Video Marketing for Your Business – Part Two

This is the second in a three (maybe four) part series about using the power of video to take your business to the next level.

In the first part you learned about the explosive growth of video marketing and the worldwide acceptance of viewing video over the Internet. I even went into some possible equipment purchases you might want to look at. If you have not read Video Marketing for Your Business-Part One then go there now to get caught up.

In Part Two we are going to discuss script, location selection and lighting.

The actual process of producing a project, whether it is Captain America or an employee training video, is the same and broken up into three major segments, pre-production, production and post production. Each one has it’s separate sub-categories and each one relies heavily on what has gone on before.

Scripting – What Do I Say

Writers Block can hit you even when you're writing about something you are very intimate with... your business.

With your videos most likely it begins with an idea, a need or a want. You want to do a welcome video for your website, a client wants a training video so they can use one of your products or you have an idea on how to show that the culture of your company is what sets you apart from the competition.

But now you have hit a stopping point because you don’t know what to say. Let me just say this in the simplest way possible.

You are the expert. If I am on your website looking at your video…you know a lot more then I do. So in your visitors’ eyes YOU are the expert.

Keep your script simple, keep it short and don’t try to cover too much. The finished script should be three minutes or less. If it is a complex subject then break it up in several videos, it will give you more credibility and it will acknowledge that you respect the viewer’s time. Remember that speaker’s adage: “The mind can absorb only what the butt can endure.”

If you are doing a welcome video then pick three things you want your prospects to know about your company. It is best if you select three things that are tangible and you can show on camera.

If you are doing a sales tape then pick three benefits about your product. You can talk about features because people like to know the features but they buy the benefits.

If you want to show the culture of the company have one of your employees talk about why they like working there. If you don’t have any employees then ask one of your customers to give you a short testimonial on camera. In this instance you would be on camera first talking about customer service and then cut to the testimonial and then back to you saying that if you are looking for honest value and service for your money then give you a call.

Now write the script. Keep it conversational with short sentences.

Are there some areas where you need to be on camera like at the beginning and the end? But if you are talking about that widget then show it. Cutting from you on camera to what is called B-roll footage helps the viewer stay engaged. If I am an owner of an auto repair shop and I talk about how my mechanics take extra care of your car, don’t you think it would have more impact if I show a mechanic putting protective pads around the area that he is working on?

You must write the script, not some one else. Why? Because it will be in your own words and it will be easier and more believable when you are saying it. This is critical for another reason which I will get into in Part Three.

Location Selection – Where Do I Shoot My Video

Possible Locations for your video may include your place of business.

Post production runs smoothly if all issues were handled properly in production and production is a snap if all the problems were worked out in pre-production.

Being a cameraman in the motion picture industry for over twenty years I was never deeply involved in pre-production but many times saw the results. If production suddenly ground to a halt the question would eventually be asked “What happened?” to which the crew know-it-all would sound off with “We’ve been hit by the 5Ps again.”

“5Ps” you ask? Yes, that is Piss Poor Pre-Production Planning.

Pre-production is the best and cheapest place to work out different scenarios, options and of course play a lot of what if. Some big films are budgeted at over $1,000,000 a day so if you have a twenty minute delay due to something that wasn’t thought of that could cost you over $50,000. It is a high stakes, high stress business.

So with your videos a delay will not cost you 50 big ones but if you scout a park that you want to shoot at on Wednesday and you show up Saturday with you wife and another helper and there is a fifty club AYSO soccer tournament going on complete with cheering parents, hot dog vendors and bounce houses you now have a delay (along with embarrassment) of getting your project in the can. Think about what could go wrong and then plan accordingly.

If you want to film at an exterior public location think about background activity, ambient noise, people stopping to see what is going on, etc. I have been with seasoned actors where the crew milling around behind the camera can be distracting enough to put them off. With non-professionals you want a quiet location free from distractions.

Filming at an interior location can solve a lot of those exterior issues. It is usually quieter but you can still have distractions like a phone ringing or someone coming to your home or office. Really, only the super controlled environment of a sound stage will be perfect, but we don’t need that just good pre-production planning. Interior filming usually means lights and that is next.

One more thing about locations, it is a visual component of your story and should fit your subject matter. For example if you are a house painter you shouldn’t film your story in an office but out on a job site. Look at this video we did for RLF Painting and think about how it would look if Bob was behind a desk.

Lighting Solutions – Why Do I Look Like a Raccoon?

A $40 work light from Amazon can give your production a lot of versatility.

Whether interior or exterior you will need to be aware of lighting. If you are outside don’t film in direct sunlight if you can help it. Sunlight causes deep shadows and will not be attractive for your on camera talent, especially women.

Open shade is the best, if that is not an option then put your talent in back light. Shoot some test footage and see what you think.

A 4×4 piece of white hard foam insulation board can serve as a reflector to bounce a little fill light on to the talent’s face. You can also try using one of those fold up windshield sun screens.

Automatic exposure on the newer digital cameras do a pretty good job at setting the exposure but not if you have a window in your shot with bright sunlight coming in. The camera will always expose for the brightest object in the scene and your talent will be in silhouette. Look at your scene and make sure it the light intensity is balanced. If you must have that window in your shot then you have either add more light on your talent (they wont like that) or reduce the intensity of light coming through the window using gels or scrims.

“Lighting by Home Depot” is not something you will ever see in movie credits but I guarantee there are thousands of videos that are shot every year using those big yellow work lights that contractors use. Usually they are about 500 watts and cost around $40. They still produce a harsh light so to soften it clip a piece of wax paper in front of it or use a piece of an old white bed sheet. I don’t think Entertainment Tonight will be showing up at your location to do a spot for national TV so keep those production dollars in your pocket.

Next Week

OK, so next time in the Part Three of this series we will actually get into production, you will learn how to create, what I call a Red Neck Teleprompter, get into the post production phase with editing, music and effects and then distribution.

Ciao Baby.