Be Prepared

12 Feb Be Prepared

The process of producing video content is both involved and diverse, with no one stage or element of production being more important than any other. The whole will always be more than the sum of its parts. However, without a doubt, the most critical component of any successful video content is the planning and preparation that went in to the production.

Here are seven tips to make sure you’ve done the prep to ensure your video content is the best it can be:

1. Share your assets: One of the very first things you should do is share all your brand collateral with the company producing your video content. Anything from high resolution copies of logos and other visual elements such as relevant photos and videos to style guides and fonts are vital assets for your video production, and the earlier you can make them available to your video crew, the earlier your brand image will be integrated in to the video production process, maximising the consistency between your brand and your video content. If you don’t have those assets to hand, start sourcing them now; it can take a while to obtain assets from third parties, so get started as soon as possible.
2. Get your script(s) professionally written: so often, people find a dispiriting lack of success with their videos and, in most cases, it’s not the quality of the video production that’s let them down, it’s the quality and efficacy of the content. It’s easy for people to throw around the word “story” in relation to video production, but knowing how to structure and draft a story is actually vitally important to writing a script that effectively communicates your message and resonates with your target audience. That’s why having your script professionally written lays an important foundation for the success of your video content.
3. Contribute your brand’s voice to the script: flying in the face of point number one – but for good reason – a professional written script can provide the optimum structure and wording to clearly and coherently communicates your message, but without your input, it can never reflect yours or your brand’s unique voice. A script shouldn’t be considered a “full” first draft without the client’s revisions and feedback on the preliminary draft, and no draft should ever be signed off for recording without a thorough review from the client. To make your video content truly unique and distinct, it needs your unique, distinct voice.
4. Lock in locations: Knowing where you’ll be filming is one thing, but knowing that when you arrive on the scheduled shooting day and the location will be available, unoccupied and suitable for filming your content is another thing entirely. If your business operates on site and you’ve made a decision to film at one of those locations, make sure you have personally booked the space and that all relevant stakeholders are notified and aware of the booking to ensure that when your crew, clients or talent arrive that they’re ready to hit the ground running and make the most of the time you have available.
5. Brief everyone: Securing the involvement of relevant interviewees or on camera talent from within your organisation is a fantastic start, but it’s also important to make sure that anyone who will be appearing on camera is fully briefed on the requirements from them, what the process will be on the day and, definitely not least, the objectives of the video. If they are reading a script on camera, make sure they’ve had time to familiarise themselves with the script. If they’re being interviewed, make sure they’ve had the opportunity to review the questions ahead of time. The better prepared they are, the more effective their content will be.
6. No, seriously, BRIEF EVERYONE!: While you’re at it, it’s also a great idea to send an email around to everyone who may be present but not directly involved in the filming to advise them of the schedule and the process for the day of filming. This will keep other members of the team or other stakeholders not involved in the filming informed of what is going on and minimise any potential disruption to the shoot or the regular operation of the business.
7. And finally, get it done ahead of time: no one wants to have to deal with the stress and anxiety of getting everything locked in at the last minute, and finalising scripts or booking locations the day before the shoot is not only a great way to bring on a pounding headache, but it’s also a sure-fire recipe for hamstringing the effectiveness of your video content. So, get ahead of that situation and plan to have everything signed off and locked in a week before you’re due to shoot. That way you have a buffer of time in case anything goes wrong in the meantime.

Don’t try to improvise as something as important and valuable to your business as high quality video production. All the cutting edge equipment and visual effects in the world won’t cover up content that is ultimately insubstantial and ineffectual. The more you plan and prepare for your next video production, the more you establish a foundation for success for your video content campaign.