Here are our top video production tips to help you ensure that your filming shoots and projects go off without a glitch.
1. Determine what type of video you want
Is this video going to be the first thing new customers see? Does it need to educate existing customers or does it need to appear much later in the sales process? Determining at which point in the customer journey that this video is going to be attempting to engage with your customers/prospective customers will help you to confirm what type of video you need.
If your video is an advert or a commercial, it will have to do 1 thing very well, and that’s tell the customer why they need your service or product, and how it can solve their problem, or make their life better. If they are interested, but not 100% sure on buying just yet, that’s when a Testimonial style film can help close the sale. If they already have your product, but need educating, that’s when an educational video explaining how your product or service works steps to the fore. This will give them get a better user experience and will help you get more sales by having more customers recommending you.
2. It’s all in the pre-production
Organisation is the key to any event going well but when you are planning a filming shoot, there are lots of factors which need to be taken into consideration. From smaller things like organising hard drives to store footage, to wider issues like making sure that your video will appeal to your target audience, these issues all need to be resolved well in advance of the filming day. We find that an hour by hour filming schedule and a detailed call sheet (clarifying exactly what the day entails and what the deliverables are) really solidifies the video project for everyone. The more time you spend on concepting, scriptwriting and storyboarding then the better the shoot goes and the better the final video is at the end of the whole process.
3. Be original, cut through the noise
It takes time to come up with original concepts but it’s worth it if you want to make a truly memorable video. There are hours of content uploaded to the internet every day, if you are creating a training video or have a captive audience you can afford to create longer form content. But if you are creating an advert/commercial then it’s important that your video stands out and is seen by your target audience and cut’s through the digital noise straight away. If you can, try to start the video with something really funny or very eye-catching to stop people scrolling and capture their attention. If you’re not very creative by nature, then don’t panic. This is something that you can acquire like any new skill. It might just take some time! There are lots of books out there that can help you to unlock your creative genius!
4. Research your target audience
This should really be under the ‘It’s all in the pre-production’ section but it’s so vital we decided to list it separately. Knowing how to appeal to your target audience is key to a video being successful. For your video to really engage with your audience look at the competition and consider their video output. What makes their videos successful? Just remember to be authentic. Be original.
5. Does it sound good?
Check the sound quality. We recommend investing in some basic audio kit if you are producing and editing the video under your own steam. Sound does so much more than just adding to the visuals, good sound quality of voice recordings, great music and SFX (sound effects) can really take your video to the next level. If you have a great looking interview/video, but the sound is bad quality or it’s hard to hear what the person on camera is saying, then viewers will switch off, often literally!
7. Editing takes time
Whatever your video is about, it’s important that you capture the audience’s attention, so you’ll need a strong opening and a definitive concluding scene. Of course, all this should have been considered and planned out during pre-production when you were storyboarding but it’s still important that you bear this in mind when you sit down with the footage afterwards. Having a clear storyboard to rely on at this point drastically streamlines the editing process. Finally, remember to keep it short and sweet and to the point. Adding a music track can often be the final cherry on the cake of any video. Adding some choice animation can also help to cement any key USPs or brand messages to your video too.
8. Get the Professionals in
If all this sounds like too much hard work, then you’d be right! If you’d much rather be worrying about making sure that the key messages and branding are coming across on camera than dealing with the technicalities of how to film then your best option is to get professional help.
And, of course, Nomadic are always on hand to help you with any video project on which you might be working.
So, get in touch to arrange Nomadic UK capturing your next event on film.
Email us at hello@nomadic.uk or call us on 01242 373942 to speak to us now.
And don’t forget to check out our latest LinkedIn post to see where we are and what we are working on this week!
