Video production is the process of planning, shooting and editing a video. As video plays a forever-growing role in marketing campaigns, video production is becoming an increasingly important thing for businesses in Edinburgh and the UK as a whole to be aware of.
As a result of video’s growing popularity, more business owners are wondering what video production is and what’s involved in taking something from an initial idea to a polished, brilliant piece of video content. The answer to the question is varied and depends massively on the type of equipment you’re using, what type of video you’re shooting and where this video will be used. A video meant to be used on your website might be very different to a funny clip you post on your TikTok channel, for instance.
With most videos, though, there are some general rules and guidelines that are followed in the production process. If you’re curious as to what these are then read on!
The first stage of video production is maybe not the most glamorous, but it’s vital for making sure everything that follows goes smoothly!
Pre-production involves gathering and finalising your ideas for the video (what will it be about? What are your goals? What do you want to get out of it?); the location; a script (if needed); required equipment (how many cameras? Additional lighting? Microphones? Teleprompter?); and who will be required to be present.
Top Tip: A good place to start with this can be thinking about your end goals. Once you know what you want from your video you can start to piece together everything else and it should flow easily from it.
Next, production!
This is where you get to the filming location and the magic happens. If you’ve done your pre-production stage well then you should know exactly what you’re doing at this stage and it will just be a case of following your plan.
It involves setting up your equipment, making sure your camera angles are correct, setting up microphones (you’d be surprised how easy it is to forget to turn these on!) and, finally, shooting!
Top Tip: As with anything, it’s possible that not everything will go completely to plan, so you’ve got to be ready to improvise! Maybe you’ll think of something you hadn’t considered before and want to shoot an impromptu, unscripted video. Sometimes these can end up better than the stuff you’d prepared for, so don’t think that just because you hadn’t planned for it, it won’t be great!
The third stage is where you really start to see the fruits of your labour. Your hard work in the pre-production and production stages will come to light in post-production.
This stage involves taking your footage and importing it to whatever editing software you use, then getting to work editing it! This doesn’t necessarily mean making it the smoothest, most clinical video ever – it can work well for businesses to keep some of their own character in it.
You’ll also want to get your branding across in your videos. So making sure you have assets like your logo, fonts and any specific music you’d like to use handy is important for making a video instantly recognisable as yours.
Top tip: When editing your video look out for funny bits to include in a blooper reel! These are amazing for using on social media and show a more natural and authentic side of your business that people love to see just as much as your professional side.
Lastly you’ll want to do all the finishing touches. This means tailoring the video to whatever platform you want to use it for and uploading it. For instance, if you want to use it on your YouTube channel you’ll want to have a great looking thumbnail to accompany it, or if you’re using it for Instagram you’ll probably want it to be in a 1:1 aspect ratio.
These last bits may seem a bit trivial, but they’re as important as anything else. You wouldn’t want to spend time perfecting your video in the post-production phase only to make it unusable – or sub-par – for the platforms you want it to be seen the most!
Top Tip: Remember in the pre-production phase where I said to begin by thinking about your goals? If you did that then your video should already be perfect for whichever platform, or platforms, you planned it to be on! Again, this is why planning is so important for making sure the rest of the process is smooth and takes up the least amount of time.
There you have it, the stages of video production. If you’re a business owner and thinking about implementing video into your marketing strategies then this explanation should come in handy. Follow our advice – we’re pros, after all – and you’ll soon have some great video content that add tonnes of value to your business and client base!
When it comes to a first date, there are some critical things to remember. Surprisingly, there’s a lot of cross-over between first dates and content marketing. Follow these rules to make your content as successful as a romantic stroll up Edinburgh’s Royal Mile!
1. Don’t over-complicate things: keep your posts simple. They don’t need to be massively complicated or stuffed full of information. The simpler and more memorable they are, the more likely people will be to engage with them.
2. It’s not all about you: make sure that you’re not just posting sales pitch after sales pitch. Your date wouldn’t appreciate that and neither do your clients!
3. Engage well: content marketing is a two-way deal. Be genuinely interested in others, especially if they’re taking the time to comment and engage with you.
4. Be true to yourself: if you don’t accurately portray who you are, imagine what will happen on the 3rd or 4th “date”. Don’t sugarcoat things, but don’t underplay yourself either!
5. Leave them wanting more: you would hope that a first date would lead to a second and a third. In the same way, if you’re hoping to spark future conversations with potential clients, make sure to add a call to action to your posts. Maybe something like, “Dinner at mine next time?”.
And the most contentious issue? Who pays? Well, I’ll leave that up to you