Is Producing a Marketing Video a Good Investment?
Moviemaking isn’t just the domain of west coast producers. Large corporations have been making “marketing videos” for years, and, just like their Hollywood counterparts, often get mixed results. Unlike the entertainment industry, however, they rarely know their ROI.
Now, online business video is everywhere-and produced by everybody. “Making a video” is certainly more affordable for small- and mid-sized companies, but you might agree with me that many online videos today are vacant of quality and content.
Most businesses can benefit from a well-made online marketing film (let’s start differentiating your video product from the masses by using “film,” a term that connotes quality and timelessness) if it’s well-made and serves a purpose in your overall marketing strategy.
However, in producing online film content the “R” in ROI may mean a certain number of hits to your website or more qualified email inquiries about a job posting by HR. You’ve got to know what you want before you can expect any marketing tool to assist you in getting it.
“Yes” answers to these questions will assist you in deciding if it’s a good investment for your company:
1. Are our company’s values, key messages, and target audiences/markets clearly defined and written out?
2. Does our company have a flexible marketing plan in place with funds to implement the marketing in new and creative ways?
3. Are all of our primary marketing tools and tactics in place, attracting some attention from our markets and achieving some of the return we have defined in our marketing plan? Especially Internet marketing tools and tactics?
4. Realizing that the best marketing films are often slightly offbeat but always entertaining, are we really interested in telling our story in a fresh and different way?
5. Are we willing to get outside help (like a scriptwriter or independent producer) to find and tell the stories about our company that will help make the film successful?
If you have more than one “no” answer, don’t despair. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t produce a marketing video, it just means you probably shouldn’t IF you expect to see a substantial return on the business investment!
Greg Womble is president of WOMCOM, a custom media firm that writes and produces online corporate videos and documentary films, capturing the essence of the people behind the company or product. For over 20 years Greg has written and produced film/video content for business and the entertainment industry, such as THE SCIENCE POLICE, a comedy-information TV series for Kentucky Educational Television. Contact Greg at greg@womcom.net or visit http://www.womcom.net
Author: Greg Womble
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Home care
Video Production Explained
Video is a powerful marketing medium with the ability to communicate concise, precise and controlled information with a positive effect. A well-constructed video fires the imagination, increases the energy level and ensure that all feel part of your event. It will engage the emotions, focus the attention and enable each individual to visualise his/her role as part of the team.
Videos strength lies in its simple ability to transport people to locations, illustrate concepts and convey far more than mere words, spoken or printed, ever can. Video is an effective and memorable way of communicating. Core messages and themes are reinforced using other forms of communication. Video footage has a long shelf life when used imaginatively in multimedia CD-ROMs, Websites, DVD and CD-Brochure formats.
Video has been revolutionised by the onset of digital shooting and editing. Shooting in broadcast quality used to involve cumbersome and expensive camera equipment, combined with analogue editing which required the copying of sections and consequent loss of quality with each successive generation. The process was time consuming, complicated and linear. Modern digital cameras are capable of shooting in broadcast quality. Editing is now carried out in a non-linear way on desktop computers; changes may be made at will, stored and reviewed at any time and in any order. The advantages are similar to those gained by using a computer word processor over that of a mechanical typewriter and carbon copy paper for duplicates. Not only is digital editing highly flexible, but the medium enables an ever-expanding range of graphical effects to be applied – without loss of quality or corruption of the original footage. In consequence, the costs associated with making and producing a video have dropped dramatically. What was once the preserve of the large, rich and expansive corporation is now available and affordable to a much wider market – with the consequent advantages that this provides to internal company communications and team building along with external advantages in the selling of products or services to your market place.
The stages required to produce a video vary depending on the style and content; generally:
- PRE-PRODUCTION involves briefing, research, location finding, administration, booking of facilities and writing a treatment outline (video content, description and approach to be adopted). After approval a shooting script including both narration and camera shots will be written.
- SHOOTING follows the approved script and involves a camera crew and a director going to location/s to interview participants and shoot footage to illustrate, illuminate and reinforce the script. If required studio shoots are undertaken where controlled lighting and effects are employed – a product demonstration, for example is typically shot in this way.
- POST-PRODUCTION includes recording of guide narration (using an edited script, which may change from the shooting script because of interviewee’s comments etc.). Footage is edited to the guide narration, graphic and video effects generated and music and titles added. The resulting edit master is then client approved and amended as necessary. A final “voice over” is then effected incorporating final changes. The final master tape is complete and ready for duplication.
- DUPLICATION is the transfer of masters onto the final format – which can be all or any of VHS, Betacam, Laserdisk, Digibeta, DVD, Mpeg, Avi and more. The final product is then packaged and presented in an appropriate way with print material for labels, inserts and sleeves.
James Hunter works for Status AV, one of the foremost video production companies in the UK.
Author: James Hunter
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Anti-angiogenic Food
Score Big in Sales With a Customized Business Video
In today’s internet world, having a presence online is very important. What’s even more important is to get those people to buy from you or perform a particular action that’s crucial for your business to survive. You must have tried promoting your products or services by using a promotional page that explains the features and benefits of your products or services, but, are you really showing your customer a picture that makes them jump with joy and get their credit cards out of their wallets? Are you really getting a good number of website visitors to turn into potential buyers? If not, then what you need is a professionally created video.
Here are some good reasons why every business should have a professionally produced video on their website:
As a small business owner or a medium or large corporation, what you want to do is create mass awareness about the existence of your products or services, along with its features and benefits. The whole idea is to make people desire your products or services by creating strong images that have long lasting impression that converts into sales. You could try writing tons of sales pages with flashy pictures, but you would still lack the impact created by a single video. That’s because videos contain thousands of those flashy images that you would find on a sales page, which would in turn mean thousands of times the impact. So a person reading a sales page with a few images, would not be able to recall all of them, unlike a professionally created video that contains vivid images and audio that reminds him or her about your products or services at various hours of the day.
Many website owners say that their customers really don’t like to read their sales pages, which is another reason why they indulge in video production. Ask yourself, would you rather read a book like “Harry Potter” than watch it on screen? You’d probably choose the latter, since you wouldn’t have to flip through hundreds of pages to understand a small scene in the story. Moreover, it’s human nature to understand pictures better than words.
Now you might be thinking that video production is not enough and you would end up paying even more money trying to get people to watch your videos. Well, that was the case back in the day before free websites like YouTube, Metacafe, Dailymotion, Google Video, and many others appeared. Today we have about 150 popular video sharing sites with lots of daily visitors. So if you’re thinking of promoting your website or products through video marketing, you are already ahead of those who aren’t doing it at the moment.
Do you want to get a jump start on your competition? Do you need to level the playing field and close the gap with your competitor? Get in the game with a professionally produced corporate video from Your World Productions Inc. Contact Your World Productions Inc. now at: http://yourworldproductions.com/ Call us now at 800-878-1574 or email us at info@yourworldproductions.com
2010 Your World Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved This article brought to you by Your World Productions. Providing simple tips for people in a hurry. Visit http://yourworldproductions.com/ for more free video tips.
Author: Aaron R. Thomas
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Advice on AdSense
Benefits of Training Videos
A major problem with the running of a large corporation or PLC, is the increasing expense of staff training programmes. Training videos are exactly what the title says – videos made for the purpose of staff training.
When a company has a large and geographically diverse audience, it can be extremely expensive to either send experienced trainers to all of them, or pay for each individual to attend training courses. A training video can dramatically reduce these costs, and make the training information immediately available to all members of staff.
Training video production can be presented in many ways – from a series of specifically filmed programmes, to the filming of training seminars and important presentations that have taken place at these events and conferences, which can then be edited into video form so that the benefits of these seminars are massively increased.
Once they have been filmed, training videos can either be delivered on CD-ROM for computer based presentations, or VHS and DVD for television presentations. Training videos are often incorporated into part of an overall training programme depending on the needs of the company.
Training videos are very often used for induction purposes for new staff and most people will see at least one of them in their working life. However they can also be used for a multitude of other applications. For example, if a new piece of technology is introduced into your company, then a training video is the ideal way to get the information on how to use it across your entire workforce as quickly as the technology needs to be incorporated. It could take weeks to train the staff in individual or group sessions, so costs can be saved on both training, and time. Training videos can also be used to train staff on new policies, health and safety issues, customer service standards, or simply the latest sales features on a new product. When you have to train a wide and geographically diverse audience, training videos can be the ideal means of getting the information through your company in the fastest and most cost effective way.
Every company must offer their employees training from the initial training at orientation to ongoing development. “The way you train your new employees is important in not only enabling them to do a good job, but also with their retention. Recent studies have shown that when a new hire is adequately trained in the beginning, they feel more confident in their job and therefore will stay with you longer.” – Peggy Morrow, ‘Training for Success’.
Video has long been recognized as a valuable teaching medium because it can effectively convey to students an instructor’s visual clues, for example, gestures, posture and facial expressions that aid communication and comprehension. Decades of research show body language is the single most important element in verbal communication. MediaPoint Technology Boosts Streaming Video as Training Tool. In good times as well as bad, one of the biggest hidden expenses for many businesses is the cost of bringing new workers up to speed or training existing employees for new job duties.
A detailed training video is one of the most direct routes to lower employee training costs. Not to confuse an ‘occupational procedures video’ with a job description is another valuable tool for any organization. Job descriptions outline the duties to be performed by employees. A training video demonstrates exactly how to do those jobs.
Such a video can be extremely useful in recruiting and interviewing job applicants. But more importantly, it can streamline employee training and all new people to become more productive more quickly. The out-of-pocket payroll savings alone can be substantial. Suppose it takes eight weeks to bring a new employee up to speed in a particular job, and the person’s supervisor must devote 25% of his or her time to training during that break-in period. A good training video should reduce the necessary training time by at least 20%.
Aside from these training cost savings, there are other reasons to develop procedures videos for your organization. Indeed, the very process of preparing such a video will provide invaluable insight into the operations of your business.
I-MOTUS is one of the UKs leading corporate and training video production companies. Our team uniquely combines proven business savvy with some of the television industrys brightest creative talent to provide a fresh approach to the most challenging of marketing and communication briefs. http://www.i-motus.com/ – IM02EZ
Author: Joel Loader
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Canada duty
Video Production – Significantly Increase Your Web Conversions.
Like all good things on the Internet they are easily measurable which means you can work out the real return on investment. And they won’t cost as much as you might think. The videos once made would typically cost £0.01 (one pence) per view and payback should be in a matter of months and probably much less.
Online videos are proven to significantly increase the stickiness and effectiveness of websites. Success stories show 100%, 200% and, in some cases, a 300% increase in inquiries – directly as a result of putting a corporate web video production in place on their website. Web Video productions work because they are short, straightforward and get to the point.
They grab the attention of customers with simple well-crafted messages that talk to the viewer about what they are interested in. We’re not exaggerating when we say the possibilities are endless.
- Video have all manner of uses:
- Improve Sales Lead Conversion With An Interactive Online Video
- Deliver Your Business Proposition In An Exciting And Invigorating Manner
- Reduce Call Rates By Providing Self-Help Customer Service Videos
- Build Business Credentials With A Commercial Video Welcome Message
- Deliver Innovative And Interactive Product Demonstration Videos
- Provide Measurable Internal & External Educational Platforms
- Help Visitors Navigate Your Website & Locate Important Information
- Aid The Customer Decision Making Processes With Help Videos
- Drive Customer Feedback With Person To Person Calls To Action
- Bring Your Customer Testimonials To Life With A Soft Sell Website Video
- Use A Video To Enhance Your Marketing Communications
At a time of recession, investing in a video production has never made more business sense.
Like all good things on the Internet they are easily measurable which means you can work out the real return on investment.And they won’t cost as much as you might think.
The video production once made would typically cost £0.01 (one pence) per view and payback should be in a matter of months and probably much less. For example, if you were getting say 10 or perhaps 50 first-time enquiries a day through your website then we would be confident of increasing that number. Without knowing your business we cant say by how much, but in most cases uplift of 20%, 50% or more should be feasible.
WebVideos create Professional video production, Online Video, corporate video production and Website Video Services For Any Size Business or Budget on the Internet.
Author: Mark Griffin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Excise Tax
For PR Professionals Who Create Videos, Script and Format Determine the Quality and Budget
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video can be worth a million — especially today, when you can distribute your video online so easily. You may be surprised at how cost-effective a video can be, if you use certain time-tested formats.
Corporate or industrial videos can solve many communications and public relations problems.
Over the years, I’ve learned that the writer of a video script has a great influence on the eventual cost of the project, because the writer is also, in effect, the producer. Knowledge of the production process can be factored in to the way the script is written, which dictates the format and production requirements for the video.
By applying carefully selected production formats, you can produce a premium quality video to be proud of, without taking out a mortgage to do it.
Consider video communications if you are:
– Selling a technical product to a technical audience.
– Communicating a non-profit or healthcare message to the community, and wishing to convey a “human face and voice” on behalf of your institution.
– Conveying complex information, i.e. healthcare clinical information, financial services information, etc.
– Conveying your organization’s capabilities to prospective customers/users.
– Communicating a management message to employees, volunteers, supporters.
– Conveying hands-on training techniques and “how-to” procedures.
– Celebrating a company anniversary, e.g. 50 years in business.
– Promoting a healthcare message that can be communicated effectively in interviews with your in-house subject-matter experts.
– Promoting a complicated business topic that is more easily understood via the spoken word than in writing. (Or a topic that would be boring in print, but which would be of broader interest on video.)
Talk with the script writer about the best format. “Format” means how the information is conveyed. Examples: A “talking head” delivering news into the camera like a TV anchorperson; an interview with one or more subject-matter experts; or even a simple slideshow of still photos with a narration. The choice of format will drive your costs more than anything else. A simple interview requires only one camera, one set, and a person to ask questions of your expert. A dramatic narrative, on the other hand, would be far more costly, because it requires a complex script, actors, a set or perhaps multiple location shots, etc.
So work with the writer on the best format for your situation. If the budget is too high, consider changing to another format. Your resulting video may be just as high quality, for less money.
Steve Cebalt of Bottom Line Public Relations is Founder of the Social Marketing Leadership Roundtable in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He specializes in marketing, advertising and public relations issues of interest to nonprofit communications professionals. http://www.bottomlinepr.com
http://www.nonprofitPRforum.blogspot.com
Copyright Steve Cebalt 2007 May be used with author acknowledgement
Author: Steve Cebalt
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Import duty tariff
Changing Face of Video Production
As someone who’s been involved with video production for a long time, it’s interesting to see the changing face of this industry.
No longer do we see many big, bulky cameras and a lot of cameramen I know are relieved about that as they head off to their next chiropractor appointment! Many have buggered necks, backs or knees from lugging the old, heavy cameras around venues for many years.
On top of that the really good tripods, like Satchler, can be killers to carry. I know the newer models have carbon fibre and are a lot lighter but I was in a crew some years back in Colorado in the USA and we were shooting a gold mine inside a mountain that involved travelling on a train into the mountain and then rock-face lifts up to the mine. We came out on the side of the mountain at 11,000 feet up and I was the bunny producer tasked with carrying the heavy tripod – had to rest every 10 metres or so to catch my breath. They are really heavy, especially when oxygen is low! Maybe, as producer, I should have passed that tripod onto someone else. Nah, we were all carrying stuff and that’s how we Aussie crews operate!
But what hasn’t changed is the ability or not to use the video medium to tell a story. How you capture the images might be constantly evolving – and I now do that with a Sony XP1 HDV camera which is just great for video production for my clients – but linking it all together so it’s not boring is a skill that only real video producers know. When to stop the interview grab, when to use music, when to use some graphics, when to use natural sound up pieces – these all translate into a free flowing video production that works for the client and the people who will be watching that video production.
Some things change – the gear. Other things never change – the need to effectively tell the story! You know what else hasn’t changed? The use of a good voice to tell the story and that voice to be wel paced and modulated. Highs and lows are necessary to avoid a dull, boring monotone delivery. The professional voice over people actually stand and use their hands and body movement to inject life into their narration. And it works.
If you’d like to see more details, with examples, of video production, please visit our website at The Video Production Group.
Author: Graham J Kelly
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
News of Solar Power and Alternative Engery
Online Video – Keeping Up With the Newest Wave in Media Marketing
We are in the midst of a change in the way companies are looking to market their business ideas and products, as more people turn away from exposure to traditional advertising mediums and look to the internet for their informational and consumer purposes. Businesses are beginning to understand that online marketing is essential at a time when it is difficult for companies to stand out from their competition, and the race is on in exploring new and creative ways to attract potential visitors and would be customers.
Companies are now realizing that online video is one of the most effective marketing resources available for reaching their customer, and that video production is now considered an essential tool for both large corporate and private businesses, as well as nonprofit and charitable organizations. Simply put, online videos are the easiest and quickest way to educate potential customers on the products and services involved with a business. Both corporate and online videos are used to bring life and added value to a marketing campaign, and serve as a way to deliver information quickly and simply to create an emotional pull that leads viewers to take action.
When a viewer can see and hear the benefits of a product or service in action, and witness positive results, they are more likely to relate to a business more than they would by just reading text. Communicating a difficult product or new concept can be best served by providing a live product demonstration that can help get the message across in an interesting and informative way. Video can also be enhanced by customer testimonials, which are significantly more effective when delivered through an individual on screen as opposed to a text format. This type of medium is also a permanent fixture for the company, that upon completion is available “on demand” at anytime for the potential customer.
As more traditional advertising and marketing mediums such as direct mail, newspaper, and television have seen a decline in ad revenue and direct returns, businesses are turning their spending to online video and marketing vehicles. A recent study conducted by comScore, a global leader in measuring digital marketing intelligence, found that exposure to online video advertising can lead to as much as a 40% increase in buying a product or service. A similar study recognized by the Online Publishers Association and AdWeek found that over half of viewers who watch a marketing-oriented video will take some action, including 12% who will buy the product being offered. Compare that to only .5% to 2% of visitors to a “text only” web site who will purchase a product.
In addition to the value of conveying a company or organization’s message to viewers in an interesting way, online videos are an invaluable tool in driving potential customers to a company’s website, and keeping them there. In an age where visual product is the norm when browsing online, studies reveal the effectiveness of video for creating “stickiness” to websites, keeping viewers on the site longer and prompting them to return more frequently. It has been reported that 80% of Internet users watch video, moving to 88% by 2012. ComScore reports that 73% of U.S. Internet users watched an average of nearly three and a half hours of online video per month, with Americans viewing more than 10 billion videos online per month. Videos are also a proven way to get all of the information you want to the viewer, as 65% of online surfers will view a video production to completion, compared to less than 20% of those who read “text only” sites to completion, according to Adweek. And videos are easier to share and spread to larger groups on the web, as a reported 68% of people who watch online videos pass links for these videos onto their friends. Public social and video sites such as YouTube and Facebook make it easier to broadcast your video message to a broader audience, and generate more buzz and interest for your company. Video placed on these types of sites in addition to a homepage can increase the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for a business website, placing it higher on search engine results lists.
Besides focusing on a business product or service, online videos can create a generally positive image for the company that appeals to the viewer. Organizations worried about increasing awareness of their Corporate Social Responsibility can emphasize their good business practices, as well as broadcast public service and charitable events they are involved with throughout the year. For Nonprofit and Charitable organizations, a video can provide visible results for a potential donor or recent donor who is interested in seeing where their contribution is going and who it is affecting, as most donors want to see results before they agree to give again. This type of “results driven” exposure toward an ultimate goal for a nonprofit organization can keep nonprofit marketing campaigns fresh and always evolving.
As more people are spending more time on the internet than ever before, it is now up to businesses to claim their stake, and position themselves to be available to potential customers through online marketing. With that in mind, there is no more efficient way to present business and consumer information to viewers than online video, which will stand as a cornerstone for a company when branding the way a business runs, as well as the products and services they are trying to sell.
Robert Haley is a three time Emmy Award winning Producer and Director of Marketing and Communications at Infinite Media Productions, with over 10 years of experience in media production and programming. To learn more ways and see examples of businesses maximizing their online marketing potential through video, please visit http://www.infinitemediapro.com .
Author: Robert Haley
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
US Dollar credit card
Increase Your Sales With Offline Video Marketing
Are you using video as part of your sales tools? Online and Offline? Today, businesses have no excuse to NOT exploit video to the advantage of increasing sales, or at the least, increasing awareness of one’s product(s) and/or service(s).
If you are still relying on ONLY sales people, flyers, brochures, conventional advertisement, and your good old powerpoint presentation, you might want to explore the potential and advantage of using video. In this article, we will explore offline video marketing. Online video marketing is a rapidly changing field and warrants separate articles.
The power and effectiveness of video in comparison to other non-human marketing or sales tools are unmatched and indisputable. Video is not meant to replace other tools. Video should be used to enhanced different channels of marketing and sales. Video need not replace sales people. Sales people need not feel threatened that their role will be taken over by a product or sales video. Video should be a great companion to any great sales people. If your sales people do not know how to use a sales video, then you might have the highest closing sales people but your sales volume will be greatly limited.
Video is like multiplying the effort of your best sales people. Video should help your sales people double, if not triple, their sales. Yes, video may or may not close a sale for you, depending on the nature of the product and/or the pitch of the video. But, video should at least prime a potential client to make a decision on your product.
Is video production very expensive nowadays? Yes and no. No doubt, there are many big production companies monopolizing in the advertising market. If you ask these guys to produce a video for you, then be ready with a big budget. Well, if you really have the money and the business volume to justify it, go ahead and do it. If you don’t have that kind of budget or number, don’t be despair. You can still have a professionally produced corporate or product video with a small budget. Today, video is not the exclusive privilege of big corporation. Small and medium companies can also consider the powerful video marketing and sales.
For an investment of $2,000, you can have a decent and professionally produced corporate and product video. This is really a worthwhile investment in the long run. Of course, with this budget, you should not expect the top voiceover in the nation. But, the quality of the voiceover is still professional, and so is the rest of the video.
Before you proceed to do a video, you should have a rough idea of the flow of your video. You know your business and product best. Do not rely on a stranger to fool around with your company profile and product benefits. The video producer, if they have the appropriate experience, then it’s a bonus for you. In any case, you should dictate the content and flow of your video. After all, you are investing your money to get something that will hopefully promote or sell your product.
Finally, take stock of your marketing and sales. If you have yet to capitalize on video marketing, perhaps it’s time you take a serious look into this powerful marketing and sales tool.
If you find the above article helpful, please visit my website at http://www.feasiblemarketing.com. For more information on producing your corporate and product video, please go to http://www.feasiblemarketing.com/v.html.
Jonas Lee
Author: Jonas Lee
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
News of Solar Power and Alternative Engery
Creating Event Magic through Planned Video Production
Once upon a time, there was a young, stressed out corporate events planner called Tanya. She was organising a large-scale event for her firm’s biggest client.
In the midst of organising the guest list, Tanya’s boss told her that the client had requested some video footage be edited together to open the event. It had to be done in a hurry.
Tanya asked her boss, “What do they want the video to tell their audience?”
“Oh, they don’t have any messages”, said her slightly panic stricken manager, “they just want to show footage that was taken years ago that seems relevant for their new launch”.
Tanya knew nothing about video production. She didn’t even have the time to find out. After quickly talking to a few production houses, she chose one that was close by that had quoted a cheap price.
The production house was able to quickly edit the footage together in one day. They did what she said, but deep down she knew she really had no idea what she wanted or why the video was being made.
The video opener was used to kick start the event. Tanya noticed that nobody seemed enthralled by the vision and that some people started talking half way through. Luckily, the client and her boss seemed happy with the result.
A couple of months later, Tanya was out at a networking function. She met another corporate event planner who told her how well video had been used at their events. Tanya was amazed and asked what they were doing.
“The most important thing we do is spend the time working out what the video has to do”, said the vibrant woman. “Then, we make sure that it ties in to our theme and our communication objectives. If you just edit together a collage of pretty pictures, all you’re doing is creating a meaningless video that doesn’t connect with people. People get bored because there is no clear message”.
‘Next time’, she advised, “spend the time working out what the video needs to do, before getting anything made. Work out the objectives with your client and refuse to just make anything just for the sake of it. Otherwise, all you’ll do is waste their money”.
There are lots of event planners and PR account managers like Tanya who are put into this situation.
Tight deadlines, lack of clear client direction, little knowledge of how video can be used and minimal budget all compound to make it really difficult to create a video that pulls people in.
The secret is skilled strategic planning. All this requires is spending some time working out the objectives.
First of all, what is the event all about? Is it a company celebration or an awards night? Is it a product roll-out or a publicity event? What problem does the video need to solve? These days, the need for return on investment is imperative. By having some defined goals, you will have metrics to measure the success of your video.
Second, describe the audience. Does it include sceptical buyers or excited employees? How likely are they to take home your message?
And last of all, what are the main communication messages? Do you want your audience to learn about the success of others? Or do you need them to be sympathetic to your messages?
When you have important messages that need to cut through, you need to get out the big guns.
The Use of Emotion
Want to get a message across that won’t be forgotten? Then, remember this formula. E+I=C. Emotion plus Information equals Communication.
Using the right blend of emotion and information is a powerful way to get people to listen to what you have to say. And want to hear more.
If you really want to captivate a large group with a message, you have to grab them with emotion. Otherwise, you’ll have a bored and noisy bunch who will turn to the alcohol for entertainment far too early in the night.
For special events, create a video that has an emotional angle to the set mood and tone. Use video to inspire, motivate or excite.
Communicate with Stories
Story telling is a powerful way to pull people in and listen to what you have to say. Let’s face it; we all know how relaxing it is to chill out at the movies or in front of the television to watch stories about other people.
There are many ways to tell your story in a corporate environment. Show re-enactments, use historical footage and photos, interview people and use engaging case studies. Make use of video testimonials.
The Gift of Music
Music has a way of touching the soul like no other type of communication. Used properly it can make people laugh, cry and feel inspired.
Used badly and it will turn people away.
At an awards night I once attended, a motivational video was displayed that featured greyhound racing highlights throughout the year.
It pulled out all the tricks in the book – action shots, over-animated titles, emotional winners and screamingly bad 80’s guitar music. The type that instantly made you think of bad hair, leery jumpsuits and ridiculous make-up. The result was an audience who stopped watching and spent the rest of the night complaining about it.
The only other caution with music is that everyone wants to use commercial tracks. This music requires expensive licensing fees and permission from the artist. Royalty free or production music are often the best choices. A good producer will be able to choose the right music for your production.
So if you are an over-worked Tanya type, who needs to produce a video in a hurry, just remember that you are wasting your time and money, if it has no specific message. Spending a couple of extra hours working out what the video needs to do will create an enjoyable and successful event that people will remember for years to come.
(c) Marie-Claire Ross 2005. All rights reserved.
Marie-Claire Ross is the Director of Digicast Productions a full-service, concept-to-completion video production facility specialising in videos that connect with your audience. She can be contacted on 0500 800 234 (Australia wide) or at mc@digicast.com.au. The website is at http://www.digicast.com.au
Author: Marie-Claire Ross
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
US Dollar credit card
