How 5 Hours of Pre-Production Can Save 5 Hours Post
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” said Benjamin Franklin. “If you don’t have a clear picture of where you’re going, then you don’t have the energy or persistence to make any noteworthy progress…Success loves preparation, are you prepared?” In business, time is money. With more than 28 million small businesses in the U.S., only half survive. That’s a 50 percent drop rate. Forbes links the sorry stats with a failure to plan. If video marketing boosts site traffic with 90 percent more visitors spending more time on sites with video content, then preparation is where the money’s at. Prepare for success with these five steps to pre-production:
1. “If you build it, they will come.”
Whether a boost in Google AdWords insights or reaching a new target, identifying the audience is a key first step. This can translate to developing buyer personas, which offer a more targeted approach than the generalized ‘audience’ aim. Truth-telling becomes easier in video planning when a company has a specific personality in mind. What does he or she find funny or entertaining? What does he or she love, need, fear? What will realistically serve this person’s greatest assets or fuel wellbeing? Creating a campaign based on what a specific, real-life genre of mankind finds appealing is a key first step.
2. “Say it, don’t spray it.”
Many companies are known to generate intense explainer videos, with thousands of words crammed into minutes. This can be overwhelming for prospective business. Unlike movies, the shorter a company’s explainer video, the more likely an audience will watch it. Research hints the ideal video length may be 90 seconds or less. Original content that keeps its message simple is key. What’s most important is to clarify the message’s mission. Once the broader idea is boiled down into one solidified message, a few sentences with animation, acting or a professional voiceover will make an impact.
Video Example: Your viewer’s attention span is short which can make it very difficult to get your point across in 60 seconds or less. Sparksight decided to take on the challenge of creating a punchy new overview video to let you all know what we do in just 30 seconds.
This Dollar Shave Club explainer video reveals the power of simple, yet clear pre-production planning. The brand’s target persona is likely a man who values perks like creating new jobs for other people (altruistic, benevolent), easy shipping (better ways to spend time than shopping), humor and keeping things simple. It targets the man’s man who doesn’t need extra thrills. Watch below. The company’s website also supports its brand image. Consistency spells credibility.
3. “Show me the money”
Determining the best pre-production budget will ensure a company doesn’t run over. The value in working with a good video production company is professional teams will honor work, time and budget. They’re pros at defining a budget pre-production and managing expectations. Stellar video means discovering how to create the highest impact within a company’s means. Otherwise, a brand could be selling itself short, with less bang for its buck.
4. “Get to the point”
Use the first seconds of video to clearly outline who, what, where, when and why the content is relevant to its distinctive audience. Writing a killer corporate video script involves plenty of details. It takes into account distinguished greetings and sign-offs, the level of entertainment appropriate for audiences and brand personas and the key points to be covered.
5. “Shots, shots, shots!”
Where a storyboard is a scene-by-scene highlight of what’s to come, a video shot list is a shot-by-shot breakdown. In a shot list, a template may be created to identify the number of scenes, shot locations, descriptions, framing (the vantage point of the viewer or camera), script content, actors or animations, props and notes about each scene. In sum, the shot list is a paramount component to successful video.
6. “To be continued…”
With the right pre-production planning, customers may come by the thousands.
How will you fashion your next video to attract a target audience or brand persona? Share your ideas in the comments below!
