Changeworksblog.com

The stats say it all: online video is booming. Last year in the US the number of videos viewed increased by 34% with nearly 13 billion videos viewed in November 2008.  If you’re not using online video on your website, on your YouTube channel, or on your intranet, you’re missing opportunities to reach your audience.

At Changeworks our aim is to produce professional quality video, at low cost, which can be viewed online or via other popular media players. This means that outsourcing your video needs is now even more cost effective than having your own in-house team.

Web video communicates peer to peer, from the boardroom to the trenches in a credible and believable way whilst retaining good production values. However, given that many of us are video ‘producers’ of some sort these days – via web cam, phones, digital cameras etc – it can be easy to overlook the complexities that MUST go into producing a video that tells a story in a credible and engaging way. 

Here are some considerations:

1. Format: most of the time with corporate video work, there will be people involved in telling the story.  Multiple speakers are usually better than having one ‘talking head’ (which can be boring). Short ‘vox pops’ can work well, and use a variety of camera angles and backgrounds, but remember to keep the backgrounds simple and not to distracting.  And never cross the 180 degree line, or your viewers will be very confused. The location is important : is it noisy or quiet and does this matter? Is the lighting good – what natural lighting is there, and how can you optimise this?
2. Interviews: if you are interviewing people, do you want the interview on camera?  If so how are you going to logistically achieve this?  With two cameras?  Or by shooting the scenes separately or using over-the-shoulder viewpoint? You need to watch for focal length of lens and relative importance of subjects.  Many people are nervous on camera, so film makers need good interpersonal skills to coach people into good performance states.  A little etiquette can help – ie don’t use your subject in the set up.  But largely good questions, getting an informal conversation going and listening and questioning are key skills to use to put the subject at ease and get the most out of him or her.
3. Preparation: there are many things to consider here, well before you take the lens cap off.  Here is a taster:
   1. Theme  -what is your big idea? What do you want your viewers to take away from watching this?
   2. Hero – who or what is your star character? It may be a product or a person. Make sure they are the star in the finished piece!
   3. Target audience – always plan and film with this in mind.  Are they formal or casual in their viewing needs – are they baby boomer CEOs or are they Gen Y employees?
   4. USPs - what are the key benefits you want to get across? But more importantly, what are the WIFMs?  (what’s in it for me?)
   5. Story – every good story has a beginning, middle and end.  Act 1 should be 25% or so of the final film, Act 2 is around 50% or more, and the final act is just less than 25% – a general guide rule only!
   6. Narration – how will you achieve this? By using a narrator who is part of the film? or a voiceover or via text titling … some ways to consider
   7. Storyboard – there are various templates you can use but some kind of storyboard treatment is vital for making a good film.  If you having drawing skills you will find this a huge benefit!  This can then be made into a film treatment.
   8. Script – depending on whether your film is visual or narration led, you may or not need a script. 
4. Filming duration: how long will you need to be on site?  This differs according to the type of video you are making.  Rule of thumb? say 3 hours for 10-15 mins of film.  Allowing for set up of equipment, takes etc. 
5. Editing: one to remember – editing takes much longer than the actual shoot.  Most people are simply not aware of this.  And some incompetents think that you can make a good film with no editing.  NEVER believe them, they have no idea!

video is storytelling

Online video is now the most popular of the social media tools with 62% of communicators recently agreeing that video is relevant to their role.  Runners up were RSS and web feeds, but this just shows the popularity of online video.

We live in a world of information overload, bombarded with news every minute of the day. And video is relevant, has a direct impact and delivers a consistency of message that makes it ideal for thought leaders, CEOs and to help organisations tell their story.  Video lets our clients talk directly and consistently to their intended audience, and it brings their story to life. 

For organistions or leaders communicating with their employees or publics, video is a powerful tool for a geographical diverse business.  And of course, it can help you communicate with the press in a direct way; your client talking direct to them.

Video can be used for:

• CEO or leader presentations
• training
• storytelling – support case studies and press releases
• product introductions and updates
• quarterly presentations and stakeholder/sharehold presentations
• news desk

The challenges of video production often lie in the delivery method. For example, if the video is intended mainly for internal use within the organisation, most internal networks, even now, can’t handle video. At the outside, you will have to render or convert to .flv format at a certain pixel aspect ratio and resolution. You will really need to understand the bandwidth limitations of your current technical solution.

But good video is not an easy art.  There is a thought process to be considered before anything else.  You are moving from face to face presentation to the virtual world so think short, snappy TV shows, for a starter.  Make sure you tailor the content of your video to the audience, for the presenter or talking head, use the person who has the most impact.  This is likely to be the CEO or head of division/department.  

Then tailor the content of your video to the audience. Make sure this is ‘front loaded’ with the majority of the impact of the message in the first 3 to 4 mins of the video.  Whether you are producing casual or more formal interviews remember the following tips:

1. Keep the general tone informal – it helps convey the message
2. Keep the messages and sections short and sharp – to keep attention
3. Have a variety of views of speakers or presenters
4. Think about the setting – people want to see the environment of the film to set the context

anyone can make videos

Also, you will need to consider production values. Video is now so widely available and anyone, virtually,can make a video. To exacerbate the problem there is free video editing software and video can be recorded on phones, cameras, webcams etc, so people can be led to believe that poor quality is ok. We have had clients ask us to use webcams to record the CEO on video, or if we are tight on time, clients have offered to try some editing on their free software.  This only highlights the ignorance there is around the art and skill in producing video. 

Whilst video does not have to be expensive these days, there is a big risk in doing it too cheaply.  

• don’t use webcams, phones etc to produce video to communicate your messages
• Don’t use cheap software to edit

Video has to be professional, yet engaging, to be believable and impactful. Finally, consider where it will be consumed or watched (internet or intranet or via DVD? For a short form film aim for around 3 to 5 mins. And for those ‘talking heads’ remember the:

• frame
• lighting and use of shadows
• background

There is so much to good video making.  More to follow in future posts.