Video production is perhaps one of the most important skills any business should learn in the digital age. Anything can be a business video: a typical advertisement or commercial, a public address made by the CEO, some kind of marketing stunt, etc. Whatever the video is, below are some lessons ReelSEO whipped up to help you in your video production Chicago journey.
Video Production ChicagoSimply put, nobody watches videos that suck. Not your customers, even though you want them to. Not your employees, even though you order them to. When faced with the prospect of watching bad video production Chicago, your target audience will run, not walk to the mouse or button that gets them out of there fast. Why watch your bad video when in 10 seconds they can find something funny on YouTube, catch up on this week’s Glee or search for some of the millions of videos better than yours?
Bottom line: Bad videos get turned off so fast that it would be smarter to spend your time and money on something else. While making truly great video requires practice, skill and, yes, art, it’s easy enough to make videos that don’t suck.
1.) Video Shines at Communicating Motion and Emotion.
Facts and figures? Not so much. It’s a human thing—as animals, we’re wired to pay attention to things that move (Food! Danger!) and the communications of the tribe (Is he going to hit me? Does she want sex?) If what you have to say is best said with charts and lists, it may just not be good video material.
2.) The Audience Comes First.
Think about your video production Chicago in terms of the experience it’s going to provide for them. If it isn’t going to take them on a fun, emotional ride maybe your project should be a memo instead. Give the audience a good time and they’ll love you. And vice versa.
3.) A Good Video can be Summed Up in a Single Sentence.
That sentence should consist of a noun, a verb, and a result. “The company employees” is not a video. “The company employees sing and dance our web address so you remember it” is.
4.) “Viral” is Not a Kind of Video.
It’s a response by an audience that’s so excited by your video that they urgently and quickly share it with everyone they know. A Viral Video is, in other words, a hit. Hits take skill, vision, artistry, marketing savvy and a huge amount of luck. You can hire all but the luck—but it’s expensive and still may not work. Best not to base your strategy on going “viral.” You can still be good, though.
5.) Keep Your Video Short.
That movie trailer you hated because it showed you the whole movie? Two minutes and thirty seconds long. Your favorite Superbowl TV spot: 30 seconds. Average time spent looking at a web page? 15 seconds. A sales video production Chicago longer than 3 minutes? Unless it’s for Victoria’s Secret and directed by Martin Scorcese, don’t even think about it. Take the length you intuitively think your video should be, and cut by 2 thirds. That makes your ten minute sales video about 3 minutes. Which will still be too long if it isn’t great.
6.) Think in Shots.
You won’t see a lot of long, rambling shots on TV. That’s because a video production Chicago needs detail and action to hold our attention. Don’t run your camera non-stop. Instead, find something interesting. Aim. Shoot– and when it stops being interesting, stop shooting and point somewhere else. Your short shots will add up to a shorter, more professional video.
7.) Bad Sound, Bad Lighting and Bad Photography Will Kill You.
It’s disrespectful to ask your audience to suffer through dark scenes; hollow, echoey audio; or brain-hurting camera bounces. Worse: they’re instant tune-outs. If it looks bad on camera’s little screen, it won’t get better when you look at it later. Cut it from the finished video.
8.) You Know When What You’re Shooting SUCKS.
Your brain will try to convince yourself it’s okay. This is normal. Nobody wants to throw away a shot that took time to shoot or money to pay for. Trust your gut. If it feels wrong, it’s wrong. Stop. Think. Fix it. Re-light, re-write, or re-shoot–whatever it takes.
9.) Humor and Music, Done Well, Always Work.
Humor is the crystal meth of emotions. People will kill to experience it. Nobody ever said about a video production Chicago: “It’s too funny. I hate it.” Yet businesses especially shy away from humor. Don’t.
The right music can be just as visceral, which is why you almost never see an un-scored movie. Always try music when you edit. It’s easy enough to take out if it doesn’t work. More often than not, it will be the magic ingredient that pulls your video together.
10.) If You Don’t Love Video, Don’t Shoot it!
You wouldn’t have people who suck at sales run your sales department. You don’t want the guy who’s bored with brain surgery cutting into your head. Add your own metaphor here…and then apply it to video.
But don’t worry! You may already have other experts in house: For every 50 people in your organization, I’m guessing there are 2 with a knack for video. Since you didn’t hire them for that, you’re going to have to figure out who they are. Easiest way: Just ask! If your company is too small to have a video hobbyist, or they’re too busy with their real jobs, hire pros. For big, important projects call the big, expensive pros. But for day-to-day stuff, you may be able to make do with a talented recent graduate or intern from the film department of a local college. If you have a very video-centric business, you can even train your entire staff to do videos for fun and (think Zappos) profit.
Source: How to Shoot Business Videos that Don’t Suck: 10 Things You MUST Know ©2008-2011 ReelSEO Video MarketingIf you’re still stumped, enlist the help of our video production Chicago company to create engaging video.
