1. Defining goals
What would you like to achieve? Would you like to introduce a product/service? Who is your target audience? What is their age, income level, their sex, interests, need? What is their communication style? Can you imagine a problem, challenge they have that your video or your service gives a solution to? What is the core message of your video? Focus on one core message in a short video.
Where is the video going to be? Online or a DVD? YouTube, Facebook or other video sharing platform? (Every one has it's own requirement and style.) Directly on your website? On a multimedia package?
2. Planning
Write your script from beginning to the end. Create a storyboard. Click here to read about storyboards on Wikipedia. Once you know what you are shooting determine how to shoot it, where, when and who is in it? What kind of visuals are you using? Video shot on scene? B-rolls, graphs, pie charts of stats? Stock footage? Scenery shots? Clients giving testimonials? Endorsements? Is it a process video, showing how something is made from the beginning to the end? What is your call to action? (You have to tell people what you want them to do after they saw your video.) How many times will your core message or business name be mentioned in the video? You need to make reference to your website, or other contact info at least on the end of your video. Are you using the video as part of an article or a stand alone piece? Do you need permits, licenses? Property and/or model release forms?
Think of your story line, script and genre!
3. Shooting
Is everyone and everything you need set up? Are you going in chronological order or is another more logical order needed? If outdoors, are the conditions right? Are people dressed appropriately? If not dressed appropriately and they feel any discomfort it will most likely reflect in their facial expression and body language. (That could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the script.)
Are the interviewed people comfortable, confident, well fed and have beverages available? Do they have the required wardrobe and makeup? Are they familiar with their script?
4. Editing
The more planned out all the steps were before editing, the less time it will take during editing. The time involved here can be an hour or more for each minute of video. These are the basic steps involved in editing:
5. Output
When approved the video project needs to be exported from the editing program and coded depending on where it will be shown. Different video share sites require different encoding for optimal playback. You need to find out about their encoding specs. The three major sites are: YouTube, Vimeo, Metacafe. Click here for a longer list of sites on Wikipedia. If the video is going to be on a DVD it can be burned, (written) to a DVD and needs to be encoded for DVD.
6. Packaging
If the DVD will be sold or/and distributed it should be labeled and packaged. For success in selling you need to have a good copy on the cover. The cover copy is what sells the DVD when people see it on a store shelf. If you are promoting it online you need a good intro copy in your promotional materials.
7. Promotion, distribution
Now that your masterpiece is done who will promote it, how and where? Just because you built it that does not mean they will come. There will be some organic and natural promotion done but if you want to spread the word about it you need to take some steps in order to do so. Talk to the town gossips, on and offline and take paid advertising if you have a budget for it. It is better to do continuous promotion than a one shot blast. The bigger your budget and the more targeted you are with your advertising the better your results will be. It is one thing to have good promotional materials but it is another to reach people with it. Find your best way to reach people. The hotter your market, (the more people know and trust you) the better and easier your marketing is.
Use my video project template for the planning process. It helps putting things in concrete steps and guide you in putting together what goes inside your video.
Click the links below to download.
Video project template .odt
Video project template .doc
What would you like to achieve? Would you like to introduce a product/service? Who is your target audience? What is their age, income level, their sex, interests, need? What is their communication style? Can you imagine a problem, challenge they have that your video or your service gives a solution to? What is the core message of your video? Focus on one core message in a short video.
Where is the video going to be? Online or a DVD? YouTube, Facebook or other video sharing platform? (Every one has it's own requirement and style.) Directly on your website? On a multimedia package?
2. Planning
Write your script from beginning to the end. Create a storyboard. Click here to read about storyboards on Wikipedia. Once you know what you are shooting determine how to shoot it, where, when and who is in it? What kind of visuals are you using? Video shot on scene? B-rolls, graphs, pie charts of stats? Stock footage? Scenery shots? Clients giving testimonials? Endorsements? Is it a process video, showing how something is made from the beginning to the end? What is your call to action? (You have to tell people what you want them to do after they saw your video.) How many times will your core message or business name be mentioned in the video? You need to make reference to your website, or other contact info at least on the end of your video. Are you using the video as part of an article or a stand alone piece? Do you need permits, licenses? Property and/or model release forms?
Think of your story line, script and genre!
3. Shooting
Is everyone and everything you need set up? Are you going in chronological order or is another more logical order needed? If outdoors, are the conditions right? Are people dressed appropriately? If not dressed appropriately and they feel any discomfort it will most likely reflect in their facial expression and body language. (That could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the script.)
Are the interviewed people comfortable, confident, well fed and have beverages available? Do they have the required wardrobe and makeup? Are they familiar with their script?
4. Editing
The more planned out all the steps were before editing, the less time it will take during editing. The time involved here can be an hour or more for each minute of video. These are the basic steps involved in editing:
- capture the recorded footage onto the computer
- import captured footage into the editing program
- build your time line
- add titles, illustrations, music, record and add narrations
- make sure it is logical and has a good flow
- trim and time everything
5. Output
When approved the video project needs to be exported from the editing program and coded depending on where it will be shown. Different video share sites require different encoding for optimal playback. You need to find out about their encoding specs. The three major sites are: YouTube, Vimeo, Metacafe. Click here for a longer list of sites on Wikipedia. If the video is going to be on a DVD it can be burned, (written) to a DVD and needs to be encoded for DVD.
6. Packaging
If the DVD will be sold or/and distributed it should be labeled and packaged. For success in selling you need to have a good copy on the cover. The cover copy is what sells the DVD when people see it on a store shelf. If you are promoting it online you need a good intro copy in your promotional materials.
7. Promotion, distribution
Now that your masterpiece is done who will promote it, how and where? Just because you built it that does not mean they will come. There will be some organic and natural promotion done but if you want to spread the word about it you need to take some steps in order to do so. Talk to the town gossips, on and offline and take paid advertising if you have a budget for it. It is better to do continuous promotion than a one shot blast. The bigger your budget and the more targeted you are with your advertising the better your results will be. It is one thing to have good promotional materials but it is another to reach people with it. Find your best way to reach people. The hotter your market, (the more people know and trust you) the better and easier your marketing is.
Use my video project template for the planning process. It helps putting things in concrete steps and guide you in putting together what goes inside your video.
Click the links below to download.
Video project template .odt
Video project template .doc
Hover over the Blogs tab above to see the blogs menu.
Click the menu item you would like to see.
These are the Blogs:
Video blog (video related material)
Nature videos (nature related videos)
Walk with me nature Photos (photos of our natural world)
Spirit Pics (spiritual, inspirational photos, quotes etc.)
Humorous Pics (photos, quotes and other funny things)
Photo Blog (everything but the kitchen sink in photo form)
Click the menu item you would like to see.
These are the Blogs:
Video blog (video related material)
Nature videos (nature related videos)
Walk with me nature Photos (photos of our natural world)
Spirit Pics (spiritual, inspirational photos, quotes etc.)
Humorous Pics (photos, quotes and other funny things)
Photo Blog (everything but the kitchen sink in photo form)