Thursday 15 March 2012

Why more decision-making executives are waking up to business video?

Quite simply, more decision-making executives (c-suite) are waking up to business video because we (business video producers) are making life easier for executives by distilling key messages and information into a carefully crafted few minutes.

Instead of having to wade through lengthy documents or numerous pages of a website they can watch a short video that gives them the executive summary - the highlights and key points.

So, if your target audience is business owners and director level executives it is crucially important to employ a video company who understand how to communicate your messages effectively.

As a producer it's my role to take the time to understand your business and the issues you face that you can address using a video.  It is then up to me to identify the key messages and create a narrative that represents the spirit or essence of your company and attracts your clients to you.

After all, your time is best spent using your expertise to run the business - to do what I do best I need to gain your trust and be given the space and resources to to make a short informative and engaging film.

More often than not I receive a phone call or email asking me to quote for producing a video to promote a companies products - a sales video.  After we have discussed the viewing behaviour & preferences as above we are commissioned to make a film with a more gently promotional message - no hard selling.

The video will often be the first thing potential clients see so the information has to be about who you are and why you do what you do.  If they like what they see they are more likely to spend time reading more detailed information on your website.

So think of a promotional video as an executive summary - with the benefit of case study testimonials - something like this...


Tuesday 13 March 2012

The Language of Video, it's a whole lot more than words and pictures

If a picture paints a 1000 words, just how many words are contained in a video that actually has 25 frames (different pictures) in every second of film - 30 in the USA
Video has a language of its own that is made up of 3 elements:
  • The words you hear
  • Your interpretation of the pictures you see
  • The unspoken moods or emotions you feel through non-verbal communication - the wink of an eye, a smile, negative body language, a false smile that is only seen in the mouth but not in the eyes.

Today I was sent a video to comment on. I'm assuming that the idea of the video is to promote a company who designs and creates domestic interiors - kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms etc. What I see on viewing the film is one minute of nicely shot images filmed in a showroom and set to music.

It's not that it's bad - there are some smiling faces of staff and customers and a range of images that suggests the calibre of client they are targeting - all set to some happy music.

My point is that this could be so much more. It's 2 dimensional because the first element - words - is missing entirely. There is no narrative, no story to hook me in and carry me along. I don't feel that I know who the company are or whether they really do a good job - anyone can hire actresses or models to smile in front of some nice shiny products.
With little additional effort a short clip from a senior representative of the company or a respected figure talking about the products might give the viewer an insight into the 'why' behind the company - it's culture and ethos.

Two or three short clips from customers would tell me how much they like doing business with that company and why they chose to buy from them.

I always try to include client testimonials in a promotional film. The viewer can see that they are genuine interviews and are likely to trust the content - a great soft sell for your business.
Here's a short film we produced for AEG at Taste of Christmas that follows these principals - resulting in an easy to watch film that doesn't feel like a sales message