These days, creating mediocre content is not an option. If you wish your video to stand out, you should be ready to walk the extra mile and create videos that stand out. Video planning is the only way forward, and brands must take a planned approach to video making.
The process of video creation involves planning a video outline, filming the clips, finding an appropriate online video editor, and a lot more. In this article, we will walk you through a step-by-step guide to video making.
Table of Contents
Solidify Your Objectives
The first step to video creation is being clear on the ultimate purpose of your video. For example, some marketing videos may support staff training while others aim at boosting conversions. By specific on what you wish to achieve and ensure that it is relevant to your overall brand values.
Try to be realistic and set achievable video goals for yourself and the team. Having time-bound, measurable parameters will allow you to keep a track of the progress. That way, your team will stay focused and be at their productive best.
Research on the Audience
The content creator’s understanding of the audience plays a crucial role in deciding the overall success of a video project. Conduct research on your target audience to understand their likes and dislikes.
Use this knowledge as the basis of all your creative decisions. When your video making is guided by fact-based research, it is easier for you to create content that appeals to your target group.
Write a Video Brief
A video brief is an essential step of most video journeys and helps to streamline the process. Mention details such as your video objectives, insights about the target audience, expected reaction from the viewers, your core message, budget, and deadline details. Ideally, the video brief is a systematic documentation of all the data that you have collected in the planning stage.
Plan a Creative Approach
Once you have the video brief, the next stage is planning a creative approach to conveying your message. At this stage, you can study successful videos and take inspiration from them. Then, sit back with your team and list out potential video ideas.
Focus on authenticity and uniqueness of content while preparing the video. For the best results, ensure that your creative approach is backed by the video brief.
Prepare a Script
While your subject may or may not choose to quote the script verbatim, it is a good idea to have a written script for the video. This will act as a blueprint for the video and help to avoid last-minute confusion.
While your script should convey the core video message, try to be concise and maintain a natural tone. Stick to easily understandable language and be emotive in your script preparation. Depending on your video, you can add details of your filming location, props, and actors to the script.
Schedule the Shoot
To make the most of your filing, you need to plan and schedule the video content. Start by scouting for locations to find the one that fits your video story as well as the budget. Then work on bringing together the team of camera operators, light and audio technicians, actors, presenters, directors, etc.
Arrange the props, costumes, and filming equipment. If you are filming at a place that needs permission, make sure to acquire the necessary licenses. If possible, you can include the call sheet preparation while scheduling the shoot.
Shoot the Footage
While filming the footage, your focus should be on ensuring that the clips are well-lit and well-framed. Use a tripod to avoid recording shaky footage. It is a good practice to capture extra b-roll footage. That way, you will have ample options while looking for transitions at the later stages.
As a video creator, you must lighten the mood and get the people appearing in the film to relax. Being in a calm state of mind allows actors to put their best foot forward. Pay special attention to ensure that the script and video outline is followed throughout the process of filming.
Edit the Content
Editing the basic footage is one of the most crucial stages of your video-making journey. Depending on the intended length of the video, choose the best possible footage for the final video. Your focus should be on trimming and merging the clips to improve the visual appeal of your video.
The average viewer has a dwindling attention span, and you should try to share maximum information in the shortest possible time. The use of b-roll clops will help liven the shots and keep the viewer engaged with the content. If you are editing a video for commercial purposes, you can add a CTA at the end of the clip. That way, you will encourage your viewers to act in a manner that you expect of them.
Add Graphics and Special Effects
While graphics and special effects are not necessary for all types of videos, these help your videos stand out. These days, the sky is the limit in applying special effects. For example, you can effortlessly transpose animated characters over a green screen to create surreal results.
While graphics help to bring your videos to life, do not go overboard with them. Sometimes, a simple dissolving text can work wonders. While adding special effects, you must ensure that it blends in seamlessly with the rest of the video.
Add Soundtracks to the Video
Background music contributes to achieving the desired video effects and appealing to the target audience. When a subtle background score complements the tone of the content, it enlivens the video.
Try to have the music match up to the pace of the edit. That way, the result will be realistic video content that is ideal for your target audience. Based on the music that you choose you may need to pay a license fee. However, this can be avoided if you decide to compose original music.
After you are satisfied with the video creation, you need to format the same. The choice of video quality will depend on the viewing devices. For example, an HD version of your promotional video may be suitable for theatre viewing while a compressed teaser is more appropriate for social media promotion.
By now, your video is ready to be uploaded to the intended platform. Depending on the platform, you can follow up on the analytics. This will help in the video distribution and also assist in the planning of your future digital content. Such a planned video-making approach will help you establish your digital identity in the competitive video stage.
