Business video production involves a wide range of methods and specs that make it impossible to hire someone on the internet to create videos for your business.
More so, for most businesses, creating videos is not part of their marketing routine. And so, when you start producing videos, you may find yourself not knowing or wondering where to start or what the process is. Good news, we’ve got you covered.
In this article, we’ll break down all the activities involved in video production into three key phases: pre-production, production, and post-production. But let’s start with some clarification.
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What does it mean to have a process for business video production?
Having a well-thought-out process helps you pull each video creation or project off seamlessly. It fosters communication between you and the video production team/company. You will work hand in hand to discuss ideas and concepts, eliminate all the guesswork, and dramatically improve your video’s success.
Why is having a video production process necessary?
As with anything else, having a well-defined plan or process is the first step to achieving success. Video production is no different. But here is specifically why you truly need a business video production process.
Identifying dependabilities
As pointed out earlier, there are a lot of elements that go into one video. And that goes beyond video effects, animations, or tools you need to bring the video to life. You need to take stock of all the resources you need to pull off the video production. Here is what we mean by that.
You need to know where you are going to film from. Whether it’s an office, a home, a studio, or any other specific location. You need to determine all of the moving pieces that need to come together to create your video. This includes business video production staff, actors, spokespeople, etc.
You also need to make sure all the pieces fit together. Are the times and locations convenient for everyone on the team? And lots of other stuff. Identifying all of these details is essential to the successful production of the video. So it’s vital to do it logically and systematically.
A foreseeable and precise timeline and budget
Creating business videos takes time. It requires a lot of brainpower, talent, and many other things that make it impossible to jump behind a camera and have a finished video in the next minute. Chances are, you are facing tight deadlines or even a tight budget.
So you’ll need to set timeframes for the various activities involved in the business video production, from ideation to finalization. And the truth is, unless you have a process in place, you will only be guessing. Establishing a video production process will enable you to make an informed and accurate prediction.
More so, setting up a video production process with dependencies and timelines will give you insight into the exact budget you need to produce your video. This is because most video production rates are based on time. There are a few exceptions that are charged per project, but in most cases, the more hours it takes to plan, shoot and edit the video, the higher the cost. Here again, it’s only guesswork unless you have a real process.
Little to no reviews at all
It’s no secret that when you work on a project with a plan, it’s less prone to problems. When you establish a tested and proven video production process and then execute it properly, there shouldn’t be many revisions to deal with at the end of your project. And even if they do occur, you’ll spend minimal time solving them.
Setting up a video production process helps ensure that your project is consistent in structure and predictable in its result. You’ll know where possible roadblocks are and how to get around them quickly and efficiently.
Business Video Production Process: The Before, The While, and The After.
The business video production process consists of 3 main steps: pre-production, production, and post-production. Let’s go through the process step by step and break each down to give you the precise anatomy of the video production process.
The pre-production (the before)
Pre-production is the most important and the most extensive part of the whole production process. It is the stage where all the mapping and coordination needed for the actual video production occurs. Without proper pre-production prep work, the business video will never succeed.
Essentially, it’s about determining what you’re going to produce, for what audience, the budget, the production timeline, and all the resources you’ll need to make the video. Note that most of the things involved in this stage will be discussed between you and the video production team. This may include back and forth video calls to nail down the ideas, concepts, shooting locations, people, or actors involved.
Here is what you need to do.
Have clear objectives
There are many reasons why you may want to produce a business video. The first step is to define the goals of your video. Perhaps you want to increase brand awareness, advertise one of your flagship products, or showcase your team?
Before you even start planning, you need to establish your communication goals. You also need to ask yourself who the target audience is and what they will get out of it. This will help you define the distribution channel of your video. It will also help to guide the project and allow you to measure its success or lack thereof.
Define your audience
Who’s your video for? Your understanding of your target audience is crucial to the success of any video project. You need to understand your audience, what they like, and how they think. Understanding your target audience allows you to feed your video production company with relevant information so they can create videos that appeal to and engage them.
Have a core message
Here, the idea is to help make your video compelling, brief and focused on a specific message. Keep in mind that customers are looking to understand what your company can do for them or help them solve their problems. If your video is too convoluted, viewers will leave and look for something simpler.
Additionally, you need to have a direct next step that you want viewers to take after watching your video, a call to action, if you will. Ideally, you’ll want to circle your video with this call so that it’s consistent with that message from the first second to the last.
Decide on the video content
Each type of video has its own rules and standards. You will not find the same content or images in a TV commercial and a 10-minute explainer video. Thus, it is essential to define with your video production company the different elements that will be present in your video.
Here are some ideas to help you understand.
- Visual content: Will you use live-action, animation, motion design, or all of them together?
- Soundtrack: Is it going to be an interview, music, or voiceover?
- Mood: Do you want to use a conversational, humorous or serious tone?
- Content: What is the central theme of your corporate video?
Build a video creation strategy
As pointed out earlier, there is a good deal of elements that go into your video production process. Now, deciding on them may be a tough nut to crack as you may want to reach such goals as quality production with the minimal budget possible, maximizing ROI, ensuring long-term views to the video, and more.
So you’ll need to think about the resources necessary to produce your video. How will you meet your budget and deadlines? How will you ensure your return on investment with this video? Your video creation strategy needs to answer all these questions.
It can be challenging to get it right if this is the first time. So your goal is to set a baseline that enables you to produce videos sustainably, stay within your budget, and ensure ROI.
Write your script
This is an important task, and it’s best to leave it to an expert. Odds are, your video production company will suggest a professional scriptwriter. The truth is, unless you’re a marketer, it’s always wise to use a professional scriptwriter or a copywriter. A professional scriptwriter will have a better and deeper understanding of marketing psychology. They will tailor the script to your goals, branding and can even make it dramatic.
But if you choose to write your script by yourself, it’s fine. Here is what you need to do.
- Be sure it is appealing to your target audience.
- Make it feel human and natural.
- Keep it engaging, interesting, and emotional.
- Keep it short, sweet, and to the point.
- Make sure you cover all the necessary information.
- Make sure your core message gets across.
Create a storyboard
Creating a storyboard helps both you and the video production team visualize how you want your video to be shot. It can be created using drawings, images, or even stock images. A storyboard can provide a clear visual representation of lighting, coloring, framing, and many other aspects of the video. Your storyboard will also act as a blue to inspire and inform the look and feel of the video.
Plan the production
You need to schedule and plan the shoot of your video. There are a lot of elements involved in this, and it may be hard, near impossible for you to pick up on everything. Keep in mind this is also when handled by a professional producer.
With that in mind, you need to consider all the activities involved in the production process and set timeframes and deadlines. This also includes activities in the production stage and the post-production stage.
Here is a list of activity planning to inspire you.
- Building the team: camera operators, lighting and sound technicians, video project manager, designer, graphic artist, director, editor, etc.
- Researching and securing a shooting location and required equipment.
- Identifying actors. It can be professional actors or members of your team.
- Obtaining all necessary licenses, releases, and permissions.
- Establishing backup plans in case of problems.
- Preparing the call sheet or timed shot plan.
- Ensuring that make-up and costumes are present if necessary.
- Etc.
Write up a brief for the production team
This is quite simple. All you need to do is write a production summary as a guide for your video production company. You need to include your script, your core message, tell them about your audience, goals with the video, and, most importantly, your budget and deadline.
The production (the while)
This is the stage where you execute the creation. You will capture all of the elements that will appear in your final video here. Activities will include setting up sound, video tools, lighting, capturing B-roll, preparing talent, etc.
Note that most of the work here will be done by the team. That’s why you’ve already established a plan and written the script, the storyboard, and the brief for them. This will help ensure that they align the video with your wants and needs. The project director will make sure of this. You can choose to be there, or they may ask for your input from time to time, but they will do most of the work.
The director will make sure that :
- Your script and storyboard are followed closely.
- Everyone appearing on camera gives their best.
- The shooting process is relaxed and well done.
- The video is well shot and ready for the post-production process.
The post-production (the after)
This is the stage where you weave all the elements together to assemble your final video. Together with the production team, you’ll do whatever needs to be done for the final cut. Here’s what you’ll be doing.
Edit the video
No video footage comes out of the camera being perfect or ready to be published. In fact, it’s only chunks of clips until you edit them into the video you want. Also, this should be taken by a competent editor. This is not negotiable. The editor will bring all the video footage together, choose the best takes, align the video with your script and storyboard to obtain the final video.
The editor will make sure that your:
- Clip has the right and appropriate framed and light,
- Video is well-aligned with your goals.
- Core message shines out and encourages your audience to take action.
- Video uses the B-roll clips to animate long shots.
- Videotape has a catchy, fun, and engaging tone.
- Etc.
The editor’s job is to ensure that your video is exactly as you want it to be. So, you can work together to provide revisions or approvals to ensure there is no misunderstanding afterward.
Add extra visual elements
After editing the raw video, you will need to add some extra visual elements to bring it home. This includes supporting graphics and visual effects. Graphics and visual effects bring life to your video. You need to choose them carefully and ensure that they reflect your brand and ethos. Graphics include all text scripts, logos, photos, and any animation. So, you need to make sure that they are consistent with your branding and messaging.
Choose the music and sound effects
The music you choose needs to achieve the desired overall effect with the video. It should strictly reflect the tone and content of the video. In addition, it should all contribute to getting your main message across. You can add sound effects to create a more realistic sound mix.
Keep in mind that music is a fairly sensitive element. You must have the right to use the music before including it in your video. For this, you can, for example, get the owner of the music to sign a copyright release to ensure that there will be no problems later on. However, you will certainly need to pay for this.
You also need to make sure that the music you choose is appropriate for your target audience. Choosing the wrong music can hurt the performance of your video. So make sure you choose the right one.
Record the voiceover
The same rules apply to the music and voiceover of your video. It is important that the chosen voice fits the footage and reflects the desired effect of the final cut. Not all videos require a voiceover. It depends on the type of video you want and your goals. But if you do decide to use a voiceover, you need to make sure it fits with your branding and message. This way, the video will remain consistent with your brand, and the target audience will easily identify and engage with it.
Wrap-up
Voilà. These are the different steps included in a video production process. Without the right process at hand, video production can appear hard to nail or even cost a lot more than it should. Keep in mind that there are also a few you’ll need to figure out before you can start using your finished video.
For example, based on the platform you want to host and the audience, what is the right video format you should use? You should also think outside the box to create a distribution plan and define the metrics to track in order to achieve optimal success with your video. Here is our ultimate guide to video marketing to help you figure these out.
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