Whoever introduced the notion of right brain and left brain into casual conversation did many habitancy a disservice. There are habitancy who think more methodically and others who tend to have great creative chops, but most of us have some crossover capability. I, for one, know artists and authors personally who are quite comfortable manufacture grocery lists and alphabetizing their music collections. So get over it, aspiring producers, and learn reverence for planning - the earlier, the better.
Before you even think about cameras and characters, walk with me down this path. You'll be happier when you get to the finish... Which, de facto is the starting (of production... Remember?)
Kid Barbie Dolls
Who's your audience?
Whether you're manufacture a video for a sixth grade graduation or for the introduction of a new product, it's important to remember who will be watching your masterpiece. Before I even knew I would be complicated with video production, I saw a movie called The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, starring a young Richard Dreyfuss. Duddy, in his first effort at film production, surprised an audience of house and friends at a Bar Mitzvah with an artistic interpretation that included vivid scenes of ritual circumcision - complete with plenty of spilling blood and African dancing. Don't do that.
Choose what you say and how you say it based on who you're talking to. Many associates say to write to a fifth grade level or a middle school level, but if you're producing a program for doctors and scientists, let loose with the multisyllabic words. If you don't know what multisyllabic means, stick with the fifth grade and middle school stuff.
What's your goal?
Do you want to raise money with your video? Do you want to convince young girls not to smoke? Do you want to motivate a salesforce? all about the programs for these three groups should be different. You'll want the first group to cry. You'll want the young girls to be terrified - or at least more scared of dying than of not being cool. The third group - well, salespeople are easy if you can show them a good way to make money. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)
Thinking about your goal and your audience will help you narrow down creative choices, and that's a good thing. Let's say you have a client who's linked to Miley Cyrus and can get her to be in your video. If you're doing the "don't smoke" video, you're golden. But Miley isn't our girl if we're raising money for a hospice program or motivating the sales team for Raytheon (you know, the missile systems people). Remember, we're looking for tears for the fundraisers and inspiration for...well, I guess salespeople are fundraisers, too. The point is, one group will answer to a tender approach, and the other is more likely to want appealing information. Now go... Be creative.
What's your message?
Video yield is determined by most habitancy to be a technical skill, but its goal is communication. What are you trying to communicate? What do you want or need to tell habitancy to perform your goal? Sometimes there are manifold options. Let's stick with the anti-smoking video and reconsider some of the messages used in modern television commercials made for the same purpose. One market shows habitancy piling up body bags on a sidewalk in New York City in front of the construction of a tobacco company. The message: Smoking deaths are not just statistics - real habitancy die, and you could too. Another market shows the Marlboro Man "singing" with an synthetic voice box - the result of cancer surgery. The message: Smoking could kill you Or make your life miserable. The messages are slightly dissimilar but both work to perform the goal.
What's your budget?
Video yield is not totally budget driven, but budget should always be one of the first things you look at. Producing on a small budget can be challenging, but try to see it as an occasion to be creative. No budget for location shooting? Hmm, will finger puppets do (and I'm only half kidding)? Once we did a video using Barbie dolls as stand-ins for real people. It got our notion across and was very entertaining. If you have a big budget... Does anything have a big budget these days?... You have many more options. But you still need to furnish to your budget.
Do not fabricate a video that costs more or takes more time than you have. There are only two inherent outcomes for this situation:
1. Your goods will suffer because you'll cut corners because of your limitations, or
2. You will suffer - either losing money or giving away time, which are de facto the same thing. And sometimes you'll have to lose sleep while you're losing money and giving away time.
Resist the temptation to let a good idea lead you down this path.
Consider all applications.
Video yield associates today can do their clients a great assistance if they take the time to discuss all the ways a specific video can be used before yield planning begins. Some habitancy and organizations understand that the same video - or versions of the same program, can be used in manifold ways. For example, a short first video can be used in a meeting setting, on a website, at a trade show, in an email, and in group media. If you have a savvy client, find out what they're thinking. It may save you both some time (a.k.a. Money) down the road and even help you make something that works great in all the applicable media.
Even more important may be introducing a client to the options that sufficient planning opens for them. Using the same media for manifold purposes is good for them, their company or organization, their career, and your image. Think of it as being digitally green.
Video production Without a Plan Can Be risky
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