No matter what kind of final product you are hoping to achieve through digital video production, it is intended to be seen by an audience and have a certain effect on them. This is what is called a “goal oriented” production, which means you have specific things you want the audience to come away with from viewing your film. This can be a few different types of reactions, but there are three primary ways in which it is supposed to connect with your audience.
Often times when referring to base psychological responses, commercial art is reduced to using Latin terminology, mainly to correlate it to a larger artistic analysis. In this way the divisions and classifications are not regulated just to one medium. The most essential way that art, and especially cross-platform medium like video, appeals to people is emotionally, called Pathos. This is where they interpret the characters and events personally, seeing parts of their own experience reflected in the project. An effective project will stir up a certain set of emotions that the filmmaker hopes to elicit.
Another way is through a rational appeal or treatise, referred to as Logos. This logical approach is meant to intellectually influence, making them think more critically about an issue or topic. This is the same approach as doing a critical essay or presentation, but you use the artistry of digital video to appeal to their sense of reason. For example, if you were making a documentary in favor of animal rights you would discuss scientific reasons why animals should be given equal rights to humans, but you would not show repeated images of cute dogs being used in animal research facilities.
One of the last, and most important, ways that people appeal to the audience is through credibility of the source, or Ethos. This is a form of ethical credibility where the video is used to gain and utilize the credibility of the filmmaker as well as the people in the film. This method can stand alone, but since it is not content driven it is usually used in combination with one or both of the other two.
None of these have to be exclusive and are usually used in concert to create an overall effect to the audience. When crafting a project, especially a non-fiction video like a documentary, it is important to know what effect you would like to have and then utilize a strategy for employing these tactics.