Start at the end before you make a video production
Before you start your video production, ask yourself what are the results you’re expecting after your target audience watches it? Do you want them to click for more information, send you their email address, attend next year’s conference, buy your product, call your business, come by your business, learn a process (as in a training video), fall in love with your brand, want to work for your company (as in a recruitment video), etc., etc.
By knowing what you want to achieve first, you’ll be better able to know how to get there. As the adage goes, ‘if you don’t know where you’re going, any road looks as good as another’. This blog is intended to put you on the right road. Now that you have your target figured out, it’s time to decide the best way to approach it.
What have other video producers done?
Whether it’s ‘imitation being the sincerest form of flattery’ or whatever, a great way to figure out how to reach your goal is to see what others have done to achieve the same goal. One of the easiest ways to do this is to go to YouTube and search for the same type of video you’re wanting to produce. Search for ‘recruitment videos’, ‘training videos’, ‘marketing videos’, or whatever type of video you need to produce to get your results.
Let’s take a training video for example
Sometimes seeing what doesn’t work is just as instructive as seeing what does. Say you have a notion about using one camera to film someone demonstrating a process, believing that this will be sufficient to get your ideas across in a training video. By seeing someone else’s one camera shoot, you may see that this video is b-o-r-i-n-g! Then by seeing another training video that uses two cameras to switch back and forth creates a more dynamic look, helping to retain viewer interest and concentration. Keep in mind, that the objective in a training video isn’t necessarily to wow them with your fancy footwork. The real purpose is to train a process that people will remember.
Staying with the example of a training video, don’t go overboard the other way either. If there’s too much going on in your video, you may lose your audience. Yes, they’ll be mesmerized by the flashy animation, moving text, animated music, fast cuts, multiple cameras, etc., but you may lose them. They may be more intent on watching the ‘eye candy’ than learning the content you’re wanting them to understand and use.
Your next step
Next week, I’ll continue with the theme of hitting the right note(s) with your video production. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this blog or would like help to make a video production, please feel free to contact us at 773 252-3352 or irwin@video1pro.com.
Video Production Chicago
