Video is one of the best ways to show the world what your business is really about. Whether you want to utilise video as a way to promote your products, communicate with staff, film a live event or tell your company’s story, you will need to enlist the skills of professionals. There are a few questions you should answer before setting out to create a corporate video.
Agency or Production Company?
Advertising agencies will often have an in-house arm that produces video content, and smaller agencies will often outsource the video production to one of their favoured video production companies. If you have a production agency that your brand has worked closely with before, it can be beneficial to maintain that relationship as they will already understand your brand. However, if you have not worked with an agency before, a video production company will have the expertise to create a custom built video that achieves exactly what you want it to.
Check Their Track Record
You wouldn’t make an investment before doing a little bit of research would you? Well, the same goes for choosing a video production company. Take a look at their website, look through their clients and see if they have worked with reputable businesses or companies with a similar approach. Showreels are all well and good but you should watch some full length videos as well, as this will give you a better idea of the quality you should expect when working with them.
Know Your Budget
If it’s your first time making a corporate video, you may understandably not know what budget to set for your project, and that’s fine, a good video production company will help you with that. But it’s worth having a solid idea of what your budget will be as this will determine the size of the production, and to show you some of examples of what can be achieved in the same budget range. By setting a budget range before you go into a meeting, you will get a much clearer idea of what’s possible and what your limitations may be.
Plan the Essentials
When you’re planning your video, most of the important stuff will be determined by your target audience. This will determine the look and feel of the video, the distribution method (e.g. YouTube, social media) and the tone and pacing. You should communicate with the production company the most during the planning phase, as this is where the foundation of your video is made. You also have to determine what is essential for the video to work and make sure that it is being considered at every stage of the production process. By knowing exactly who you’ll be addressing, your video will be pitched at the right people and be more effective as a result.
Get Some Feedback
Before choosing an agency or production company, you should find out what their clients say about them. This is probably the best guide to know what you’ll be working with when you enlist them for a video. Hearing from some clients and what they’ve experienced is a reliable way to determine if your business will be the right match. A good production company will have testimonials from clients on their website. Watch through and see what kind of experience they had throughout the production process. If companies that you respect are will to vouch for a production company, it’s a good sign that you’ll be happy to work with them too.
If you are looking to venture into creating a video, get in touch with Dream Engine today.
Ryan Spanger is one of Melbourne’s most respected and sought-after video production professionals. Ryan founded Dream Engine in 2002, and specialises in helping medium to large corporates, government departments, and the non-profit sector to connect with their audience more effectively by using video.
