Did you say "Pre Pre-Production?!"
When you’re entering into a video production project, there are dozens of details that need to be addressed. The process as a whole can be overwhelming, and it’s important that you choose a team that will be able to support you throughout the project and help you make creative decisions. With so many options out there, the question is, how do you choose the production company that is the right fit for you and your needs?
There are a few things that you can do before picking up the phone that will put you in a great position when meeting with potential video production partners.
Showing up to video production meetings well-prepared is critical to the overall success of your project. The video production process is about more than just the creation of video assets. The production process is a visual representation of your brand and everything that goes into it. You need a team that can convey your values and what you stand for as an organization through your brand voice. By following these steps before your video production meeting, you’ll have everything you need to inform the production team of what you’re looking for and explore how you can work together to get the best results.
Messaging, Vision, and Choosing a Team
Before you even go into production for your project, the video team needs to know what you’re looking for. Maybe you’re obsessed with Nike and Under Armor commercials, maybe you saw a cool video on TikTok, or maybe your marketing team just said “We need a video.” and that’s the extent of your knowledge. Regardless, to start things off on the right foot, try to answer the following questions before you even start to look for a video production team that fits:
1. What is the overall goal of this project? What are you trying to communicate?
Video is, first and foremost, a communication method. If you don’t have a message, the video will feel aimless and pointless, no matter how great the production is. This is a good place to step back and ask yourself, “what are we really trying to achieve with this project?” and “what is the main message we are trying to communicate?”
If you can answer these questions, you will have a solid base to work from moving forward.
2. Who is your target audience/demographic?
Who are the people you most want to engage with? Who are you talking to within this video? Without a clear demographic or target, it will be difficult to create a video that catches the right people’s attention. This will also determine which platforms the video appears on.
Are you talking speaking to children? Parents? People that use TikTok? People that watch the Discovery Channel?
If you don’t have an ideal customer persona, now might be a good time to build one!
3. How many videos are associated with this campaign?
If you find that you have multiple messages and target audiences, it might be worth creating separate videos to target those groups. Depending on the different platforms you plan to use, different approaches are usually necessary as well. If you have a campaign with several different angles, splitting the campaign into multiple videos is often the most effective way to engage your audience and maintain a focused approach.
4. Do you have any inspiration?
Most video production teams are not mind-readers (at least, we’re not!), and video is a very visual medium. One of the easiest ways we can see what our clients want is through reference materials. If you have a certain video or style that you like, send us a link! We’ll be able to give you feedback on what we need to make that style work. We will not copy this work, but inspiration can be pulled from many different facets of other people's work.
Once you’ve answered the questions listed above, your team should have a good idea of what you’re looking for from a high-level view. With the end goal in mind, you are in a good place to present these ideas to a team who can then work backwards to tailor the production process to your needs.
Video production is a creative industry and every team won’t be right for every project. But, by being open and transparent about the end result you expect, the team will be able to evaluate how their skills and capabilities align with your vision and give you their professional opinion about how they can bring it to life. If you like what you hear, you’ve got your video production team!
Project Scope, Timeline, and Budget
Once you’ve chosen your team, there are a few more details that will need to be decided on before the project can move forward. The answers to these questions may vary with the video production team you choose, but in our case, these are the main points we need to know in order to start our work.
1. Decide on your services.
We can’t start a project without knowing what you want! Our services are grouped under a “video production umbrella”. These include ideation, scripting, creative direction, a full commercial crew, and editing. Typically, these will come out during our discovery stages, but it helps to have an idea of what kind of support you need so we can keep things moving.
2. Decide where the video will be hosted.
If you’re creating a video for the web, our approach will be completely different than if you’re creating a TV commercial. We’ll need to know where this video is going before we start creating it so we can accommodate the needs of that platform.
3. Decide what you want to say.
Although we offer scripting services, as previously stated, we aren’t mind-readers! An outline of what you want to communicate not only gives us a great starting point, but it also helps us understand the content of the piece and gives us more insight into the overall tone you’re going for. This outline should include key points that you know you want to be included, general themes, keywords, and any other points you think are central to the video.
4. Decide on the video length.
Length is one of the most important decisions that will go into production. Attention spans are dwindling by the day, and if you don’t know your audience, you might lose them before you’re able to convey your message. Depending on where you’re engaging your audience, you’ll need to make a decision about how long your video can be. The intent of the video plays a huge factor in this decision. For example, a video for social media is going to be a very different length than an instructional video explaining a process where more details are encouraged.
5. Discuss a timeline.
Your final delivery date will need to be discussed with the team well in advance. If you have an upcoming product launch, trade show, or website overhaul where you’re planning to use the video, the production team will need to be told so they can give themselves time to prepare, produce, and edit the video.
An end-date is helpful, but video production is a long process involving pre-production to make sure the project comes together smoothly. Once you’ve told the team your end-date, the team will break down the timeline based on what is needed to pull the project together and determine a target start date for production. Of course, unexpected challenges can crop up during pre-production, but our team has seen it all and we’re always happy to work on potential roadblocks that come up before the first production day to keep things on track
6. Discuss a budget.
Budget is always a touchy subject, but without a clear budget, no project will ever run smoothly. Even if you don’t have a designated budget, a budget range helps us understand if we can deliver the results you’re looking for within the scope of your budget.
It’s worth mentioning that while we give 100% to every project, however, with larger budgets there are things we have access to that aren’t available on all sets. There is a distinct correlation between the ability to have more time, a larger crew, and more creative minds approaching the project and truly incredible results. We respect any budgetary restrictions. But we also have a responsibility to our clients to temper their expectations when they request a video that their budget can’t account for.
Video production projects are a collaboration between the client and the video production team. When you come to a meeting having considered all of the questions and details above, your team knows exactly what you need from them, and you’re much more likely to have a smooth production process that results in a fantastic video! If you’re wondering how we can help with your video project, contact us here! We’d love to meet with you.