to bring that story to life through a dramatic demonstration of proof so that others will believe in your story as well.\\xa0
Marlana: Do you ever have somebody come at you and tell you this is what my story is? And then through speaking with them, you realize that no, that\'s really not it?\\xa0
Jude: Yeah, oftentimes, what happens is that people will discount their story. So there\'s parts of the story, they won\'t tell, because they think it\'s not important. And again, that\'s why I like to dig for the truth. Because once I start digging, and I ask deeper questions, that\'s when we really get the real story, right? I oftentimes, like a client will tell me something about themselves. And I\'ll be like, is that really true, though? Is that really who you are like, that doesn\'t make sense. It doesn\'t seem like that\'s what you\'re motivated by. And when I ask them to go deeper, usually you get to the heart and the core of it. I think, normally what I say to a client is if we\'re going to work together, the most important thing is you have to be willing to be vulnerable. If you\'re not willing to be vulnerable, and transparent, this isn\'t gonna work, your story\'s not going to come across effectively. People won\'t believe you they won\'t like and people won\'t even tell you that what it is, but they\'ll be able, like they\'ll say, something just didn\'t feel right about this story. And for me, that is what like when someone comes to me and tell me a story like that is what when I\'m digging for the truth, and I\'m digging deeper, that is it. Like I\'m trying to make sure what the story they\'re telling me is truly their story. And they\'re really being vulnerable about it.
Marlana: How much of the scars and warts to show?
Jude: Personally, I like to show a lot of it. I think so the clients I work with are at seven and eight figures there. They\'ve built big businesses. Where if you first meet someone, and that\'s what they tell you is about all about their money that\'s not very attractive, no matter even if you\'re a person that wants to follow them as, you know, a leader that\'s not attractive. And so what I look to show is who they are, I look to make them human. And to me when you show your words, you show your imperfections we all know we\'re not perfect. When you show that you show that you\'ve gotten to the point of success.
Marlana: Despite your imperfections, I think that is what\'s more inspiring.
Jude: Is that is that specifically and I do the same thing in my business, right. So like, recently, I write an email. And recently I talk about depression, burnout and anxiety. I had to go through that in 2020 2021. And I\'m still going through today in 2022. And I talk about that, and I was specifically mentioned that, hey, I\'m not saying this. So I can get your pity, saying this so that you can understand, although I\'ve built a successful business, there are still challenges, right? And you can succeed as well, despite the challenges that you have in your life, real life is always going to happen. But if you can be inspired by another person and knowing that they got through it, even if you\'re not going through the exact same thing, you know, they got through it. That means you can get through it too.\\xa0
Marlana: Right. So I know, for me, what it looks like and feels like when I know that I\'ve hit on the right story. What does it look like and feel like for you?
Jude: That\'s a great question. I am always trying to figure that out, because I think I\'m working on a docu series now, with a client named Darren yo. The Docu series is called move to moving millions and the story, the way that I\'m crafting the story, I don\'t know how I always hit on the right hook. Or even as I\'m making choices in the edit, right when I\'m working with my editing team, like how do I know this is the right story to tell?
Jude: It\'s a tough question. It\'s a tough question. And honestly, for me, it\'s a gut feeling. It\'s a gut feeling that as this person is telling me the story, like I\'m feeling something I know the audience will feel it too. And I think that is that\'s truly the only way I know how to answer that is it\'s a gut feeling. And it\'s a challenge that this person is going through the they\'re telling me in their story. And now I\'m moved by it, someone else may be moved by too. And it\'s a, it\'s interesting, because I test the stories out before they ever go live. Like I have someone watching give me feedback. Someone that\'s not connected to the story at all, doesn\'t know the client doesn\'t. They know me, we\'re friends, but they\'re not connected. And it\'s always interesting to see their facial reactions as they\'re listening to the story. And so I don\'t know, I think it\'s a lot of feedback. I think it\'s a lot of I\'ve been studying storytelling since I was eight years old. I used to lock myself in a room and write 100 page books. And I think because of that fascination with storytelling, like over 20 years now. It\'s just a gut feeling that I\'ve been able to hone over the years to get to that point where it\'s like, that\'s the right story to tell.\\xa0
Marlana: What do you think has been the most compelling story that you have told up to now?\\xa0
Jude: Oh, great question. The most compelling story that comes to mind again, is Darren yo. Darnielle, Jerry Harmon is a business coach. And there\'s a part of her story where we tell and her first Docu series where she is on a journey to motherhood. She got married at 42 and at the time, had never had children. And, you know, tries to have children with her husband, but it hasn\'t gone well. But yet, despite too bad rounds of IVF and having a miscarriage, she builds a nursery and is in anticipation for the child to come or children to come. And to me that as a move of faith and courage. That despite the gift is not there yet. She has prepared the space for the gift. And I think that\'s one story that\'s very inspiring. Another one is Steve Harvey. I think Steve Harvey the comedian now entertainer. Thank you. So everywhere. He\'s a little bit everything now. Yeah, we worked together in 2013 when he was releasing his book act like a success think like a success. And I\'ve never really known his story before then. But I heard an old audio tape of him telling his story. He talks about how he was on the road before he ever reached success. He was on the road to doing comedy shows because he just was trying to find his big hit. And what I didn\'t know is at the time that he was on the road, he was homeless. So he didn\'t have a place to stay. He lived out of his car. But he was just following after his dream and there was one day that he was cleaning up and bathrooms he used to clean up in bathrooms at the whole at hotels wherever whatever city he\'s in. And there was one day this hotel specifically had a conference and he didn\'t want people to see him washing up in the hotel room so he was trying to wait for the people to go through the bathroom and you know wait it out so that they wouldn\'t see him a washing himself with the guys kept coming in. It\'s been two hours they just kept coming in. He couldn\'t get a break. And so he sat on the edge of the toilet and he cried and he thought Tim. So if you know what I\'m just I\'m going to call my bed, I\'m going to call my dad 11. No, I look, I just want to come home, this isn\'t working out. This is not what I thought it would be. And he said, he heard the voice of God and God voice of God told him, if you just do one more show, I\'ll take you to places that you\'ve never been in shows that you\'ve that you\'ve never experienced before. And after that moment, he got the call to do the Showtime at the Apollo. It was the very next day, he did the show that he was going to do in that city. And then he got the call for Showtime at the Apollo and it was literally Showtime at the Apollo that that allowed him to reach the success that he\'s reached today. And I think that\'s an inspiring story for me, because honestly, I\'ve been an entrepreneur for 15 years, but I don\'t think that I\'ve never been homeless. And I don\'t think that I would continue after being homeless. I think that that\'s where my limit is, and to see the success that he\'s had, and to know like, he was homeless for three years, but now he\'s made it that to me is an inspiring story that that I carry with me every day.\\xa0
Marlana: Hmm, love that. So let\'s say someone like Steve Harvey tells you that story or you write out a story or whatever it may be. How do you take that? And make it come to life in a video?\\xa0
Jude: Sure. So with Steve Harvey, we did it. The behind the scenes that we were filming is him releasing the book launch, right. And there\'s these people who are excited to see him excited to get an autograph version of his book. So that\'s how we did it with the Steve Harvey story with the Darnielle. It is her telling the story within you\'re seeing her in the nursery. You\'re seeing different shots of a nursery, and then you\'re seeing her she\'s, she talks about sitting in the room, she prays in the room every morning, because she\'s just waiting on this gift from God. And so I\'m looking for what I call dramatic elements. There\'s five different ones, there\'s behind the scenes, social proof, live illustration, a transformation and unique mechanism. And when I\'m looking for those five, those are common marketing terms. But again, I\'m looking to show the visual elements of it. So with behind the scenes, it\'s literally like I\'m a fly on the wall, this moment is happening. You\'re seeing it the same way I\'m seeing with social proof. We\'re used to that term with testimonials and customer stories. Well, I\'m looking at how do people physically react to talking with you, or talking about you like if someone holds their hand against their chest, that means like, oh, there\'s a heartfelt moment that\'s happening, if they have a big smile on their face, that means they\'re actually enjoying talking to you. So I\'m looking for those. With social proof. I\'m looking for those key moments. With live illustration. Oftentimes, the story is already happened. So now I\'m looking at how do I recreate this story with objects or with people, I did this with an interior designer once where the interior designer mentioned, construction is like a puzzle. Or putting together a home is like a puzzle. So I literally x the firm, hey, can we get a big puzzle and show the entire team putting the puzzle together? Right? That brings it to life in a way from just taking it from like, construction is like a puzzle, which theoretically, you understand, I brought it to life so that you could see it. Transformation is all about before and after. We\'re used to that with fitness, right? Like you see someone who may be 300 pounds, and then they lose 100 pounds. And so there\'s a big dramatic shift. But what I look for is life after that, just the shift that there\'s a before and after. But what is life after look like? Again, the best way to illustrate that, that I\'ve heard in the past, I didn\'t create this story. But it\'s a woman who\'s a fitness coach, and she receives a picture from her client. And the picture is the client getting on a plane, it\'s an empty plane, and she\'s getting on the plane. And in the text messages says this is the first time in my 40 years of living, I haven\'t had to ask for a seatbelt extension. That\'s life after not just losing the weight or putting on nice jeans, it\'s being able to go on a plane and not have to export seatbelt extension. And then unique mechanism is what is it that makes you unique. What makes you different. As a characteristic. Sometimes it is like a system or a process. But I think as leaders and CEOs of companies, there\'s something about you, you\'re the leader, you\'re the person that\'s driving this company forward. I want to show that and I want to bring that to life. Like I want people to really get to know who you are all your quirks, all your flaws, all the little things that you do maybe the preparations that you do right before you go on stage. That\'s unique mechanism. So again, I\'m visually showing all these things so that it comes to life in a way that people will truly feel and experience your story. They\'re not just listening to it.\\xa0
Marlana: Hmm. You know, I know that. People, for example, like Donald Miller, talk about, don\'t be the hero of your story. You want to be the guide to your story. So how do you navigate that where you\'re telling the story of this individual, but you\'re not making them the hero of the story?\\xa0
Jude: I think for me, I focus a lot on just the specific moment in time. I don\'t know that I necessarily focus on whether or not I make them the hero. I think I focus on what do other people have to say about him? And how do they physically react? Right? Oftentimes, the entrepreneur is the hero of the story that you\'re looking at, because it\'s their story, right? Like, it\'s their journey. But I also look at when I\'m showing their quirks and their flaws. I\'m also looking at the other side of it when people are talking about them. And people talk about their quirks and their flaws. I mentioned Stephen Georgia earlier. Stephen Georgia is a copywriter and entrepreneur. And he has one friend specifically who\'s like, you know what, Stephen is a quirky dude, he\'s 30 years old, but he looks like he\'s in a 90 year old buddy, right? Like, he\'s an older guy. He has a lot of wisdom. But in he says that he\'s weird and quirky. And he was like, you have to be though, as an entrepreneur, as a copywriter, you have to be. And I think it\'s that again, when I\'m searching for the truth. I\'m not just looking for everybody to talk about how great you are. I\'m looking for them to talk about the things that make you different the thing, the quirks that you have, that some people wouldn\'t appreciate. And then we talk about how great you are, I think, because I don\'t just include the entrepreneur and their own story. That is a way for me not to just make them the hero of the story, but showing how other people respond to who they are. There\'s another person in Stephens Docu series who talks about Stephen being a family man. And he says in the Docu series, how like, he\'s inspired by that. But Stephen loves his wife, he loves his daughter,
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