Most Bang for Your Buck: How To Plan Your Professional Video Shoot
You’ve decided to create a high-quality minute or longer corporate video to help grow your brand. Congratulations! As a business, you may assume the best way to approach video production is to spend less money on more videos. We want to share how you can plan your one video shoot carefully and maximize your professionally filmed content across platforms.
6 seconds
Can you tell a riveting story in six seconds? Bumper ads are a short video ad format “designed to allow you to reach more customers and increase awareness about your brand by using a short, memorable message,” according to Google.
Ahead of your professional video shoot, write a mini script for your bumper ad.
“One word, one image, one second is enough for someone to be drawn in. The story we chose to tell, of a little girl blowing out her birthday candles, can spark a myriad of thoughts and emotions, leaving the viewer with a desire to watch more. That’s the beauty of storytelling,” said Mia Kuhn, a producer at advertising agency TBWA Worldwide, in this Think Google piece.
Another way to approach your script is to hone in on the moment of change.
“The core of every good story is change — a square becomes a circle; a character learns about herself; a landscape shifts. Six seconds is a limited time frame to show that transformation, so I knew I had to pinpoint the exact moment that everything changes,” said Tony Xie, an associate broadcast producer at Droga5.
9 to 15 seconds
For advertising, TikTok suggests short 9–15 second videos. The platform is a place where you can showcase your personality and forge a deep connection with your audience. If you’re filming a corporate video, your employees will most likely be on set. Take this opportunity to get more personal with your audience and consider shooting team introductions. For example, film a snippet of a regular day in the life of one of your employees or ask them to share what they do daily.
“Your face, your voice, who you are is one of the best assets you have for your business,” Ramon Ray, a small business expert, told us in this conversation. “Personality and humanity are one of the most powerful things that video does for a small brand.”
30 seconds
You can use your video shoot to execute your planned content for the rest of the year. Use this thirty-second format to send a targeted message to your audience. All you need are a few extra props on set to record a holiday video: a thoughtful Thanksgiving message or a festive Christmas one. If you’re a small business, you may also benefit from creating a 30-second spot giving more insight into your product or service for Small Business Saturday. Focusing on marketing dates helps personalize your business and increase awareness.
“Every business, especially if you have the budget, should invest in one or two professionally produced videos that live on your site,” Ramon said.
He stressed the myriad of ways you can maximize your content. “Take the existing content you have, turn it into a podcast. Take the podcast you have, turn it into a meme. Take the memes you have, turn it into a little book. Take the books you have, turn it into an Audible. Take the Audible you have, turn it into a longer YouTube video.”
If you are spending thousands of dollars for a professional video shoot, plan in a way that leaves you with months’ worth of content to publish. You can ask your production crew to make the additional cuts (make sure to state this in the project deliverables ahead of time clearly) or hire an editor on Storyhunter. If you need help, get connected to your dream team using our SELECT product.
By Shivan Sarna, Head of Stories
