Online Video Production

[CameronGetBiz]

I am working with a company that is in the process of creating an online video for me. The e.g's look good and I have worked with the company before so I know a good job will be done.

I understand moving forward, more and more people shall be using online video to promote there business and I was just wondering what peoples thoughts were on this.

If you interested in seeing the example go to

http://www.amstore-interactive.co.uk/multimedia/videoproduction.html

and please let me know your thoughts.

 

[eventdomain]

Yep, heard of these guys before....

This seems like a one-size fits all solution - not great when you need a bespoke service.

Trouble is if everyone uses this kind of solution, then every video will look the same eg: same presenters, same backdrop etc.

It's really best to be unique these days.

 

[ethical PR]

Hello

Sorry - slightly confused. This is a link to a video to promote the company's video production service and not your company isn't it?

Well you asked for feedback and here's mine.

Working in PR and marketing, I am always interested in looking at communications tools and have been involved in commissioning a few corporate videos, video news releases etc.

If this video is their 'showreel' it really should be of the highest quality in terms of content, production values etc

Having seen the video you provided the link for, it wouldn't be a product/service that I could recommend to any of my clients to use as part of their online communications mix and/or as part of a presentation.

 

[rayoncena]

I think they provide best services and promoting your company's site in this way sounds a good idea. If I would have got such a chance then I would have definitely gone for this.

 

[Billmccallum]

I am working with a company that is in the process of creating an online video for me. The e.g's look good and I have worked with the company before so I know a good job will be done.

I understand moving forward, more and more people shall be using online video to promote there business and I was just wondering what peoples thoughts were on this.

If you interested in seeing the example go to

http://www.amstore-interactive.co.uk/multimedia/videoproduction.html

and please let me know your thoughts.

Would it not be more accurate to say it's associated with your business?

Same name Amstore, same address...not really a recommendation, more of an advert.

 

[SpeakOutMedia]

We offer exactly the same style of video. We're currently in the process of setting up a new sister-business and site for it.

Lots of investment in digital backgrounds etc. Also, we're a fully news/broadcast trained company so make it very convincing.

The best bit? We've done lots of research and will certainly be the cheapest you'll find!

 

[mikemacnamara]

I think that's one of the cheapest bits of self promotion I've ever witnessed...
If you want it done properly and cost effectively visit nextshoot.com
We invented the 'affordable online video' and we've made over 8000. We also host them, distribute them and optimise them. And we're cheaper than the competition.
Mike MacNamara,
CTO,
NextShoot

 

[SpeakOutMedia]

Can you clarify exactly how you invented it, with some proof?

This is a big claim for you to make. Of course, congratulations if it is true!

 

[daveashe]

Er, how to NOT promote your product.

FAIL

 

[mikemacnamara]

Ok, maybe a slight overstatement but nonetheless.... we've been producing cost effective online video for six years, we've invested over £100k in a platform that allows content to be commissioned, edited, uploaded and then encoded online. We were offering online videos to businesses for £200 pounds when the majority of our competition were charging well into four figures. We were also the first UK production company to offer free streaming, optimisation and distribution. We've worked with listings sites to offer monthly payments to let even the smallest business benefit from an online video presence and we distribute all our videos to video sharing and social networking sites on behalf of our clients. Finally we're (as far as I'm aware) the only production company who will produce content for free. So we may not have invented video, or affordable online video but we have led the way and pioneered some pretty cool things.
Regardless of this, I was doing my usual SEO crawl when I found this post and felt I had to comment about this piece of shameless self-aggrandisement.
Anyway, not wanting to fall into the same trap as our vainglorious friend above I suggest you check out some of our competition - turnhere.com, vidify.co.uk etc. We're quite happy to be judged by the quality of our output and our clients' satisfaction.
All the best,
Mike

 

[Aspens Marketing and PR]

Interesting how the posters above all want to show they are the cheapest and offer stuff for free. Most clients we work with want a quality flexible product and service and do not expect to pay low costs for quality. Its fixed in their heads with sustainability and if the cost for production drops then generally at some time so will the quality and eventually the business.

 

[jules]

Reckon with a with a reasonable dv camera and windows moviemaker you could make decent profile interviews yourself.

 

[mikemacnamara]

I'm not sure it needs to be a choice between the two (I've seen some terrible videos costing £10k and some great ones for £400) but in my experience cost is certainly one of the main criteria in a client's decision to proceed.

At one end of the market there are certainly large budgets for slick productions with a lot of green screen and post effects.

For instance, we work with a large enterprise who invested over six figures with another production company to create 20 videos for the backbone of their website - communicating their core products and services - with a range of presenters and very high production and post-production values.

We now serve their ongoing need for news, reviews and client testimonials and we do this very cost-effectively. The end result is a video rich site that is constantly updated and a marketing strategy that revolves around the promotion and dissemination of this 'cheaper' content. Beyond the slick branding operation this more prosaic ongoing content has enormous relevance to their customers and suppliers.

The chief advantages of driving down costs and turnaround time are that it permits video to be used in new and exciting ways and for the creation of the volume of content that users (and hence clients) seem to want without breaking the bank.

However, for the vast majority of small businesses the question is 'if' not really 'how'. There's a lot of bargain basement production companies out there offering eight images stitched together with some homemade music over the top and calling it video. Equally, there are a lot of tremendously talented outfits making quality videos who can see that creating demand for their products - with clients for whom it was traditionally too expensive - is a potentially enormous market and can only be sustained by leading on price.

The issue is whether this cheaper content becomes homogenised and packaged to such an extent that each video looks identical. We've usually relied on the interview format to prevent just this. Contrary to what you may think, this format often delivers a much more engaging and unique piece than a voiceover artist spouting business speak mumbo jumbo.

In our experience some of the best videos are where you roll the cameras and let the business owner talk about their passion. The skill is in helping them to get their point across on location and then editing it into a powerful and convincing narrative.

With regards to getting your own DV cam and editing yourself, I really wouldn't recommend it. You may inadvertently create a viral hit on YouTube but probably for all the wrong reasons. There are certainly types of communication where this self-produced content is effective but I'd suggest sales and marketing isn't one.

All the best,
Mike,
NextShoot

 

[mikemacnamara]

I'm not sure it needs to be a choice between the two (I've seen some terrible videos costing £10k and some great ones for £400) but in my experience cost is certainly one of the main criteria in a client's decision to proceed.

At one end of the market there are certainly large budgets for slick productions with a lot of green screen and post effects.

For instance, we work with a large enterprise who invested over six figures with another production company to create 20 videos for the backbone of their website - communicating their core products and services - with a range of presenters and very high production and post-production values.

We now serve their ongoing need for news, reviews and client testimonials and we do this very cost-effectively. The end result is a video rich site that is constantly updated and a marketing strategy that revolves around the promotion and dissemination of this 'cheaper' content. Beyond the slick branding operation this more prosaic ongoing content has enormous relevance to their customers and suppliers.

The chief advantages of driving down costs and turnaround time are that it permits video to be used in new and exciting ways and for the creation of the volume of content that users (and hence clients) seem to want without breaking the bank.

However, for the vast majority of small businesses the question is 'if' not really 'how'. There's a lot of bargain basement production companies out there offering eight images stitched together with some homemade music over the top and calling it video. Equally, there are a lot of tremendously talented outfits making quality videos who can see that opening up new markets for their products with clients for whom it was traditionally too expensive is a potentially enormous market and can only be sustained by leading on price.

The issue is whether this cheaper content becomes homogenised and packaged to such an extent that each video looks identical. We've usually relied on the interview format to prevent just this. Contrary to what you may think, this format often delivers a much more engaging and unique piece than a voiceover artist spouting business speak mumbo jumbo.

In our experience some of the best videos are where you roll the cameras and let the business owner talk about their passion. The skill is in helping them to define what they want and need to say in advance, to get their points across on location and then editing it into a powerful and convincing narrative.

With regards to getting your own DV cam and editing yourself, I really wouldn't recommend it. You may inadvertently create a viral hit on YouTube but probably for all the wrong reasons. There are certainly types of communication where this self-produced content is effective but I'd suggest sales and marketing isn't one.

All the best,
Mike,
NextShoot

 

[ETM-World Wide Media]

I'm filming some corporates for an american client at the end of the month and doing four 5 minute videos for roughly £1200 in one day of filming at a studio. When looking around at competitors pricing I was seeing one 2 minute videos costing up to £600 and sometimes more just for one video . The person presenting it is flying over from germany to do it as well lol. The PR agency I'm working for didn't even send them any of my work for examples but simply got the commission through the managing director's recommendation. I'm guessing I'm just doing them cheaply at the moment compared to what they could be paying.

 

[jules]

@mike You say
"With regards to getting your own DV cam and editing yourself, I really wouldn't recommend it. You may inadvertently create a viral hit on YouTube but probably for all the wrong reasons. There are certainly types of communication where this self-produced content is effective but I'd suggest sales and marketing isn't one."

I don't get the separation of sales and marketing and other 'types of communication'.

Just one example.

Take Gary Vaynerchuk winelibary(dot)tv in the US. He decided to talk about Wine and boost his family Wine business, with a $500 camcorder + imovie he created a weekly show about wine, him just chatting, sometimes with guests.

It works because it's:

Entertaining to watch (unlike marketing speak)
You learn something.
There's nothing like it on TV (would be perceived to be too niche) so it's offers something different to a niche who buy wine.
It's regular, not just a one-off video that's unlikely to make much impact.
People share it, not many will share a sale pitch style testimonial unless they're your Mum.
People remember it .
and
The business received a massive boost.
His profile went sky high and now has books, give talks and appears on TV (another business boost). Every time he's mentioned it boosts his business.

All this is sales and marketing but not in the style of sales and marketing.

Gary V is an extreme example, but had he decided to get a Production company in and received a budget for 52 weekly shows at £400, £600 each or whatever he wouldn't have started.

He's just one A-list example, there are loads of people trying creative stuff with video for their business.

There are plenty of multl-skilled people in business with creative talents who can come up with a great video idea and execute it.

 

[daveashe]

All you will end up with most of the time is these super-slick professional videos which end up having a disconnect with the customer (i know that they do with me anyway).


With two soft boxes, a camera stand, a background stand and a good camera, its easy to record something.

Its what you actually say that is important - nobody seems to realise that copywriting also applies to video as well.

With all being said and done, have a plan of what you are going to say no matter if you do it with a company or by yourself, its just as important as looking good on the camera.

 

[sarah844]

@Mike McNamara - what's the cost of a 60-90 second video to go on a website?

 

[mikemacnamara]

Sarah844
We charge £499 for the 60-90 sec profiles including 12 months hosting and distribution. You can see some recent samples on our site at nextshoot.com/reel.php - something like the bulthaup video or judith michael and daughter video.
It's not a one size fits all though. Depending on what the video needs to say there may be other, more suitable formats, for instance, a 3-4 minute Q&A broken down into easily navigable sections.
Regards,
Mike,
NextShoot

 

[mikemacnamara]

Jules, agreed. I've been following Vaynerchuck since I read Jeff Jarvis raving about him and you make some good points. Essentially, content is king - especially when people are interested! - and being able to produce regular, quality content can revolutionise the way a company relates to its customers and vice versa.

However, not everyone can be as confident and easy in front of camera. Vaynerchuck is something of a phenomenon and if all business owners and chief financial officers shared his charisma and enthusiasm our job would be a whole lot easier.

It is also a certain type of communication - let's call it social-media orientated - that fits his brand, business type and what he wants to say. I'm not convinced that that is the case for every business, business owner or product.

Hope everyone's enjoying the sun!
Mike,
NextShoot