Skip to main content
All Posts By

fortyfoursixteen films

fortyfoursixteen films has over 15 years experience producing high quality video content for leading brands and organisations throughout the UK. Headed up by lead producer Neil Waddington we aim to create innovative, inspiring and engaging video for a wide variety of digital delivery platforms.

May 05
Love0

Help! YouTube or Vimeo?

By Digital Marketing

Youtube vs Vimeo

With an estimated 1.13 billion unique monthly visitors between them, YouTube and Vimeo have become online video giants. Despite common features, the two sites can be very different, especially in the eyes of search engines. So which one should you choose to give you the best chance possible of creating a viral marketing campaign?

YouTube

viral marketing campaigns

The most well known of all the video publishing sites out there, Youtube is usually the first port of call for anyone who wants to host a video. Compared to Vimeo it usually does much better in the SEO rankings due to being owned by Google, and has more monthly visitors than Vimeo. This search engine connection does wonders for visibility (which is vital for successful viral marketing campaigns)and for a small fee your video can be at the top of Youtube’s homepage for a brief period. For this reason it’s often where you’ll find marketing videos and viral content, so if you want your video to gain maximum attention, Youtube is usually the right place to upload a video to.

As a video platform Youtube is constantly evolving, but it’s always been geared towards the casual viewer (i.e. someone who follows vlogs) With the amount of suggested content surrounding the video and the propensity for Youtube comments sections to get out of control quickly, it’s likely that you’ll want the video embedded on your website where it can be viewed alongside all other branded material. This has the added bonus of driving traffic directly to your site, rather than to Youtube itself.

As Youtube is becoming a social media platform in its own right, you may get visitors specifically to your channel to see what other content is available. Therefore it’s important that your channel is branded appropriately, and is highly organised – especially if you have a back catalogue of different types of videos and plan to add more in the future. You can add a profile image, a banner, and playlists of content, as well as a featured video which will play automatically, which are all features intended for businesses. For more tips on how to enhance your Youtube channel, see our blog (link to blog)

Vimeo

viral marketing campaigns

Vimeo is a slightly different kettle of fish. It’s got more of a reputation for being home to short films and avant garde media. That said, the emphasis is less on the social media aspect (though likes, comments and news feeds are in place) and more on the quality of the content uploaded.

Like Youtube, you can embed Vimeo videos on other websites, but Vimeo’s embedded web player is much simpler and feels cleaner. It’s a good place to show off video once it’s done, but it offers better options for reviewing video, replacing it with a different version, and privacy as well. It allows you to replace the video with a different one (while keeping the same URL) and you can password protect videos if they need to be sent for review. These password protected videos won’t show up on a public search, unlike Youtube which will show them to anyone but won’t allow them to play them.

Vimeo does not allow much channel re-branding (aside from the profile image and some basic information) as it is primarily used by individuals.

The Verdict?

Youtube is more commonly used by businesses, it has a great channel organisational structure, and due to its relationship with Google, it will always do very well in the SEO rankings.

Vimeo has great features for hosting content that’s still in draft form, and the settings are easy to adjust. It has a reputation for hosting great quality content and videos can easily be embedded on other websites.

Both are worthy of their positions as top video hosting sites but they have their differences. Decide what you’re looking for in a hosting site before choosing.

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

May 05
Love0

Essentials to enhance your video editing services 

By Uncategorized

Video editing essentials

If you’re thinking of producing your video marketing or (hopefully) viral marketing material in house, then obviously you need the right equipment. For the actual shoot there is a glittering array of options in terms of cameras, lighting and sound etc, but what about once the shooting stage is complete? This part of the process is called ‘post production’ and if you’re planning on doing this in house rather than finding an agency to supply video editing services, then there are some vital tools that you’ll need.

Editing Software

So the most obvious thing you’ll need is some software to edit the footage that you’ve shot. This kind of software comes in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and costs, but essentially it will do the same basic job. It allows you to quickly and easily sequence video clips, audio and graphics to form your final film. Depending on the complexity of the edit and the scale of your project you may want to go with a professional editing software package, but there are lots of software packages out there aimed at the enthusiast which are more than capable of doing this job for you.

At the highest end of software comes AVID. This is the software that most of the Hollywood movies you see in the cinema are edited on, and it’s the only editing package the BBC will touch. It’s well suited to large-scale projects and is powerful and robust enough to handle anything you throw at it. But what if you’re working on something much more typical to companies who supply video editing services to businesses such as just cutting together a simple interview?

video editing services

Well, both Adobe and Apple offer great and instinctive editing software in the form of Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. You can sequence, edit and colour grade your footage easily in these applications, and they come with a great array of tools to enhance your edit. They are priced reasonably and would generally be our suggested approach. However if your budget is sensitive, there are stripped down editing packages available such as iMovie that are often free and perfectly adequate for simple editing tasks.

So other than the basic editing, what else will you need?

Sound

You may want to enhance your film by cleaning up the sound a little. Noise pollution can be a factor on any shoot and a good sound editing tool will allow you to reduce any unwanted sound and enhance the sound you do want. With most projects we produce, there are 2 main tasks we perform in sound editing applications: we can eliminate any unwanted background noise (such as air conditioning) and also apply filters to the sound so that people’s voices remain at a constant volume level (these filters are called “Limiters”), which you may need if someone’s voice varies in loudness, and if you want to keep the voice soaring above musical tracks you might lay in the background.

Software such as Apple’s Soundtrack Pro or Adobe Audition are our ‘go to’ applications but there are many more on the market that will do just as good a job.

Animated Graphics

So next up, you may want to add some animation to your film. Having a dynamic animated logo at the start or end of your film can really elevate the brand and give it a higher production value. For this we turn to motion graphics software.

video editing services

Within most editing packages are ‘drag and drop’ effects that you can apply to any clips that you have. However most video editing services providers steer well clear of these as they often result in slightly gimmicky effects that look as if they belong on a 1980s TV game show. The other drawback is that as they are an easy ‘drag and drop’ option, they are very often overused (and therefore could be in your competitor’s video marketing) so its always wise to try and create logo animation that is bespoke and original. To achieve this you’ll probably need 2 pieces of software which are mainstays of most video editing services.

Firstly a pixel-based artwork package like Adobe Photoshop to prep and create the basic artwork (although vector tools such as Adobe Illustrator would be just as good).

Secondly you’ll need some motion graphics software. In this case there is only one package that we use which is Adobe After Effects. After Effects is a robust and comprehensive motion graphics and animation package that will produce just about anything you require, and as with AVID, it’s very often used by Hollywood visual effects artists. It requires a fairly in-depth skill set so its not a ‘jump on and go’ option but you can find ample online training at sites such as the excellent Video Co-pilot. You can use it to add a touch of high end animation to your film that will lift it above your competitors.

Video editing services – Storage

Next up is storage. Digital film files are BIG! There’s no way around this, so you will need large and speedy storage systems in place for your files to sit on and be accessed from. A lot of corporate film makers like ourselves use G-Tech Thunderbolt hard drives which allow us to copy our raw files to them quickly and work without any read/write lag. However, there are other options out there, and storage space and price go hand in hand so identify a robust and quick storage facility if you’re processing video in house.

video editing services

Delivery

Finally, you need a good delivery platform to help you distribute the fruit of your video editing services. Throughout most video projects, draft edits and approval edits may need to be shared quickly with multiple stakeholders in the project. So having a quick and easy way for them to view the edits means that feedback times are reduced and project runs more smoothly.

For this we’d suggest a Vimeo Pro account. It allows you to quickly and easily upload multiple HD files that colleagues can view on their desktop, laptop, tablet and smart phone. The other obvious platform to upload videos to is YouTube, but Vimeo has features that are more suited to corporate video projects, such as the ability to password protect the video, and replace the video with an updated version without changing the web address.

Having this quick and easy sharing platform greatly reduces delay on feedback and allows you to complete projects in good time.

So that’s it really. Yes, processing the post production of your video in house rather than contracting out to a video editing services company requires some time and financial investment, but it can be worthwhile and it gives you ultimate control over your final video marketing output.

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

May 05
Love1

How to produce promotional video for Schools, Colleges and Universities

By Education Sector

Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities

Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities is becoming very popular and institutions  are all too aware of the power of video marketing when it comes to promoting admissions and appealing to prospective students and parents.

But all too often the video marketing output can look a little familiar. Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities tends to follow a familiar format and run the risk of becoming slightly bland. Because part of their target audience are the young people potentially going to the school, presenting original and engaging video marketing is vital.

So here are a few ideas on how schools, colleges and universities can produce promotional videos that will help them stand out from the competition.

(You can also click here to see some great examples of our work for schools and colleges)

Meet our students – current and past

Rather than using a scripted voiceover to tell viewers all about the school or college, why not let the Students do it in their own words?

Peer-to-peer recommendation is one of the strongest forms of video marketing (or any marketing for that matter) so presenting prospective students with first hand testimony from existing students is a powerful way to connect with your audience.

Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities

You could even use a mix of current and past students, and ask those who have gone on to successful careers how their time at the establishment benefited them.

As we’ve described before you should use a planned approach to your interview filming (you can’t just turn the camera on and hope that people will give you amazing quotes). Plan your interviews in reverse and start by thinking about what the ideal set of answers will be. Then base your questions around getting the students to give you these answers. Students being students, you’re guaranteed to get great additional quotes that you didn’t plan on using.

Meet our tutors – NOT in the classroom

Similar to the example above, an alternative to the ‘meet the students’ idea could be to meet the tutors. However, there’s a golden rule here. DO NOT fall into the predictable trap of shooting the tutor interviews in a classroom or staff office. They will look boring and unappealing. Students want a little more from tutors who are going to be key in shaping their futures, so show a little creativity with your locations. You could for example interview each tutor in a social location to reveal a little more about them and add some personality to your film. A maths tutor could be interviewed in the university bar, or a science tutor interviewed at the gym.

This not only generates interesting shots but it also gives the viewer a subtle tour of the best looking facilities at the same time.

Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities

A guided tour

While we’re on the subject of tours, another option would be to have a student or students give the viewer a guided video tour of the establishment. This can be positioned as a great promotional video for the college or university and has the all important ‘soft sell’ factor. You can really get creative with this option and meet various people along the tour who could contribute a line to the video.

Drone tour

Giving the viewer a birds eye view of the campus, facilities and local area is a great and dramatic way of showcasing its appeal. This kind of option wouldn’t have been imaginable just five years ago, but drone video cameras are now very affordable to hire and produce some truly stunning images. Obviously you will need a scripted voiceover with this approach, but don’t be afraid to drop the vocal now and again. If the footage is very dramatic then let the image and music do the talking for small sections of the film.

Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities

A day in the life

Finally, there’s an approach that produces a really engaging promotion video and is something that could position the school, college or university as original and innovative. Why not produce a ‘day in the life’ type film? Again this is an especially effective option for universities. The film can be narrated straight to camera by the subject and will take the viewer through their typical university day, including waking up in the comfy halls of residence, seeing friends on their way to class, enjoying a great lesson, chatting to a friendly tutor, taking part in a sporting activity and having fun and enjoying the university social and nightlife scene.

The film can be edited down to snapshots of the day and can be presented in a snappy and contemporary way. If done well, it will be engaging and fun and more importantly, very shareable on social media.

So there you have it: a few different ideas of how to make the best possible Promotional Video for Schools, Colleges and Universities. The key is to focus on your audience. Young people don’t want to sit through 10 minutes of scripted nonsense or boring pieces to camera from the principal. Keep it fun, original and reflective of your audience and you will produce video marketing that is infinitely more powerful.

May 05
Love0

School promotional video & video prospectus

By Education Sector

Effective marketing for eduction – school promotional video & video prospectus production

The dawn of digital marketing signalled a sea change in the way that companies and organisations communicated with their customers. Initially the early pioneers were larger forward thinking brands who had the financial muscle to harness the skills needed to capitalise on the changing way in which people were willing to engage with corporations.

Today though, digital marketing and video marketing in particular has become accessible and useful for even the smallest organisation and is being used in a wide range of sectors. Notably the education sector has especially embraced the opportunity and effectiveness of video marketing in order to provide user friendly and contemporary lines of communication.

School Promotional Video & Video Prospectus for schools, colleges and universities are now an important way that they welcome new pupils, encourage admissions and communicate with pupils, parents and the wider world.

School Promotional Video & Video Prospectus

Digital Marketing

Marketing for schools and colleges is relatively new. But there are many interesting parallels for other sectors who may be eyeing the potential of what digital marketing can do for them. Traditionally schools didn’t require much in terms of comms and marketing – many state schools were located in areas where admissions came from feeder schools and the local catchment area, while private schools and universities relied upon reputation and results to form the main part of their appeal.

Fast forward to today. Parents now have a world of information at their fingertips and it takes seconds to Google potential schools when filling in admissions forms for their children. Schools, colleges and universities need to ensure that not only are they top of the search results, but also that the links shown are useful, interesting and relevant.  Parents can easily make assumptions about the school’s quality of education by the quality of the material available online.

Schools can potentially lose funding and slip down league tables if they do not reach their admissions targets, so ensuring that they cultivate a positive and engaging online presence to prospective parents is key to strengthening their overall appeal and maximising their admission capacity.

School Promotional Video & Video Prospectus

Likewise, private schools, colleges and universities are all too aware that the parents, and more importantly students, who may be viewing them online will desire a location that provides excellent education and opportunity. For colleges and universities, the potential student may also require that the establishment offer an exciting lifestyle and social appeal as well as great potential for learning.

For prospective parents and students alike, promotional video offers an insight into the environment offered by schools and colleges. It’s a chance to confirm the lifestyle and social appeal you offer is right for them, whilst encouraging them to look into your other marketing material to find out more.

School Promotional Video & Video Prospectus

School Promotional Video & Video Prospectus have become key to ticking these kinds of boxes. The younger digital user is especially drawn to video marketing and will click on it in preference to text or photo gallery options. It’s very much their chosen way to engage with brands or organisations, and universities especially have seen increased admissions based upon successful video marketing campaigns.

School Promotional Video & Video Prospectus

Search engines favour web pages with video content, so organisations publishing promotional videos find more users reaching their website. That’s more people continuing through the application processes, and ultimately more admissions. As many schools and universities have found, staying on top of the latest marketing techniques is the key to standing out.

The success of a School Promotional Video & Video Prospectus rests on its ability to answer the questions the viewers are asking. Thinking about what parents and students want to know about your school, college or university before they enrol is a great place to start. Incorporating simple messages about your ethos and showing footage that represents your curriculum and teaching style will ensure a powerful video. The next steps are to consider the practicalities of filming and deciding how you will deliver the final video to prospective parents/students, then watch the admissions grow.

 

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

May 03
Love0

Advice from leading corporate film makers – What’s the best way to light my interview?

By Digital Marketing

Great interview lighting ideas from leading corporate film makers.

Corporate film makers the world over will tell you that the secret to a great looking interview shot is getting the lighting right. Boosting the power of your video with great lighting isn’t as tricky as it sounds and can significantly enhance the power of your corporate video. Here are our top digital video production tips for creating great looking interview lighting.

1: Soft Light

corporate film makers

Using ‘soft’ light on your subject’s face will smooth the shadows and create a complementary look. ‘Soft’ light comes from large light sources, like LED panels or windows on an overcast day. If you have a ‘hard’ light, like most bulbs or direct sunlight, you can shine it through a diffuser.

2: Backlight

corporate film makers

Positioning a light angled at the back of your subject’s head is a sure way to create a high end look. It adds separation between them and the background and creates a great aesthetic.

3: Background Accents

corporate film makers

Spare lights can be put to use to add interest to your background. A slash of light from a low positioned lamp angled up at a wall, puts the cherry on top of a well lit interview.

4: Flare

corporate film makers

Using lighting artistically will give your online video production that stand out factor. Positioning your backlight to highlight the subject’s hair and shine directly at the camera will give the edge of frame an attractive glow, just make sure your camera lens is clean!

5: Bokeh

corporate film makers

Bokeh- a funky word for those balls of colour you get from out of focus lights. Achieved in this example with some candles, an inexpensive way to get them is to use a DSLR with the lens zoomed in. It may mean putting the camera quite far away, but it sure adds a beautiful effect.

6: Reflectors

corporate film makers

Shooting outside on a sunny day will result in some harsh facial shadows and can be a problem for even experienced corporate film makers. This can be easily fixed without the need for powered lights by using a reflector. Held under the interviewee’s face, it’ll reflect the sunlight to fill the shadows for a much better look.

Bonus

corporate film makers

If you’ve lit a great interview from mainly one side, a second camera angle opposing your main light will capture a dramatic shadowy shot, great for emphasising an executive’s interview.

So there you have it. Our top tips for corporate film makers who want to produce video that has style and sophistication.

Jan 26
Love0

Create the most effective YouTube page for your online video advertising

By Digital Marketing

Our Guide To Getting The Most From YouTube

Everyone in business or marketing is (or should be) fully aware of how useful YouTube is when it comes to online video advertising. It’s an easy, accessible and powerful way to put your product or service directly in front of the people that count (the customers).

However, many brands and organisations miss out on most of its power by not managing their YouTube page effectively. Spending time, effort and resources producing an engaging and powerful video marketing asset is pointless if you just simply “Stick it up on YouTube!” YouTube isn’t just a place to dump your videos, it’s a social media platform in its own right and just as with <a href="https://www france viagra sans ordonnance.facebook.com/4416films”>Facebook and Twitter, managing the channel effectively is key to maximising customer engagement.

So here are our tips for getting the most out of YouTube and your video marketing assets.

Branding

Creating and uploading your logo and images to your YouTube page should be a no-brainer. You can upload banner artwork and thumbnails which will instantly make the page feel more professional and engaging (YouTube can feel a little sterile without these).

Introduce Yourself

Allow users to find out a little more about you by including about a short paragraph on who you are in the ‘About’ section. Make sure that this copy is not simply copied and pasted from your website and is unique to YouTube (and above all INCLUDE YOUR URL.)

online video advertising

URL

This is probably the single most valuable aspect of YouTube and successful online video advertising, yet stunningly, it’s one of the things that many brands forget. You can include a clickable URL in both your ‘about’ section and in the description of each and every video. Remember YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine so if your website URL is not on your channel anywhere you could be missing out on a significant amount inbound of traffic.

Featured Video

When a user first lands on your YouTube page you can specify which video you would like to appear/play in the main (larger) window. This is called your ‘featured video’ and is a great way to keep your page current (by updating it often) or to ensure that visitors see your ‘brand overview’ video first before they start looking at more specific video content.

Playlists

If you’re lucky (and wise) enough to have multiple video marketing assets then playlists are a great way to help your viewer navigate around your YouTube channel. We’ve all visited YouTube pages that are simply a long list of video titles so by allowing the viewer to filter based on content or subject makes the user experience much more enjoyable.

online video advertising

Name Your Film

So this should be a given but just in case you’re still not doing this: make sure you properly name your video, and get creative with the title. You don’t need to simply go with “Brown’s Hairdressers film” or something equally as mind-numbing. Instead think about using a question for the title, e.g. “How can I find the best hairdresser?”. Think about what people might type into search engines and also what they are likely to click on. Make your title relevant to both popular searches in your industry and also something that has an element of appeal and you’ll see your clicks rise significantly.

Discussion

Finally remember that YouTube is social so to maximise your online video advertising you may want to encourage discussion on your video marketing assets by adding a few comments.

So there you have it. As mentioned many companies out there still rely on the “stick it up on Youtube” approach but hopefully for you they are your competitors. Get your YouTube channel right and you’ll steal a significant advantage over them.

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

Jan 26
Love0

Marketing Tools – Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Facebook Video

By Digital Marketing

Marketing Tools – Facebook’s Secret Video Weapon

In a world where businesses market themselves extensively online, and customers have demonstrated their high levels of engagement with online video, it’s not surprising that businesses often turn to sites like YouTube and Vimeo as the first choice online video marketing tools. As we’ve discussed in a previous blog, the compatibility of the playback software on these sites is universal, and they enjoy consistently high levels of popularity. However one approach that’s often overlooked and yet should be one of your key marketing tools is Facebook.

Facebook possesses an incredible secret weapon that can take video marketing to a new level. Now Facebook’s video player isn’t as intuitive as the one offered by YouTube and it doesn’t give you as many viewing options as Vimeo (the precise quality level, closed captions, and annotations for instance.) BUT it is fast becoming a major player in global video sharing, and here’s why.

With each new update, Facebook has improved upon its video player and how it reaches new audiences. And as mentioned Facebook’s video player has a secret weapon…it’s called…

AUTOPLAY!!!!!

Basically what this means (and I’m sure you will have seen this already) is that video content uploaded to Facebook automatically starts playing video when a user scrolls on to it! If it’s part of a news feed or a shared story then every user who’s connected to the sharer will also see it autoplay, and that could mean thousands of potential viewers watching quickly and easily.

“So?” I hear you say

Well, this autoplay is an incredibly powerful and useful tool. If we place video marketing on Youtube or Vimeo and then share links on other social media platforms the user still has to physically click on the thumbnail or link to start the content playing. With the amount of content that’s out there you sometimes need fairly strong motivational or enticing elements to get that ‘click’ to happen. The user has to make an ‘opt in’ decision.

marketing tools

But with Facebook automatically playing the video as soon as it’s in view, it offers brands a chance to engage viewers even before they’ve had a chance to make an ‘opt in/out’ call.  Brands can use it to connect with casual browsers in a way that feels much more at home with the social media landscape.

OK, so before we get too excited about this, there are some drawbacks. When a video autoplays it does so without audio so there’s no sound. But if you produce your video marketing with powerful visuals in the first few seconds, you will encourage the user to click on the already playing video, which then triggers the sound.  It almost creates the need for a ‘call to action’ at the front of your film rather then the traditional closing one.

It could be argued that Facebook has the edge here when considering online video marketing tools. Sharing video on YouTube and Vimeo can be a clumsy business and let’s face it, no one really “hangs out” on Youtube or Vimeo in the way they do on Facebook. When most people share a video with friends or followers they do so on Facebook. And with Facebook’s autoplay that shared video is guaranteed to autoplay in every connected friend or follower’s timeline. Instant connection!

With the arrival of autoplay video it is clear that Facebook understands the power of online video and the capability it has to distribute it.

There are videos on Facebook with millions of views that have never been posted on YouTube, and though Facebook isn’t the biggest video sharing site or the most obvious one, the results are starting to become difficult to ignore. Add it to your arsenal of marketing tools and see what a difference it makes to your reach.

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

Jan 25
Love0

Corporate video production – A guide to getting it right!

By Digital Marketing, Video Production Advice

How to manage your corporate video production

We all know that when doing project-based work, effective time management is important. However in the world of creative video productions time managements becomes crucial in avoiding spiralling costs and lengthy delays. Now video doesn’t always have to be an expensive item, but get your time management wrong when producing it and your initial costs are going to rapidly climb. So here’s a few tips from our series of “how to make a promotional video” blogs on time management.

Have an Incredibly Clear Yet Simple Brief

Effective and creative video productions require a good solid foundation, yet some of the least effective video briefs that we’ve ever seen are always the one pagers. Providing your production team with the bare minimum at brief stage will prove counter productive in the long run so don’t rush this stage. If anything, this should be the one part of the process where time management should not be at the forefront of your mind, so don’t rush it.

If you’re stuck for the correct structure of a video production brief then don’t waste time trying to invent it. You can find countless guides online to help get this part of the process moving.

So keep your brief simple, concise and accurate. By investing time into this initial starting point of your production you will save countless hours of back and forth communication.

 

Corporate Video Production

Do a Location Recce

Before you shoot your video, have the director and/or camera operator visit the location that the filming will take place at for a ‘location recce’. Now this may initially seem like overkill and in fact a waste of time but you’d be wrong.

Getting to your shoot day with all the crew and talent on the clock only to find that the power supply is insufficient or that the background noise makes it impossible to shoot is far more expensive than allow a small amount of budget for a location recce. If a key member of the crew has performed a location recce then any and all technical issues can be flagged and averted and set up/get out times will also be reduced as the logistics will have been pre-planned.

Allowing the director and/or camera operator an opportunity to see the location prior to shooting can save time, stress and money when it comes to the actual shoot day and we would wholeheartedly recommend it.

Trust Your Editor

Once the filming is done don’t think that you need to sit through every single frame of footage with your editor to make an edit selection. If you’ve briefed your Editor well enough they should be able to take the project right through to “edit version one”. This version one edit should be pretty much the finished article in terms of content and presentation yet allow you the opportunity to ask for any and all tweaks you desire. If the editors done their job properly these tweaks will be quick and enable you to review an “Edit version 2” very quickly. So fully briefing and trusting your Editor can save you countless hours of doing watch throughs.

 

Corporate Video Production

Collate Feedback

Within creative video productions there are 3 key people. These are the Producer, the Director and the Editor.  If you have (and most corporate video projects do) multiple stakeholders in the project then always collate all comms and feedback that needs to be relayed to these key crew members. Providing them with clear and consistent communications throughout the process is critical to avoiding multiple repeated back and forth emails.

Delegate the Key Stuff

Video production has many elements within that require a high degree of skill and experience. Camera Operators and Directors etc are obvious examples but don’t be afraid to also commission script writers and video production managers if your budget allows. The video production industry has probably one of the richest pools of freelance experts of any industry and by bringing in the right talent you’ll save lots of time. As mentioned this is not for all budgets but if your production allows then we always recommend getting the best people in place.

Corporate Video Production

Allow for Upload and Share

Finally (and something that often catches people out) you’ll need to allow time to upload your content to YouTube, Vimeo or Facebook.

Make sure you allow time within your plan to do this as its surprisingly time consuming and if rushed can undo all your hard work. To save time if you’re uploading multiple videos then you can bulk or group upload on most platforms. Once they’re uploading you can get on with other work, so factor this in when you’re thinking about the time needed. However once they are uploaded then do allow time to properly tag, arrange and share them.

After all, this is how you’ll get the most bang for your production buck and hopefully it will reduce the dramas that creative video productions sometimes provide! But most importantly it will allow you to generate maximum impact from your new video marketing asset.

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

Jan 25
Love0

Video Marketing Advice – The Three Steps To Successful Corporate and Promotional Videos 

By Video Production Advice

The Key Questions You Must Ask

Engaging corporate and promotional videos for businesses can be very powerful. This is something that we all generally accept. But getting your video right and harnessing that power isn’t always plain sailing. When producing video for your brand or organisation there may be numerous stakeholders in the project, all with their own opinions and ideas. Maintaining a clear structure to your production is essential as this is going to help you achieve everything that you set out to achieve (which in most cases is to drive sales). So to keep the project and everyone involved with it on track we suggest using our 3 step approach to video production. It’s simple, effective and it’s a great way to prevent projects from entering what’s known in Hollywood as “production hell”. This is where multiple stakeholder input results in greater and greater reductions in the final film’s effectiveness and power.

Our 3 step approach is essentially 3 questions, the answers to which will provide a clear blueprint throughout the production. Ask yourself (and other stakeholders in the video project) these questions at regular stages in the production to help unify the production teams vision and ultimately deliver the best possible video marketing asset you can.

So here are the questions in our 3 step approach to the production of corporate and promotional videos.

1 – What is your message?
2 – Who is your viewer?
3 – What outcome do you want?

Simple questions. And yes, there are many other factors within most video marketing projects, however all of those other elements and the answers or direction that the require will be clearly visible once the 3 key questions are answered.

corporate and promotional videos

Forming concise and honest answers to the 3 step questions will give you pretty much everything you need to anchor the production of your video marketing in such a way that it’s goals are a lot easier to reach. Once the answers are established and agreed, they should provide clear signposts to many other elements within the production. The answers will inform and dictate aspects of the production such as tone, style, approach, duration, and content.

The answers to the questions should be one or two lines, or one sentence. You may be tempted to write paragraphs to answer each question, but this is not a test. It’s a tool. If the answers to these 3 questions are more than a single line, then there’s a danger that the final film will reflect this and have a mixed up and overly complex feel.

Answer the questions in a clear and simple way and your final film should do exactly the same for your viewer.

So remember, 3 questions that form 3 steps to successful video marketing production.

Number 1 – What is your message?

Keep it clear and simple. And don’t be tempted to try and shoehorn 20 different messages. If you do you’ll lose the viewer quickly.  Remember that video marketing is essentially an elevator pitch.

Number 2 – Who is your viewer?

Knowing who you are talking to will identify the correct way to talk to them. By considering the answer to questions 1 and 2 you should be able to quickly find the right tone, style and pace for your video. For example we’d use a different approach if we were delivering a message about life insurance to someone in their 40s than we would if we were delivering a message about soft drinks to a teenager. So by answering the 3 step questions, answers to other questions become much clearer.

Number 3 – What outcome do you want?

As with questions 1 and 2, clearly identifying a desired outcome provides clarity on how many aspects your corporate and promotional videos should be produced. Of course 90% of video marketing is aimed at driving sales, but in order for the video to be effective, it’s important to know how this increase is going to be achieved. For example, do you want to entice customers into local branches? Or do you want them to visit a web page? Of course you may simply want the outcome of the video to be increased awareness and visibility of your brand or service. So in order to clearly and simply identify the outcome that you require, ask yourself this supplementary question – what’s the first thing that you want the viewer to do when they’ve watched your video marketing?

Now it may seem that we’re over-simplifying or dumbing down the production of video marketing here but that’s really not the case. Successful corporate and promotional videos will have these questions at their core, whether they’re consciously identified or not.

Re-visiting the questions throughout the production process helps ensure that nothing is lost in the complexities of the production and will ultimately allow you to produce video marketing that hits the spot every time.

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

Jan 25
Love0

The Challenges of Shooting Corporate Videos in London (or any other large city)

By Video Production Advice

Considerations to make when filming in a city

OK, so producing any video which requires shooting on location can be challenging. However if that location shooting needs to happen in London (or any other major city) then the challenges can be multiplied.

Yes, some large cities will be used to seeing film crews both large and small on their streets every day, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your filming is going to be easy.

So here’s a few tips and pointers based on our experiences of producing corporate video in London that may be applicable in whichever large city you happen to be shooting.

Permit Based Shoot or Guerrilla Style

Strictly speaking, for any external video shoot that you need to do in London you should apply to the Mayor’s office for a permit. There’s probably never a day that goes by when there isn’t a shoot happening somewhere in London, so the process of applying for a filming permit is fairly smooth and the Mayor’s office are very much geared up for this. You’ll need to pay a fee and be able to provide details of public liability insurance cover but obtaining a permit in this way does make life on the shoot a lot easier.

However, for every shoot that happens each day in London with a secured filming permit there will probably be several more happening guerrilla style – that is to say, without any official permit. It’s a fact that within the corporate video industry budgets and time scales may sometimes make it tricky to obtain a filming permit. If your crew is small (e.g. 2-3 people and you’re not shooting a large scale project then you may be tempted to go down the “guerrilla route”.) If you are questioned by the authorities they have the right to move you on and most likely will, so be prepared to leave your locations quickly. You may want to scout some backup options in advance.

Over the years we’ve produced projects using both of these approaches so we know the merits and drawbacks of each.

filming-in-city-1

Loading/Unloading

Whatever the size of your shoot you’ll need some kit. It may be only a camera and mic or you may need multiple cameras, lights, sound and grip – whatever your needs are, you need to plan for the challenges video production in London presents for a simple task… like unloading everything! Many people don’t consider this but you can’t just stop an equipment van in most central areas (these are red routes) and car parking for vans and other vehicles can really take a chunk out of your budget. Our usual approach is to do our unloading at the first light of day so that we can quickly park/unload without any trouble, and then find a budget-friendly parking location away from the centre of town. Alternatively using couriers for your kit is useful as they can quickly pull up while your crew can just grab and go with any and all equipment.

Travel

In addition to the logistics of getting kit to your location you also need to consider how your crew are going to get there. As mentioned, parking in central London is either extortionate or seriously limited so most crew for London video shoots tend to arrive by tube or other public transport. So factor this into your call sheets: tubes and buses can run late, so asking the crew to arrive earlier than required buys you some wiggle room if one or more of them are delayed.

corporate videos london

Light

A challenge of producing corporate video in London that can sometimes be surprising is light! London is a pretty built-up place, and if you’re shooting in an area that comprises of mostly high-rise buildings then lack of light where you are can be an issue. Many streets in London will only get direct sunlight at certain points of the day (and this will change over the year) due to the skyscraper style buildings blocking the light, sometimes on all sides! So a good recce done at the intended shooting time of day is really useful. You may need to pack in some extra reflectors to help counteract the lack of light by boosting what you already have.

Noise

Finally, noise. Yes, London is a very noisy place, and when you are shooting slick corporate video this can be a real pain. Even if you are in the confines of an office you’ll be amazed at the general hum and buzz that the city creates. Its something that we don’t really notice as it’s part of the day-to-day city environment, but when you come to the edit this background buzz really jumps out and can be distracting. So again, a good recce can go a long way here: check to see if there is any building work planned on your shoot day – barely a day goes by in large cities without some kind of construction work – and if your location is underneath Heathrow’s main flight path you’re going to have to time your sound recording carefully!

So there you have it, just a few tips and tricks to help you produce hassle-free video in London or any other large city.

To find out more about us and our services, please click here.

Close Menu