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10 Tips For Producing A Quality Video
1. Production Company: Select a production company which can handle all aspects of the production. They should be able to adapt to your specific project - bringing together the talents & equipment that best suits yours goals. Have them clearly outline the production's timing & action and agree to the various steps that will need your approval before proceeding. Determine a firm creative budget before beginning.Be sure you and the production team get along on a personal level. You will be working with these individuals for often at least a month, you need to establish a special level of communica-tion that allows your strategic goals, marketing expertise & customer insight to be properly incorporated into the video. Plus, things go better when you have fun working together.
2. Production Level: Determining the production level you want for your video helps assure that you and your production company are 'on the same playing field.' First and foremost, consider your audience - what are their expectations for how your video will look, sound, and feel? Then consider some of the same "how far do we go" choices you make in your print materials, trade exhibitions, or sale support. Like print materials, video can be done at a variety of production levels.
3. Budgeting: Arriving at a proper budget, for any given video, isn't ever simple. A budget based upon the finished video's length is usually an invalid way to budget for a project because the level of production quality isn't length based. Like building a house, the cost of 'building a video' varies greatly depending upon the scope & timing of the project; including the materials called for, the various levels of craftsmanship & specific details required to execute your video successfully.
4. Script Process: Take an active role. One person should be assigned as the official liaison with the production company you choose. Whether the script is done as part of the pre-production stage, or written after shooting, it is a critical step for you to impact the message, raise 'red flags' or challenge some of the production company's concepts. The script is your opportunity to ensure that the final production will be strategically on target.
5. Testimonials: Although often an integral part of a video, testimonials should not be more than 30 seconds or they get boring.
6. Keep it short!: Keep it short and keep it visual. Most audiences will be asleep after about 12 minutes. You need to keep the message short or "re-start" your audience with a change of direction. And try to show important points rather than say them - remember, that's why you chose video to begin with.
7. Be at the shoot: Be sure you are represented during the shoot. You need to be there to make sure that the products and/or processes being shown are technically correct. If there is a problem with what you want to show on the tape, you are the one with the authority to solve it.
8. Graphics: If you are using graphics or special effects try to distribute them evenly through-out the video. A good video will have the dispersion of different visual "textures" to help maintain viewer attention.
9. Stay involved: Try to see some footage as soon as possible after the shooting is done. Get involved in the voice and music selection for the audio recording or narration. If you don't like the voice you hear, it's expensive to change it later on.
10. Final Approval: Carefully review the video before you approve the final change. Make sure titles, words on the screen, and the spelling of names is correct. Not catching mistakes of this nature, until after you've "signed off" on the project, probably makes the cost of changes -sometimes surprisingly expensive, your responsibility.
1. Production Company: Select a production company which can handle all aspects of the production. They should be able to adapt to your specific project - bringing together the talents & equipment that best suits yours goals. Have them clearly outline the production's timing & action and agree to the various steps that will need your approval before proceeding. Determine a firm creative budget before beginning.Be sure you and the production team get along on a personal level. You will be working with these individuals for often at least a month, you need to establish a special level of communica-tion that allows your strategic goals, marketing expertise & customer insight to be properly incorporated into the video. Plus, things go better when you have fun working together.
2. Production Level: Determining the production level you want for your video helps assure that you and your production company are 'on the same playing field.' First and foremost, consider your audience - what are their expectations for how your video will look, sound, and feel? Then consider some of the same "how far do we go" choices you make in your print materials, trade exhibitions, or sale support. Like print materials, video can be done at a variety of production levels.
3. Budgeting: Arriving at a proper budget, for any given video, isn't ever simple. A budget based upon the finished video's length is usually an invalid way to budget for a project because the level of production quality isn't length based. Like building a house, the cost of 'building a video' varies greatly depending upon the scope & timing of the project; including the materials called for, the various levels of craftsmanship & specific details required to execute your video successfully.
4. Script Process: Take an active role. One person should be assigned as the official liaison with the production company you choose. Whether the script is done as part of the pre-production stage, or written after shooting, it is a critical step for you to impact the message, raise 'red flags' or challenge some of the production company's concepts. The script is your opportunity to ensure that the final production will be strategically on target.
5. Testimonials: Although often an integral part of a video, testimonials should not be more than 30 seconds or they get boring.
6. Keep it short!: Keep it short and keep it visual. Most audiences will be asleep after about 12 minutes. You need to keep the message short or "re-start" your audience with a change of direction. And try to show important points rather than say them - remember, that's why you chose video to begin with.
7. Be at the shoot: Be sure you are represented during the shoot. You need to be there to make sure that the products and/or processes being shown are technically correct. If there is a problem with what you want to show on the tape, you are the one with the authority to solve it.
8. Graphics: If you are using graphics or special effects try to distribute them evenly through-out the video. A good video will have the dispersion of different visual "textures" to help maintain viewer attention.
9. Stay involved: Try to see some footage as soon as possible after the shooting is done. Get involved in the voice and music selection for the audio recording or narration. If you don't like the voice you hear, it's expensive to change it later on.
10. Final Approval: Carefully review the video before you approve the final change. Make sure titles, words on the screen, and the spelling of names is correct. Not catching mistakes of this nature, until after you've "signed off" on the project, probably makes the cost of changes -sometimes surprisingly expensive, your responsibility.