Where Do I Start with a Video?
We’ve all been there.
You want to get involved with something, but you don’t really know where to start, or how to approach it, or if the path you intend to go down is even the right one at all.
If this is how you feel about utilising a video production for your organisation, we have two bits of good news for you – firstly, you’re certainly not alone, and secondly, we can help.
So, where do you start with a video?
Well, in our opinion, it should start with the following two words…
THE PROBLEM
Ah yes, the problem.
As we’ve mentioned before, it’s great that our videos look nice, but what’s far, far more important is that they solve the problem within the organisation that the client has identified.
“Every journey begins with a single step” is the proverb, and we believe that the identifying of the problem you want your video to tackle is indeed the first foot on the road to a great video production.
“Well OK, but what exactly do you mean by ‘the problem’?”
Put simply, in this context “the problem” can refer to any area of your organisation which needs video content to keep it ahead of your competitors.
Good examples of “the problem” in this context = your potential customers don’t understand how your product works, or your employees don’t know what is happening in the business
Bad example of “the problem” in this context = Karen from HR has taken all the chocolate digestives again
Identified the problem you want your video to tackle? Great – you’re already on your way.
From here you can create a document listing every element of the video production and build your brief.
There’s still a fair bit to think about at this stage however, and in this post we wanted to pick out some elements in particular which we think deserve some serious thought…
AUDIENCE
Make sure that your target audience for the video is crystal clear in your mind.
This is REALLY important when you consider the language you’ll be using in your video – for example, industry-specific terms are fine for a specialist audience but aren’t exactly ideal for a general one.
Understanding the audience you have in mind for your video will force you to communicate its message effectively – good news for both you and the viewer.
BUDGET
You can solve a problem and talk to your relevant audience using videos created on different budgets.
For example, your video could be a quick fire interview with your MD about the company’s statistics for the quarter – a really cost-effective way of getting your point across.
Another version however could have those statistics brought to life via animation to enable you to “show rather than tell”.
These two videos have the same message but are formed differently due to the budget you have in mind.
METHOD
Can you make this video yourselves, or do you need to call the video production experts* in?
DISTRIBUTION
Please consider which platform(s) you’ll be uploading your video to and what you actually plan to do with it once it’s done!
The key here is not to let it go to waste by just putting it on your website somewhere and forgetting about it.
Video productions are unbelievably useful nowadays! They can be a part of your social media strategy, the basis for your online adverts, incorporated into video brochures you can hand to clients, added to digital newsletters…the list goes on!
If your video is going to go on your social media channels (and it should!), it will need to be a relatively short effort – Twitter, for example, has a maximum video file size and length of 512MB and 2 minutes 20 seconds respectively.
These restrictions – plus short attention spans(!) – should influence your direction in a big way. Don’t go trying to include the thoughts of 10-15 people if your video is only going to be 30 seconds long!
So, there you have it – when it comes to where you start with a video, make sure that it all begins with the problem, and then go from there to the next steps!
Feel free to watch our Mike give his thoughts on this subject above!
* We reckon we can think of some!
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