What it takes to be a Video Production company
A video production company is an amalgamation of experience, talent and creativity. A unique blend of visual problem solving that combines multiple disciplines to produce tailored content that achieves the clients’ goals. Video production is a skill with a high degree of nuance and knowledge that requires a consultative approach to align the vision of the client with the best practices of video production. To say there is more to video production than just making videos is an understatement. Let’s break this down further with a full explanation of what it takes to be a video production company.
Professional Equipment
Video production equipment ranges from lighting through to composition, and production value through to practicality. Every piece of equipment comes with its own unique applications and nuance. All of which requires actual experience to use effectively. For example: A one day shoot on location, requires a camera, which requires additional batteries and storage, proper lenses, tripods and sound equipment. Now if a single one of these is not carefully planned, the entire shoot day may be compromised. Some equipment comes with even more complication, for example a drone requires prior permission before being used. That complication increases further if you plan to travel with it to another country, where their law may vary greatly from yours.
Video production company’s are talented
A video production company is only as strong as its talent. As content production goes, there is a whole army of specialised skills required to produce a professional video production. There is creative direction, production planning and budgeting, script writing, filming, editing, design and marketing strategy that goes into every video. If a single team member does a poor job, the entire production will suffer for it. For example: Production value is directly influenced by planning, as every shot that is not planned for, will result in a missed opportunity, resulting in fewer shots to work with and a weaker visual demonstration of the content. This is just an example of the knock-on effect of poor planning, now consider every other element of the production and you can see the potential challenges associated with every role. In summary, if your team is found lacking, your output will too.
Video production company’s have a strong client base
When you operate in a visual product or service, like video production, your portfolio determines the clients you get. In other words, the stronger your client base, the more impressive your portfolio of work will be. This is even more relevant when you consider the different industries and the nuances that come with them. For example: Health and safety videos are a highly specialised field of video production that require considerable experience to produce effectively. Every video location comes with unique challenges both from a health and safety, and production perspective. From working at heights to confined spaces, and every challenging work environment in between. The only way a video production company will land a health and safety video is by presenting an existing portfolio of projects. Keep in mind with some of these businesses the costs of a simple disruption to production could result in serious monetary loss, which is why they cannot take any chances when it comes to finding the right video production company for their health and safety training.
All the ‘bells and whistles’
When it comes to video production, there are a plethora of post production choices that directly impact the feel, tempo and efficacy of the video content. A video production company should be well versed in Design, Audio Engineering and Animation. Design and editing are crucial elements of video production that can help bring a project to life. Design helps set the tone for the video, while editing is key for creating a seamless final product that tells a meaningful story. Good design and editing choices can also help create an engaging experience for viewers, as well as add to the visual impact of the video. The stronger the post production capabilities of the video production company, the more creative options there are for the final videos. There are also many ways to optimise production, which is something an experienced company would be well versed in. For example: If you produce multiple videos, it is best to create video templates for each style of video to help streamline production. This also makes it easier to update your video content at a later stage. Another vital consideration is the music of the video, which directly impacts the tempo, this plays a massive role in how the video content is perceived and may directly influence your video’s performance once posted. This is a good reason why you should find and stick with the right video production company for your needs. This allows you to start every subsequent video with a head start of creative direction, complementary video assets and video templates that we mentioned earlier.
Creativity is the key to unlocking your video potential
A video production company is well versed in creative thinking. The more experienced the company the bigger the potential pool of collective creative ideas you can pull from. Creativity is an essential part of video production, as it helps to make the final product stand out from other productions. It can also help to capture a viewer’s attention by creating unique visuals and storytelling that appeals to a wide audience. Creative elements such as animation, sound design, special effects and clever editing can be used to create engaging videos that effectively communicate a message or story. It is important for video producers to think outside the box when creating their content in order to create something memorable and engaging. Creativity is also not only useful in the reception of your video content, but may even influence your budget. For example: We have worked with companies in the past that had to create professional video content on a budget. Their initial video ideas would almost always end up being too expensive, however with some creative application, we were able to identify new methods of presenting their content in a creative manner that saves on budget. Like substituting hired talent with company employees or recreating complex scenes using 2D Animation. Of course a big element to unlocking creativity lies in the company’s ability to communicate. The more efficiently you can collaborate with each other, the better insights you have to make creative solutions.
Teamwork makes the dream work
Collaboration and communication are essential for video production teams, no matter the size. Without good communication and collaboration, video projects can quickly become disorganised, unfocused, and even chaotic. Optimising communication and collaboration between team members and with the client allows for a more fluid creative process that results in better quality projects. Additionally, having open lines of communication allows team members to quickly solve any issues that arise, enabling timely delivery of the video projects. A vital part of client collaboration is proper planning. Each video should have a clear project plan with planned dates for client feedback, video drafts and additional design inputs.
Organisational skills
Organisational skills are essential for a video production company. They help the company to stay on task, manage resources, and plan for contingencies. Additionally, being organised allows the production company to best utilise resources like time, money, and talent. Organisation also enables a faster turnaround time and smoother production process by helping identify issues early on and outlining solutions before they become a problem. Video production follows a step-by-step process that must be followed to maintain project integrity. For example: Planning is always step one, if your planning is not properly completed then there will be a ton of missed opportunities once you begin filming, editing and so on. This gets even more complicated for every additional party involved, as each requires collaboration, feedback and processing. We have had experiences in the past, where we present the final draft of a video project to top management. During the meeting key members identify discrepancies that no one else had spotted. All of a sudden it’s right back to step one of production, which means the whole process needs to be revisited, which consumes valuable resources and delays the project time frames. This could easily have been avoided if top management was involved during each step of production.
Video Production Company’s need Vision
Vision is integral to any successful video production company. It’s the creative spark that allows the company to craft unique videos and stories that resonate with their audience. With a strong vision, a video production company can bring new ideas and perspectives to life and make sure their projects stand out from the competition. Vision also helps keep production on track by providing focus that informs each step of the process, from conception to shooting, editing, and delivering. Vision is not a skill that can easily be picked up, rather it is a culmination of years of experience and finished projects. This is another reason why you want to work with an experienced video production company in a competitive market, like Johannesburg or Cape Town. These markets breed the most competent production companies with the most experience. Ultimately, vision is what sets ambitious companies apart from merely competent ones. Which may be a harsh lesson to learn later down the line when production is in full swing.
Content Strategy
Content strategy is essential for a video production company, as it helps to ensure the success of their projects. Content strategy helps to set expectations, develop an audience profile and define key goals for the project. It can also help identify areas that need more attention and focus in order to bring the best possible end result. Furthermore, content strategy enables better budgeting and scheduling of resources, allowing for a smooth workflow and delivery of quality content. Keep in mind that your video content could be industry-leading but if it does not have a clearly defined marketing strategy, your videos will simply under-perform. Another important consideration is how your content strategy will influence production. For example: If you publish long video clips on a platform where most viewers access your content from their mobile devices, then you may have missed the mark on what content your intended audience is looking for. Each platform has its own unique formatting, content types and optimisations, all of which may influence how your video content is produced. These considerations also directly impact your SEO strategy, as the video titles and descriptions directly influence the keywords you are looking to optimise for. They also influence video elements like your call-to-actions and linking strategy.
This was part 3 in a series on what makes a video production company. Stay tuned next week for part 4, where we break down how to review a video production company for your next potential content campaign. Looking for a video production company that understands and excels at the nuances involved in making a video? Get in touch with our team today!
We are a leading video production company in Johannesburg and have one of the top learner management systems in South Africa. We specialise in Video Production, Photography, Graphic Design, eLearning Development, Web Design, Animation and Creative Consultation. | info@oliverkarstel.co.za | www.oliverkarstel.co.za | IG.com/oliverkarstel
