Before you hire a video production team,
answer these important questions
There are many questions to discuss with
your team first that will help with overall expectation and experience. From
high-level strategy issues like messaging and branding to more tactical details
like timely logistics and important visual components.
Whether you’re trying to raise funds,
attract the right customers, recruit new talent or educate consumers, here are
a few things, in order of importance, you should know before you hire a video
production company.
Who is your audience?
One of the first questions to discuss and
decide is, who is the main audience is for your video? Answering this question
first will help in the analysis of other considerations. If you’re producing a
video targeting expecting mothers, that information helps to set the tone for
messaging, visuals, and music selection. But a B2B audience would be totally
different. If you’re producing a video targeting mechanical engineers looking
for tools and gadgets, the creative direction of the video will purposely take
a 180-degree turn. Know who you want to be watching your video and make that
your starting point.
How do you want people to feel?
This is a biggie. When that specific
audience is watching your video on your website, through an email campaign, or
at an event, what do you want their action to be after the video fades to
black? Whether you want someone digging into their pockets for a tissue and
checkbook or feeling motivated to click the “buy now” button, that overriding
feeling you want to create needs to be reflected in the messaging, the visuals,
and the overall tone.
What are the key messages you want to
communicate?
Behind every good video is a strategy.
Showing up one day with a camera in one hand and microphone in the other
probably won’t set you up to produce an amazing video. After establishing that
overall goal of the video, identify the key messages you want to communicate
that will help viewers inch closer to that goal. Our human brains can only
process so many items of information at one time. With that in mind, hone in on
those messages and make sure they’re clear, concise, and conducive to
educating, inspiring, or influencing your audience.
When and what specific visuals should be
captured?
Though identifying shots and visuals to
capture comes a bit later in the pre-production process, it’s important to
consider any specific events, scenarios, or people that would need to be
scheduled during the video shoot. For instance, if your manufacturing facility
is busiest right before the holidays, it may be wise to schedule the video
shoot during that time to show the breadth of your work. Likewise, if you’re
producing a video that has a hard deadline, make sure to plan more time than
you think is needed. Remember, producing a video often comes with more
planning, logistics, time budgeting, and reviewing than anticipated.
What is your budget?
Yes, producing a video can be expensive.
However, not all video is created equal. The important thing to remember is
time, people, and production gear tend to drive production costs. If you want
to produce that underwater, high-flying, five different locations video, it can
be done, just be prepared to spend more. Likewise, maybe a few, shorter,
high-level videos on your landing pages are the perfect use of video for you.
Lowering use of those resources helps to keep costs down.
What is your distribution strategy?
By this point, you’re probably starting to
see a vision for how your video will come together. Don’t stop at the
production phase, but think ahead to how you plan to distribute the video. When
a video is produced specifically for an event, you have a captured and
interested audience. When a video is produced specifically for social media,
your goal is to capture and pique interest in your audience. Take full
advantage of the video and use it for both platforms, but make sure you’re
ready to think through the strategy of how they’ll be produced and edited
differently. Try producing and publishing a shorter, high-energy “teaser” of
the full video on social media to link to the full video on your website.
How will you know if the video is a
success?
As with so many of our marketing efforts,
we need ROI and analytics to help defend and enforce the tools we’re using to
drive business and awareness. Get your whole team to think through what it
would take to make the video a success. Maybe it’s leads generated, views on
YouTube or dollars donated. Or all of the above! Not only does clarification on
this help your video production team aim to meet that same goal, it also gets
buy-in from your internal team when it works. Plus, it makes you look good.
Reasons to Invest in Wedding Videography
1. Relive the story
Your wedding is a once in a lifetime event.
All the time you’ve devoted to planning the
look and feel of this day culminates into one glorious, but fleeting,
celebration. You slip into your spectacularly classy wedding attire for roughly
12 hours and then you launch off into the adventure of marriage, giddy and
excited.
Still photos, while an important element
for a wedding, are only able to convey one instance of a memory at a time. A
wedding video, on the other hand, brings the story of your wedding to life and
allows you to relive it in sound and motion.
Choosing to hire a videographer is a way to
capture all those details and timelessly preserve them in a way that a
photograph alone cannot.
2. cinematography + professional
editing
Traditionally weddings were most often
filmed on a camcorder with unsteady and continuous footage. Only the best of
friends or most gracious of family members would be willing to sit through
hours of uncut footage with you.
Times have changed.Technology has ushered
in a new era of wedding films.
We are all about handcrafting cinematic
wedding films. We are storytellers and we work tirelessly to capture the
emotions and beautiful details of your day so that when we edit together a
highlight video it is meaningful, timeless and enjoyable to watch.
The equipment we use allows us to smoothly
and artfully enhance the moments we document throughout your day, providing you
with beautiful footage and quality audio.
3. Sentimental Keepsake
Weddings bring together loved ones from
near and far and represent the joining together of two families.
In essence your wedding film is a digital
family heirloom. It preserves this special day for you to share with future
generations, allowing you to remember loved ones at their best who will not be
around forever.
Your film will be able to capture their
voices, their laughter, tender conversations and the joy they felt on that day
watching you take such a significant step in your life.
Your wedding film will be a time capsule
and an important keepsake to revisit on anniversaries when you want to hear
your vows again and the promises you made to each other.
4. See What You Missed
Your wedding day goes by in the blink of an
eye, we love to capture the sweet and entertaining moments you may miss while
you were busy getting married. A wedding film or video allows you to see all of
those little things that you may have really wanted to, but didn’t get an
opportunity to on the day. We’ve got it covered!
5. Share your big day
We live in an increasingly transient world
with friendships spanning across the globe. A wedding highlight film is an
perfect way to share your day with family and friends who may not have been
able to attend.
How To Choose The Right Video Production
Company
A video promoting your Maryland business is
often the first chance you have to make a good impression on your target
audience. It is important that when your company makes the decision to release
a video commercial, product tutorial, or corporate commercial that it reflect
your brand as you intend and is engaging for viewers.
Here are some of the top things you should
do while choosing a video production company
View Their Portfolio
A worthwhile production company will always
have previous work available for anyone interested in hiring them to view.
Many times, the video portfolio will be
accessible on the production company’s official website. By viewing previous work, you can ensure the
videos they produce meet your standards.
These samples will give insight into the quality of video this company
is willing to place their name on.
Is it attractive, engaging, and
professional? These are the types of
questions you should ask yourself when looking at a production company’s
previous work.
Testimonials from previous clients or a
client list detailing other customers that they have worked with are also
helpful. Happy clients are a sign that
you have found a quality video production company.
Compare Their Portfolio to Your Concept
The video production company you are
interested in has an extensive portfolio and nothing but excellent
testimonials. So what? There is more to a production company than
rave reviews and a nice portfolio.
You have a specific vision when it comes to
promoting your business. You need to
make sure that the production company you hire can produce something similar to
that concept you have in mind. It does
you no good if all the company can produce is 30-second commercials clips with
voiceovers when what you are really looking for is a 60-second on location
commercial with real actors.
If you have checked out their portfolio,
you will have a good idea of whether their style is in tune with what you are
looking for in your own video. This will
make the hiring decision a lot easier.
Know How Your Project Will be Managed
If you are outsourcing to a video
production company in Maryland, chances are it is because you have no idea how
to produce a video yourself or you are simply too busy to hire and manage an
in-house videographer. Regardless of the
reason, it is crucial you hire a production company that can handle every
aspect of the production process.
- Can they brainstorm ideas with
you that will match your vision for the video?
- Do they have professional
script writer on staff?
- Do they provide actors or have
a casting company they can refer you to?
- What type of equipment do they
provide?
- What about set locations,
staffing numbers, and cost?
How is the production quality?
Above all, your candidates should at least
meet a certain standard for production value. If you’re new to the field, what
does this mean? Here are some tips that will help you get the best video
services:
- Compare the look/feel of the
corporate videos in the company’s portfolio to what you’d see in TV/film. Does
it look like a low-budget ad you’d see in late-night TV? Does it look like a
statewide TV show? Does it look like something you’d see in the high-end
cinema? What do you want your video to look like?
- Does the b-roll (an industry
word for supporting video that is shown when someone is talking but you’re not
seeing the person actually talking) match what they’re talking about? For
example, if the person is talking about a forklift, are you seeing a forklift
or are you seeing a shot of people in a conference room? More experience video
producers and editors use the “say it, see it” rule, meaning that the video
should match what the person is talking about.
- If there are interviews, does
it sound like a professional recording, or does it sound like the microphone is
10 feet away from the person? Sometimes, an inexperienced videographer might
use the mic mounted on a camera instead of getting the mic close to the
interviewee’s mouth, which makes it sound similar to when someone is on
speakerphone. You need professional video production, so hire the best.
- How is the lighting? Does the
video content look overly dark or overly bright? Does the lighting look
flattering when it falls on someone’s face?
Questions to Ask When Hiring a Corporate
Videographer
Hiring a good, quality videographer is
crucial for your next marketing strategy or corporate project. It takes skill, experience, and talent to
make a good corporate videographer, not just fancy equipment. High quality photos or well edited video clips
will make your project stand out instead of just stand up. The first thing you need to do is ask
yourself what you need out of your project.
How many photos? How long does
the video need to be? When does it need
to be done by? Once you know all the
details about your project, start interviewing potential videographers. Here are some important questions you should
ask your potential candidates.
How long have you been working as a
videographer? You want to make sure that
your videographer has experience in their craft.
When will the final product to be
finished? Every project needs a
timetable so make sure your videographer will fit within your deadline. Make sure to get a solid deadline date before
committing to your final choice.
Have you worked for a corporate client
before? Many videographers have
experience with weddings instead of corporate video production.
Can I see your portfolio? You will be able to see examples of their
work and you can weed out the ones who don’t have a portfolio. It is common to have digital portfolios in
this particular industry, so you might want to have a computer or mobile device
on hand if you want to view their work right away.
What editing software/lighting/camera do
you use? Asking questions about their
equipment gives you an idea about the quality of the finished product. If you don’t know the first thing about
equipment, just take notes and look it up later. You should also judge the quality of their
response, a quick answer said with confidence means they probably know their
trade while a mumbled answer or “I don’t know” means they might lack
experience.