From iPhones to Hollywood studios, the quality of the videos you see online varies depending on resources and, more specifically, budget. When producing videos for your business, you need to aim for the highest possible quality for the most cost-effective production solutions.
Here are our 6 key tips for creating cost-efficient but effective video content.
Hire a Partner, Not a Supplier
One of the most important factors for video content success is the quality of your production partner. Creating video content on the cheap will result in a product that looks cut-price and undermines your brand. It will most likely gather dust without ever being used.
A lot of the value is added in post-production. Professional editing, graphics and stock footage can all be added to the video shot on location to create a strong, directed message to convey your ideas. By using these methods, a good production partner can make a $1,000 video look like a $10,000 production.
It’s also important that you choose someone who has a positive track record in this field. Filming executive talent needs an extremely professional and considerate approach, especially in a corporate environment that can’t be shut down to accommodate the shoot. While a film student or social media influencer may be cheaper to hire than a production house, they may not have professional awareness to keep from negatively impacting the rest of your office's productivity. Instead, find someone who has produced work that you like and who can work within your timeframe and budget.
It may be worth committing a year’s worth of content to a single provider, even if it’s just one filming session per month. As a result, you will get greater value for money and higher quality content than you will working with several different suppliers.
Film Multiple Pieces at the Same Time
Depending on how they price their services, the cost of hiring a production crew, renting equipment, and setting up a shoot may be the same whether the shoot takes 5 minutes or 4 hours. For example, if you hire a crew for half a day, you should be able to capture around 5-8 short form pieces depending on how complicated your script is. A full-day shoot would deliver twice as many pieces (10-15). By scheduling your shoots this way, it brings down significantly.
TIP: Prior to shoot day, create a schedule with multiple different presenters scheduled at different time slots to maximize your efficiency and respect their time.
Use the “Interview Technique”
Even incredibly articulate and well informed professionals can come across as dull, wooden and uninteresting when presenting to camera. To remedy this, seat an interviewer, such as a marketing or communications manager, to the side of the camera and film over their shoulder. This allows the talent to carry on a ‘normal’ conversation with the interviewer and should distract somewhat from the fact that they are being filmed.
This approach is guaranteed to deliver a more personable, warm and comfortable delivery instead of turning them into a newsreader.
Related Reading: 3 Ways to Boost the "TED Effect" of Your Next Video
Forget about Media Training
The best TV presenters excel because they make a personal connection with the viewer through the camera. They make us feel that they’re speaking to us individually. That’s why when you see a celebrity on the street they seem so familiar, much like seeing an old friend.
That personal ability to reach through the camera can take years to develop. The easiest way to replicate that ability with your executive talent is to have them speak from the heart. Encourage them to speak naturally, and even improvise a little, instead of strictly sticking to the script.. While it may not end up word for word what you wanted, the benefit of a natural delivery is far greater.
TIP: If possible, steer clear of using teleprompters for anything other than key bullet-point reminders. If you do need to use something like that, there are some great apps that can turn your iPad into an autocue.
Related Reading: Virtual Presentation Tips
Do-It-Yourself
With such accessible technology as smart phones and tablets, we all carry HD video recording devices in our pocket that have the potential to produce fantastic and affordable video content. If you doubt the quality of the output, check out the 2014 video advertisement shot for the Bentley Mulsanne. Filmed entirely on iPhones and edited on iPads in the back of the car, this is a remarkable example of what can be done with basic, everyday equipment--and the technology has only gotten better since then.
The key to creating an in-house studio is to have the right kind of professional support. While the cost of buying cameras, lights, microphones and editing software has dropped to levels affordable for even the smallest firms, professional guidance is highly recommended. With a professional helping with set-up, training and ongoing advice, you can be sure that the quality and output justifies the investment.
Related Reading: Video Storytelling Techniques
Capture Live Presentations
One of the easiest ways to build depth in your online video catalogue is to record existing events and presentations at which employees are hosting or speaking. Professional services organizations often host dozens of expensive leadership or client events during the year. By capturing the relevant ones and editing down to a digestible online format, you can greatly extend the shelf-life of that presentation and extend your audience indefinitely online.
If you’re sponsoring or speaking at a conference or event, talk to the organizers about getting a recording of your presentation. It shouldn’t cost much (if anything) and will help you leverage that sponsorship investment and add to your body of rich online content.
TIP: Add images of your PowerPoint slides in post-production to create a more comprehensive and accessible video.
Viostream: The Best Platform for Corporate Video Presentation
After you’ve finished creating your video, make sure you’ve got the right video hosting platform that will put it in front of the right audience. For that, there’s no better video hosting platform than Viostream for business. The core benefits of your membership include:
- Branded Video Libraries
- Team Dashboards to grant access privileges to multiple administrative users
- Live Chat Support
- 4K Ultra High-Definition Playback
- Automatic Speech Recognition and Caption Editing
Depending on the package you choose, you can also access additional features such as enhanced video analytics, upgraded security, virtual events and live streaming, and up to 3,000 GB of storage space.
Start your free trial now and explore your video possibilities.
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