B2B video is pretty much everywhere these days, and it’s not just the marketing department driving the projects. From the C-suite to junior product managers, everyone wants in on the action.
Still, no matter the type of video – or who creates it – the most successful productions follow the same basic process.
Our video primer lays out the eight most important steps nearly every video production moves through. Check it out and share with anyone who’s new to video creation or would appreciate a quick introduction to how it all works.
1. Goal Setting
What do you want your video to accomplish? Do you need to introduce or promote a product or service, build brand awareness, or rally your internal team? Lay out clear goals and objectives so everyone is working with the same definition of “success” for the project.
2. Resources Assessment
Next, assess your budget. Your video agency will need to know at least a ballpark budget so they can begin to recommend the best options available for that level of investment. Producing a video that gets big results most often requires far more than just a camera and a good idea. That’s why we’re always looking to find creative ways to stretch a dollar to include the primary video as well as social media versions.
3. Script Development
The script is your video’s blueprint. It provides an overview of the scenes and dialogue in chronological order and suggests scene direction as well.
The number one job of an outstanding B2B script is to persuade the viewer to take a very specific action: “email us for more info on our cloud based solutions” … “perform your job in a safer, more efficient way” … “follow these three simple steps to assemble the product” … etc.
The other important job of the script is to provide the producers, director, crew and editor with a clear vision of how the video should look, sound and feel.
Script development can feel like a lengthy process, and that’s normal! It’s so important to get it right BEFORE shooting begins, because it’s way more difficult (and expensive) to “fix it in post” (the editing phase).
4. Pre-production
Preparation is key to a successful shoot – and that means following a time-tested pre-production process. This can often include a storyboarding phase, which is basically a visualization of the script using illustrations or images to display the important elements of each scene, such as where the actors are positioned, at what angle, and what action is occurring, etc. Sort of like a less detailed comic book or graphic novel.
For many videos that don’t require actors, a shot list can take the place of a storyboard. In fact, our team also creates detailed spreadsheets that keep track of props, wardrobe, actors and the order in which each scene will be shot.
Hint: the most efficient way to shoot a video usually isn’t in the order of the script or storyboard. Much better to shoot every scene that occurs in the same location.
Stay tuned for part two of this series. We’ll cover talent and location scouting, shooting, editing and more. In the meantime, drop us a note and we’ll be happy to offer some insight into what could be right for your next video.
