A properly produced video has several things that set it apart from other media:
It targets multiple senses at once. By offering onlookers a combination of visuals, on-screen text, music, and audio speech, you dramatically improve their ability to remember the message. If you include a human being on your video, you also add the power of the 'other 90%' of communication -- that huge part of human interaction that goes unspoken. Posture, hand gestures, facial expression, and positioning form a huge part of human communication that goes completely unaddressed by text or static pictures. Videos capture attention immediately. It's one thing to have a text advert that can be skimmed over or skipped entirely; it's entirely different to have a video that starts talking to you before you can find a way to make it stop. You can't help but have a brief moment to get 'hooked' by a clever video.
For most businesses, however, diving headfirst into video production can be a pretty daunting task. Gathering the right collection of actors, scriptwriters, producers, editors, and placement experts can be a staggering undertaking. What should your primary concerns actually be?
Efficacy
The number one most important thing about video production is that the end product must be compelling. You can have the most beautiful video in the world, but if it doesn't get your audience to take the next step toward becoming customers, it's a waste of time and money.
Expense
But a compelling video almost always costs more in the long run. If you keep adding money, you reach the point of diminishing returns and you end up -- that's right -- wasting time and money again.
Speed
Custom video production isn't a particularly quick affair. You've got scripting, shooting, editing, three or more different layers of postproduction, and distribution -- all of that takes time. But the business world is always changing, and if you put together a video that isn't relevant by the time it reaches the audience...well, you see the pattern here.
If you can get those three concerns addressed up front, you can feel confident moving forward with your video. The question is how to do it. The answer is surprisingly simple: outsource the whole damn thing.
Yep. The only aspect of professional video creation that you need to actually worry about is the purpose and general gist of the video, and then a series of 'check-ins' where you validate the choices made by your professional video creation experts. Today's marketplace is such that a video company either has on-staff or has working relationships with scriptwriters, cameramen, actors, editors -- the whole nine yards. You should feel comfortable with them as professionals, and know that you have the final say on each step of the process.
Find yourself a high quality video production company to hand the project off to, and let them turn the project into a success.
