Don’t Miss This Pre Production Checklist for Your Video Content
YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, video content is trending. Just the word video in an email ups its open rate by 7%. Yet marketers struggle to get likes and follows and many consider it a lot of effort and investment for little gain. That’s because a content marketing agency or professional may jump in without thinking it through — ending up spending more time and money than they expected.
So, here’s a video pre-production checklist for a quick recon before you say “Lights, Camera, Action!”
Budget
Budget tops this list because production costs can soon run into a maverick if you don’t watch out. Creative ideas pop out of nowhere and teams can be carried away — spiralling cost of production. When allocating budget, set it for each element of production — such as storyboards, cast, crew, equipment and so on. Then stick to it as much as possible.
Craft Your Message
Just like any marketing collateral — or perhaps more than any other content, — it is important to be clear about the message you want to convey in your video. Think about why you are making the video; what prompted you to make it and what you want your audience to hear. If you are trying to fit too much into one video, your audience is likely to get bored and move on. So be specific — very specific — about the message you want to convey.
Who’s Listening?
As a marketing professional, why would you watch a science flick? It is important to identify who will watch your video. True that goes for all marketing collateral, but when it comes to video, a small mistake can send your budget into a tailspin. Relevance of content affects most elements — including script, visuals, and cast — of your video. That’s the reason it merits inclusion in our list of video production tips.
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Script and Story Board
Ad-lib may work on the news — or perhaps in films — but when it comes to marketing video, you want to convey a specific message that is crystal clear and well directed. Script and storyboards therefore assume a significant position on your checklist– especially when you are shooting on a shoestring and want to contain other costs.
Shot Lists
Creating a shot list — apart from storyboard and script — for every shoot may seem over-the-top but it is important if you want to stay within budget.
Incidentally, script and storyboard are different — the former is the dialogue for the characters while the latter is a visualization of how the video will look to the viewer.
A shot list contains all details about the shoot such as the location, cast, the camera angle, the light source, and other technical details. It works as a guide or manual for everyone on the day of the shoot.
Plan for More
From set-up to pack-up, things can take longer than expected at every shoot — but that’s not all. Estimate more of everything than you think you will need — the leftovers won’t spoil. Moreover, “we’ll fix it in editing” doesn’t always work — and reassembling the whole cast and crew for a reshoot is no cakewalk. So make sure you’ve allowed enough for several takes — then add some more.
Plan for Less
Cancelling a shoot because someone had an emergency can be abysmally expensive. Planning for absences can help contain production costs. Be prepared with a couple of shoots in the same location so that if you have to cancel one you can shoot the other. As far as crew goes, keep a plan B ready with contact numbers and pre-arranged agreements so that all you need to do at the eleventh hour is make a phone call.
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Roles and Responsibilities
You might assume your camera and light persons are in sync — but things may turn out quite differently, resulting in wasted production time and other costs — and even a re-shoot in a worst-case scenario. So, if you are thinking you are ready to go with your storyboard, script, and shot list in place, think again. Check everything yourself, check again, and then once again.
Rehearse
This one is a no-brainer — you don’t want to shoot the same thing over and over just because your cast does not have the script or performance down pat. Get them to rehearse before D-day — several times — including a number of “dress rehearsals”. The added expense of a pretend shoot will be much lower than if you have to go home without your final reel — having wasted precious time and money on retakes.
Did we get it all?
Well not quite. Little things from ensuring everyone has the shot list and has read it to little administrative goof-ups can mess up your shoot. A pre-shoot meet on D-Day is the final step before you say “Roll Camera”; just to make sure everyone is on the same page.
We guess we have covered the ground here, but can you think of something to add to this video pre-production checklist? Let us know and we’ll add it. And if you are looking for a content marketing agency we are just a call (079–40038388) or email away.
