Thursday, November 12, 2009

Naples Video Production

Effective Marketing Videos
by: Naples Video Production

To sell something online takes work, ingenuity and perseverance. After all, if it was easy we’d all be doing it. Videos are the latest in a long line of innovations that have passed through the internet and out the other side. A few have remained, but only the really good ones.

Making a marketing video for online use is harder than it may seem. Besides the odd YouTube phenomenon that happens almost by accident, the simple talking head formula is the one to beat. In my opinion, it is the easiest to film, needs the least amount of post-production and anyone can do one. All you need is someone who is good in front of the camera and away you go.

The whole point of making a marketing video is to create a connection and trust between the subject and the viewer. A talking head style shoot is the most effective way of doing that, as the subject is talking directly to the viewer.

Like any production, the key to a good video is preparation. Have the subject rehearse what they are going to say, and have prompt cards beside the camera if necessary. Try to get them relaxed and in a good mood, as it will come across quite clearly on film if they aren’t at their best. Get them made up and ready, then have them run over the lines again.

Talk to them or have the director do it and talk them through the process, the shots, the language used and the different hand signals. Get them as comfortable as possible with the way the studio works so they are more relaxed.

Set the lighting, preferably a diffused light either side, or to one side if in profile. Set the overhead lights so they highlight the subject but doesn’t make the skin look shiny. Set up the microphone, preferably a wireless remote, but whatever you have and do your sound checks.

Once everything is prepared, I tend to start the cameras and ask the subject to do a dress rehearsal as if they were on camera. They don’t know it’s being filmed and are often much more relaxed in their demeanor. More often than not I take at least some footage from here and use it in the final cut.

Then do the piece to camera as many times as it takes to get it right. If they are using a script, there should be prescribed cut breaks to change shot or to re-take.

Then the real work begins. If the shoot was a good one, there will be very little post production to do. If there were a lot of cuts, then there might be some cutting to do.

It’s just my opinion that talking head style marketing videos are the most effective. They subscribe to the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid) and attempts to engage the audience directly. That is why they are by far the most used method of video production around at the moment.