8 Steps to Creating Great Videos

Each client is unique in product and service, but all clients have the same need to be seen and heard.  How we are seen and heard is important.  A bad video is like showing up to an interview in a ripped t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops.  You get the picture.  Put your best foot forward and create sales by putting on your Sunday best.  Create a video that attracts, not detracts from your unique selling proposition.

There are 8 easy steps that guide us through the video production process to create video that attracts your intended audience.  We have done the process below thousands of times and have produced media that excites, entertains and gets people, products and services noticed above the shaky-cam media junkyard.  Get my drift?  The medium, the message, how you create and deliver that message matters.  Here are the steps:

Step 1:  Discovery – Get to Know Your Business

We strive to learn everything we can about what you do and the product or service you offer.  In this step, you get to look in the mirror and put forth your best image.  Knowing your brand, product, service and customer-base will help us to shape your message.

Step 2:  Treatment – Create a Vision

Once we know you and your customer we can shape your message.  It’s simple, we sit down and brainstorm your sales proposition and the form and style that your message will take to support it.  Steps 1 and 2 help us to define your target audience.  There are also many stylistic directions we can take to get that message heard.  Here are some stylistic descriptors to help:  informative, hard sell, soft sell, humorous, technical, instructive, edgy, emotional and so on.

Step 3:  Script – Forge the Road Map

If we have learned your business and come together on a treatment, then writing a script comes easy.  Writing for video is much more like the spoken word than writing for print. A video script not only puts forth the narrative but also defines what is seen to support the message.  The script is our road map and blueprint for production and post-production.  You get all the say on what is heard and seen.

Step 4:  Pre-Production – Make Plans

With our blueprint/script in hand we can plan all the logistics of your production.  The script is approved at this point so we can create a shot/graphic needs list, do location scouts, do talent and music searches, secure props and define all the needs of the production.

Step 5:  Production – Capture and Create Images

Now we are ready to “shoot the engineers and start production”.  So true is that old adage.  With script and shot-list in hand we can begin shooting video, creating motion graphics both 2D and 3D, recording voice-over talent and creating all the elements needed to hone the message.  Our staff of Producers, Videographers, Lighters, Grips, Audio Engineers, Animators and Stylists will work with you in studio and on-location to capture all the footage and create all the graphics needed. 

Step 6: Post-Production – Composite Final Program

With all the elements readied, we can composite all the footage, graphics and audio into your final piece.  You will work with an editor, graphic animator and audio engineer to mold all the elements together into a well-crafted video.

Step 7:  Approval – Give the Thumbs-up!

This step is where you review the final video and provide feedback.  This is your final rubber stamp on the project.

Step 8:  Distribution – Get Your Message Out

There are many channels and formats to distribute your video.  We’ll help you put your video online (on your website, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.).  We handle all Broadcast formats for television and radio.  We can create DVDs, Blurays and movie files in many different sizes and compression schemes for whatever the use.  We will work with your IT personnel to ensure that your message gets out.

At Pixelbox we have been creating media gets noticed for years.  Helping to set businesses apart from their competition.  Let us help you get your company, product or service noticed.

Your competition may settle for the boss’ nephew shooting shaky out-of-focus video, using clip art graphics and audio that sounds like it was recorded through a tin can.  But, you should not.  We strive to give you the best possible image within the framework of each project.  We create media that excites and entertains your intended target audience. We work with advertising and marketing companies, corporations, small businesses, documentary producers, independent producers and hopefully you.

Let Pixelbox Visual Design help you through all the steps of your next video to get your branding, products and services noticed!

Pre-Production, Pre-Production, Pre-Production!

Like in real estate where "location, location, location" is the most important thing in terms of buying a property, video pre-production is an important element of any video production.  Sometimes it is as simple as having a short meeting at the beginning of a shoot day with the crew and everyone involved on the shoot to lay down all the logistics.  At other times, pre-production is a set of meetings that occur weeks, even months before your production.

Why is pre-production so important?  It can save you time and money!  All the script revisions, location scouting, equipment logistics, hired talent, crew and whatever else is involved in a production are best decided well in advance of your production days.

There are always unforeseen issues that come up on every production.  We traveled to Los Angeles to pick up some shots down on the beach as part of a bigger project.  This project came in way late and while the ideas and concepts were fleshed out, there was no time to do a thorough production plan.  When we arrived at the beach there was a fog over the bay.  No problem.  We will wait a bit until it lifts.  We requested a model (sight unseen) from a trusted resource that would look good on the beach to help drive home the concept of women's styles in warmer climates.  We were expecting your typical California beach girl with sun drenched hair and a no-nonsense California attitude.  The model showed up and she was pasty white, a tad overweight and looked more like someone off of 5th Avenue, NY.  Oops.   We had very little time that morning to get the shot before we needed to move on to other elements of the production.  While we couldn't control the weather (by the way, the fog didn't lift until 2pm), we could control which talent was sent our way.  And, we also should have been more educated on the seasonal weather patterns in the area.  There was no plan B. 
With a lack of planning time, it was like working in the fog (literally and figuratively).  I urge all my clients to spend some time ironing out all the details.  And while we don't have crystal balls to foresee all the variables, we can mitigate most of the treacherous time and money wasters.

Incidents like that are bound to happen.  It is just part of dealing with nature, human error and the many moving parts of a video production.  And while we didn't get that shot, we were able to make something happen in place of it.  Pre-production planning aims to weed out most of the issues that can plague a production.  It is a mere pittance compared to the cost of crew and talent waiting around on a location while an issue is rectified.  Would you build a new house without a blueprint?  Spend time and money on pre-production to save time and money on your next video production!

For help on your next production contact Pixelbox Visual Design.

Online Video Marketing Needs Production Value

 
Online video marketing is poised to explode.  No, it's already exploded.  Your companies image can be on the line in terms of how you present yourself amongst all the other competition.

It is an epic tale of two guys, a van, sliced ham, bread and a load of video production gear.  Pixelbox drove from Wisconsin to Georgia to keep our clients budget in check and solidify our willingness to go the extra mile for them.  Literally speaking, we went 1,600 extra paved miles.

We drove to Atlanta to save our client money, but not at the expense of shooting, editing and finishing a video that has good production value.  A video that has more impact than the boss' nephew shooting with a consumer camera and editing a piece together in his bedroom.  I am not prejudiced against nephews.  I like all of mine.  And, there are a few out there that are really talented in the video arena.  But, by far, most of what has become acceptable media today shouldn't ever grace a YouTube screen.

Here's the skinny.  We can find ways to save on a production - like our road trip instead of flying. While the road trip saved money, it did not effect the quality and value of the actual production work.  You can save in some areas, but cutting corners on production quality should not be one of them.  Our clients know this, and that's why they like working with us.  So whoever you are working with to create your online video marketing, make sure you are getting good production quality and value.  Stand out from your competition!

Check out Pixelbox Visual Design for your next video project.