Lights, Camera, Action

It isn’t that cool as it sounds, as a lot of it goes behind the scenes. Trust me on this, as I just completed the final schedule for three corporate videos. The experience has been AMAZING & I wish to continue investing my energies in learning about this captivating form of communication.

Before you make the next super hit video, here’s a video checklist you shouldn’t miss:

1. Define the business objective of the project; SMART & RACI are two guiding principles for this stage:

• Specific (goal/objective) For example; Converting leads, Increasing sales, Customer support, Brand awareness
• Measurable (analysis to track the goal)
• Achievable (realistic targets)
• Relevant (comprehensive to the larger business objective)
• Time-bound (within a stipulated timeline)

•  Responsible (Decision maker)
• Accountable (Project manager)
• Consulted (Stakeholders who will provide project related information)
• Informed ( Senior management/ counterpart)

2. Define the duration of the video and shortlist references/ stay updated with the latest industry trends in video marketing domain.

3. Most importantly, select your target audience for the videos. As our attention span has changed from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to just 8 seconds today. Experts suggests our digital dependency has everything to do with our dwindling focus.

4. Determine the treatment of the video after shortlisting references; For example- narration, testimonial based, animated with infographics. It’s also critical to evaluate the attributes which you don’t wish to feature in the video.

5. The below questions will help you build and refine your project schedule. After you have determined the time needed to produce the deliverables and conduct the activities (the basics), you need to allocate time for all the extras and the potential unexpected delays that will come back and bite you if you overlook them:

•  What are the project milestones?
• Are there any internal or external procurement policies or standards that affect the schedule?
• What is the amount of time allocated for communicating progress?
• What are the standards and benchmarks for quality control?
• Has sufficient time for quality validation been included in the schedule?

6. After this groundwork, explore options of assigning this assignment internally or outsource it to an agency. It’s advisable to engage with one agency or team by availing end-to-end services right from scripting to editing.

7.  In parallel, prepare the documentation deck in the form of videos, photos, documents which can be shared (via cloud) with the agency/ in-house team.

8. The best way to finalize the agency is to understand their thought process, film-making techniques. Prepare an evaluation template basis – creativity, technical expertise, innovation. It’s an advantage to know basic aspects of video making (scripting process, types of shots, lighting techniques, editing patterns). If you’re not well versed with these aspects, it would be good to have some references which are shortlisted by the management/ decision making team.

9. Story and narrative should complement the treatment of the video.Storyboard, the physical manifestation of the treatment should be in line with the video guidelines of the organization.

10. Script is indispensable and storyboard is invaluable tool to visualize the shoot. Ensure the shot description, camera angles, type of lighting, location details and other aspects of the process are captured.

General checklist:

• Nielsen reports 83% consumers trust their peers over companies & their advertisements. Keeping this mind, always create compelling authentic & transparent stories.
• Before the day of shoot, build a rapport with the actors/ crew which will ease the production schedule.
• Recce/ Location scouting a week or two prior to the shoot helps in shortlisting the best locations and people.
• Instead of a formal scripting, share key pointers with the speakers. As this way speakers will be more confident in front of the camera.
• Designate work as per capabilities within the team, DO NOT try to be everywhere.
• Set clear, achievable timelines for both the organization and agency before kick starting the shoot.
• Keep It Simple & Short (KISS) principle works the best works for producing effective videos.
• Thumb rule which often works, overestimate the time, but deliver quality product.

What's your secret mantra to create engaging videos?