For every great video, there are thousands of **** ones – so how do you make sure your videos are the cream of the crop?
There were more than 500 hours of video content uploaded to YouTube every minute in 2019. That means there’s a lot of cool, quirky videos out there – but it’s also virtually the wild west.
Let’s step into the world of video production, the good, the bad and the ugly… If your videos aren’t getting the engagement and views you want, listen up.
1. BDE
No, not what you’re thinking…we’re talking big data energy.
Great videos start and end with data; you need to understand your audience, what content they like to watch, as well as what’s working for you… and what’s not.
Think about it like this: data is like DNA, informing and instructing the creative process. Without data, you’re just taking shots in the dark, and your videos are more likely to be a miss than a hit.
If you’ve posted a few videos here and there, start to take a look to see what sparked conversation, garnered likes and shares, and what videos sit growing cobwebs – analysing this data will help build you a roadmap to shooting videos that your audience actually engages with.
New to the video production game? Fear not – there’s a whole host of data out there in the world wide web. After getting an idea of what your audience’s interests are, have a look at your competitors – you can learn from their success (though no one likes a copycat) as well as their failures to guide your video production process.
2. Fail to plan, plan to fail
Video production can be challenging; there are lots of moving parts and it can be stressful trying to coordinate even small crews – and even more stressful if you’re self-shooting as a one-man-band.
You only make that harder for yourself if you fail to prepare adequately for a production.
There are a lot of things that need to be sorted before you even think about touching a camera – scripts, talent, locations, costumes, hair and make-up arrangements, and needless to say, equipment too! Don’t forget those batteries…
P.s Here’s a little something extra – focus on stories, not sales, we’ll be coming back to this in a follow-up article very soon.
3. Get out of your head and get shooting!
Once you’re clear on what your objective is, who your target audience is, and have honed that script so it’s relatable and engaging, take a step back to ensure your video fits with your wider campaign and bam, get that shoot date booked.
Now you can plan everything perfectly, get in front of the camera – and still freeze.
You know what really sucks? Watching paint dry (unless you’re watching Bob Ross). There’s a saying, “people click for the title, and stay for the personality”. Don’t be afraid to show who you are and how you do things. No-one wants to watch a robot – authenticity shines above all else.
4. Cut, literally.
From on-set to the editing suite, this is where we separate the wheat from the chaff and optimise the video in terms of its structure, format as well as style and aesthetics.
We have ridiculously short attention spans; you only have 1.3 seconds to capture – and keep – your audience’s attention.
You want to be sure you’re providing one of two things, entertainment or value, so there’s nothing worth skipping.
If it doesn’t add anything, cut it, thank us later.
You also want to make sure your videos fit the channels they’re going out on. For instance, 16:9 is the norm on YouTube, but other channels have different aspect ratios, length restrictions, and so on – so make sure your video isn’t cut short (or your head isn’t chopped off!) by editing your videos in line with your distribution plan.
5. Get it out there!
Now it’s not just a case of uploading, hitting share and hoping for the best – though it’s always nice that your mum likes it, usually as a brand we’re aiming for a bit more than that…
There are numerous steps you can take to increase the likelihood of the success of your video. This could be thumbnails, tailoring titles and descriptions, ensuring the video is supported by the right hosting platform and that you’ve paid attention to the platform’s specific specifications.
An eye for detail and a solid understanding of your target audience will go a long way here…
6. Knowledge is power
Say you’ve been making videos for a while, a long while, you have a neat little collection of videos, why not analyse them? What was most successful, what was least successful and why? What are the trends and what insights are these giving you?
Listen, learn and take that forward as part of your video strategy and push it as far as you can in terms of your creative and artistic approach.
You want to stand out from the crowd for the right reasons.
At Perspective Pictures, we’re always looking to create the best content with exciting brands – interested in working with us too? Drop a line to hello@www.perspectivepictures.com and we will be in contact soon.
Find out more about who we are and what we do by visiting the rest of our website!
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