7 Best Practices for Video Production to Enhance Quality and Increase Views

7 Best Practices for Video Production to Enhance Quality and Increase Views

Is your company planning to invest in corporate video production? If so, it’s crucial to include your brand message that is conveyed well in a video.

When a message is clear to the target audience, they can relate to the brand and are also willing to invest in it.

Without putting the right brand information in your video, your efforts cannot be effective, and the ROI will also diminish. 

There was a time when both large and small businesses used plain images and texts to advertise. But nowadays, video has become a major part of digital marketing.

In simple words, video marketing is a way to advertise your services and products with the help of effective videos. However, the moving content should remain in harmony with your thoroughly written content. 

Basics of video production 

Are you planning to start with video creation? It can feel a little scary at first so you have one more option to hire professional video production experts like Istudiomedia.

But there are several variables to consider and so many things to remember for making your video shoot and production process run smoothly.. But there are several variables to consider and so many things to remember for making your video shoot and production process run smoothly. 

Here are some basics of video production that you need to keep in mind:

How To Set up For Successful Video Production: You cannot simply show up on the day of a shoot. You need to do a lot of background work before starting video production. You have to clear all the bases to get ready for shoot day.

You need to make sure that your devices are fully charged before the shoot day.

Bring backup batteries to the site of the shoot. 

During the location scout, you have to do the filming to make sure everything appears amazing on camera.

Also, section off the filming areas with traffic cones or tape. Plus, inform the involved parties about the shooting hours. 

Choose the Right Lighting for Video Production:

When it comes to lighting during video production, it’s best to remain proactive. Natural light is the best to enhance the visual appeal of the subjects.

However, the best time to shoot is during sunrise and sunset.  If you want to use the indoor lighting rig, it’s best to use the classic three-point setup for eliminating harsh shadows.

You need to use a key light that goes on the subject’s best side. Also, use a fill light to illuminate a subject’s other sides as well. You even need a backlight to differentiate different subject(s) from the background. 

Significance of Shot Composition:

The shot composition is the best way to arrange the elements within a frame. It helps in conveying the story when you are trying to tell a message to the audience.

The way to do so is by following the rule of thirds while setting up a shot. You need to divide the screen into three sections vertically and three sections horizontally. 

The four points where all the lines meet are the best places to place the subject. Avoid keeping a subject in the middle of a frame, unless the subject is directly speaking to a camera. 

And, if you are not creating a video for social media posts, it’s best to make a video in landscape mode than portrait mode. 

Capturing Audio for a Video:

The audio tests are vital to make sure that you capture high-quality audio during the shoot. You have to make the actors rehearse well while you are setting up audio to test sound. Be careful of passive or background noises.  

A noisy appliance running in the background could ruin the entire shot. It is best to use a microphone to isolate the sound you want. You can use shotgun mics because they are best at picking up the sound of the object it’s pointed towards. 

Once the room sound is exactly how you want it, record for a minute or two in silence. It is called the room tone, which makes the editing of audio very convenient.

You may even want to edit around the voices, and sometimes consider cutting out words that don’t sound natural if the room has some ambient noises.

You can even use the room tone for filling up the void and ensuring everything flows seamlessly. Finally, the last step is to instruct the actors to speak up to their mics and don’t tap them.

If they do not have video experience, they may need some practicing with the microphones and also reminders to not touch the mics during the shoot. 

Capture More Video Than Needed:

It is a guiding principle to capture more videos than you actually need. It is helpful during editing. This also reduced the chances of a reshooting.

So, if you capture too little footage and have to call everyone again for reshooting a scene, you would get plenty of side-eyes from the production crew. Plus, the overall production timeline will also suffer. Therefore, avoid such situations by capturing more videos than needed.

Steps by step process of video production 

Given below are the three major steps needed for quality video production:

I. Pre-Production

The very first video production step is pre-production, which is all about planning. It covers everything from the moment of video production decision to shoot it. 

There are around six steps within the pre-production phase. You have to ensure that each task of this step is done well for a successful video shoot. 
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a) Develop the Video Strategy

You have to begin with the development of a proper video strategy. For instance, you need to know why you are creating a video.

Whether it’s for increasing engagement, raising brand awareness, or conveying a message to the audience. Each aspect of the video production step needs to tell the core message and also work towards your goal. 

Know your target audience by gathering insights on viewers, issues they want to solve, and what they watch.

All this will help you get an idea of what your audience likes and loves to watch. This way you can figure out how to make appealing and engaging content for them. 

You also need to set a specific budget and timeline. For this, you need to set a realistic budget and deadline.

Also, don’t compromise on the production costs. It is because posting bad-quality videos is worse compared to not publishing anything. production costs: publishing a low-quality video is worse than not publishing a video at all!

b). Plan Your Content

You need to plan what your content is about. For this, you need to define your project with a creative approach and plan what to add to a video. Everything needs to be done as per the video’s objective. 

You need to write the script. Your script has to be less or more rigid, depending on the type of video you want to create.

For instance, a video podcast must include all the points of discussion or interview to make the conversation flow naturally.

Form a storyboard to visualize the video as per the planned shots you require for production. You also need to create a proper video production schedule that includes the lists of places, people, and things you require for making these shots. 

c). Scout the Location

You have to refer to the video objective and the storyboard for securing and scouting the locations. It’s best to make sure anticipating and preparing for the problems you may have. For instance, if you are trying to film outdoors, plan for the rainfall as well. 

For videos where your talent speaks to the camera, you need to find a well-lit, quiet room to ensure you attain the best quality visuals and audio. 

d). Find Talent

As per the aim of your video, you have to find the right talent. You can do so in many ways: 

• If you want to record a how-to video or video testimonial, you have to ask your customers to express how happy they are with your product or services. 
• If you want to film a scripted story with actors, you have to recruit someone talented enough to express your story. 
• For video podcasts, you have to find and invite the right guests for interviews. 

With every step of video production, the key is to make people in video communicate with the company’s core message.

You have to remember to carefully brief them about the objectives. Just carefully brief them about the company’s objectives while telling them about the intended result of the video project. 

e). Collect Equipment

Major equipment you require for video production procedure is a good camera, lighting, and microphone. You can collect a wide range of equipment as per your budget.

Most places even rent out video equipment, enabling you to get higher quality equipment at fewer prices. 

You may even require additional equipment, depending on your video content. So, make sure to refer to the list you have created for the video production schedule. 

f). Schedule Shoot

You have to schedule your video shoot as per the timeline and availability of the location and chosen talent. If you are using remote recording software, this step becomes very simple.

While creating a virtual recording studio, you need to select the date for the recording. Also, send the invites to the talent for joining on a specific day. 

II. Production

g). Time to Record

The recording time for a video includes:

• Setting up the equipment; 
• Rehearsing to make sure that everything and everyone is shooting ready; and 
• Video filming. 

Each step of video production needs careful attention to make everything feel right. Depending on the video type you want to produce, this step includes conducting interviews, creating animations, capturing b-roll footage, and recording voiceovers. 

You also have to make sure to keep the video production objective on priority. After that, you can refer to the storyboard you formed in step two while filming the footage.

If you want to record remotely, you can use software to track your talent while directing them to the chat feature while being off-camera.  

III. Post-Production

The third step is the final one in video production. This post-production step is helpful to take your project from raw footage to a final polished video ready for distribution. The post-production of the video includes:

Editing of video while choosing the best shots, putting each clip for creating the right video length, and cutting out unnecessary moments.

In case you are not willing to edit your video that includes relevant content, you can find various companies to handle the post-production for you. It’s best to remember to keep this cost within your budget. 

After that, you have to consider adding sound. You need to add background sound with additional musical effects that complement the tone and mood of your video. Hence, it keeps viewers engaged.  

You also need to consider adding graphics to highlight certain information in the video. It can help you add life to your video.

You can even make your video appear more professional in this step with the addition of a frame and logo using the right software. 

 Finally, you need to render the video to create perfectly finished video files in accurate quality and formats. That’s how you can choose the right distribution platforms, like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

h). Distribution

Lastly, you have to consider video distribution of your finished video. This step includes uploading of video to the chosen hosting platform. 

YouTube is the best and most popular free option for video hosting. But it does not provide you with the similar analytics capabilities as other paid video hosting platforms.

Since analytics are important for assessing how well a video meets its objectives, choose the right platform with better analytics for distribution.  

After that, work on promoting your video on various websites, social media platforms, and other marketing campaigns.

This will help you optimize its engagement and reach. This ultimately helps you meet the original objectives of the video you generally set out during the pre-production phase.

Also, edit the original video for bite-sized content with the right aspect ratios to distribute to various other platforms. 

Best practices for video production 

Here are the best practices you need to consider for quality video production:

1. Set a Goal in Your Mind

It is not fine to simply create a video in 2022. It is because there are various creators, companies, and thought leaders making great content in every industry.

That does not mean you should not create video content. It simply means starting creating a video with a purpose for success. 

• Are you trying to showcase your company’s products to drive online sales? 
• Are you thinking of closing more deals or attracting potential leads?
• Would you like to share your customers’ experiences?
• Would you like to create interesting products to share viral content? 

Answering all these questions will help you achieve fantastic goals while creating various videos. So, make sure to start with ground zero whenever it comes to video creation. 

2. Know Target Audience

You have to understand your audience first, but it’s quite challenging for marketers. When trying to understand your audience, you have to know about their demographic makeup. You have to identify what’s going on in their mind. It also helps in motivating you to decide. 

If you have not spent time understanding the proper mindset of the target audience, start now. We have got a convenient template that walks you through the process of making the target audience their way. It helps in speaking up to their core requirements. 

3. Know the Sales Funnel

Not every prospective buyer looks for a similar thing. When you go to a mall, you may see some serious shoppers who are willing to spend.

Some window shoppers are simply looking for inspiration to do something. And, some buyers are only there to grab some snacks. 

That’s exactly how people use the internet for searching the products and services. Certain people come to your website to sign in, whereas some come to explore what exactly you are offering.

A video can even support the procedure, but it may align with the “buyer intent” or what a buyer is wanting to accomplish.  

There are three different stages that buyers have to go through while buying online: 

• Awareness Stage: This stage is crucial to leverage a video. When people do not know anything about a company or its products, the power of the play button works more like a magnet to attract customers to check out your content. 
• Still, it requires to be the right sort of video that’s short and to the point. For instance, imagine the right type of grocery store. In such a setting, a small pizza’s bite seems less imposing than a full slice. So, you are most likely to try a small sample. 
• Consideration Stage: When a prospect reaches the consideration stage, they are likely to know who you are and also willing to know more.  That’s where a video can help in filling in the blanks. If you create a thoughtful strategy, visitors are more likely to click on multiple videos to learn more about your products or services.
• The key here is to give them relevant, useful, and helpful information to meet their requirements. This is where you can build your brand.
• Therefore, quality is vital both for messaging and production value. Create a high-quality video to attract more customers for sale without the risk of losing them. 
• Decision Stage: when your prospect reaches the decision stage, they are well aware of your brand or business.
• It is because you have managed to pipe up their interest and now they are also trusting your business. You may have done a lot of work helping customers reach this point.
• However, they are still unsure of making the ultimate decision. To choose yourself over the competition, you have to create the right video content to attract them to your brand.
• It is important to match the right video to your right audience because their concerns are more specific.
• This is when you need to show your customers the right testimonials, personalized sales videos, or case studies. It will help them trust your brand even more and finally make the buying decision. 

4. Create Quality, Interesting Content

It is not enough to publish a video. You have to take your time to properly plan and create a high-quality video.

It is alright if there are some other examples of similar types of videos on the internet. But the very critical thing is that you cannot make a poor-quality version of the same videos that you have already seen. 

A video isn’t just a shabby sales pitch to add no value to viewers. If your video is not more than a commercial ad for pitching a product, you are likely to lose your viewers.

Just remember that they want to understand something available to them. For this, you need to make a helpful video and create a solid relationship between prospects and viewers. 

5. Consider CTA (Call-to-Action)

After showing the target audience your products, don’t leave them hanging. You can suggest taking the next step of considering a call-to-action. For this, they can: 

• Subscribe to your email or videos
• Download a piece of content 
• Click to buy online
• Contact someone for more information
• Watch more videos

For each piece of video content you make, there must always be another place to direct viewers when they’re done watching some of your videos. 

6. Analyze All Your Videos

In the competitive world, you have to measure everything. Use a video player that comes with advanced analytics, like BrightCove, Wistia, etc.

Such platforms will offer you proper insight into viewers’ behavior. For instance, you get to know how many of your videos were watched, who clicked on the CTAs, and which particular contacts watched your videos. 

Furthermore, analyze this information and start understanding what videos are working well for your audience and when they begin to tune out. 

7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 

You also need to focus on the right search engine optimization. Your videos are found online for various people who are looking for your services and products. 

Here are certain crucial things to consider: 

• Make a compelling title to communicate users’ expectations.
• Include a proper description to outline everything your video is going to cover in your videos.
• Include subtitles to your video. 
• Add a series of relevant tags to make your videos more appealing. 
• Engage with audiences who comment on your videos. 

All these are the best practices to make sure you are making the most of your high-quality videos.  Skip all these steps and your opportunities for successful video creation will go down rapidly.  

Summary: There are various things you need to consider for making perfect videos. By following the right video production practices, you need to create a piece that’s likely to serve your requirements both in the short and long term. 

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