1. Make sure you have plenty of time to produce a successful video. I get calls all the time from professionals who want to produce a video in a matter of days…in some cases in less than 24 hours! From the perspective of a corporate video producer, it’s nearly impossible to create a quality presentation with such short notice. It can be done, but you will almost always pay a lot more money for a finished product that will have trouble meeting or exceeding your expectations.

Every corporate video you produce needs to go through the proper planning stages to make sure your goals for the project will be achieved. An ideal turnaround for the average corporate video production company is 6 to 8 weeks although my company, Fire Eye Productions, Inc., typically turns complicated video projects around in 3 to 4 weeks. Turnaround time depends on how many projects your production company has in their queue and the level of difficulty associated with your corporate video.

By all means, if you need a video ASAP and don’t have a lot of time before you have to show it to your audience, call the video producer anyway. But, the rule of thumb is to give the producer and yourself plenty of time to plan and produce a successful video presentation.

Questions about producing a successful video for your business or organization? Contact Kris Simmons at 423.757.9585 or send an email.

2. Decide whether you want your finished presentation to be produced and mastered in High-Definition (HD) or Standard-Definition (SD). There is a lot of confusion among business professionals regarding which format is the best for showing their corporate videos. Obviously, HD video is a hot topic right now and I get a lot of customers who want us to produce their videos in HD. A problem with this…and a major problem at that…is that even though we produce and deliver the finished video in HD, the client rarely ever has the ability to show the video in High-Definition.

They may have an HD screen in their conference room but they won’t have a BluRay player that can play the HD DVD. Or, they may have a BluRay player or a computer than can playback the HD video but the projector they are using in the meeting isn’t a digital HD projector. So, before you move forward with producing a corporate video for your business, decide how you will deliver it and to whom before choosing HD over SD. For instance, if your plan with the finished video is to send it via DVD to thousands of members, customers or prospects, the best delivery option will be SD. The reason for this is because the majority of people out there DO NOT have the ability to play HD video in their office or home.

The other thing to consider is how long will you be using this video as part of your communications strategy. If the video will only be in the marketplace for up to two years, I’d seriously consider producing it in SD. If you plan on showing the video beyond 2 years from now (8/26/09) then I recommend you produce the video in HD and down convert it to an SD DVD for your short-term delivery solution.

A compromise, and one that many of our clients are choosing at this time, is to shoot all the footage in HD but edit the video in SD. That way, if you want to come back in a couple years and update/re-edit the corporate video project, you’ll have all the original footage in HD and can remaster the edited video in HD.

One more thing to consider regarding HD video production. It takes quite a bit longer to edit an HD video than an SD video. So, if you ask your corporate video producer to develop an HD presentation for your business, don’t be shocked if their estimate is about 30% higher than what the fee would be for an SD presentation. HD videos contain files that are almost 3 times the size of SD files. This causes our edit computers and software to work a lot slower than when processing SD content. In a world where time is money, the longer it takes for computers to process HD footage, the more if will cost you as the video client.

HD what? SD who? Need someone to give you the Tech-to-English translation? Call Kris Simmons at 423.757.9585 to schedule a free consultation.

3. Make sure you schedule the time and resources necessary to help the corporate video producer make your project a huge success! As a corporate video producer, my job is to quickly learn as much as I can about your company or particular initiative so that I can produce a successful video that speaks to your target audience. It’s sort of like cramming today for a test you have to take tomorrow that you just found out about yesterday. Okay, so its not that bad but its close.

Your job as the video client should be to help the producer collect as much information as possible about the company or initiative as soon as possible so they can get up to speed. The other things you should be doing as the video client is rounding up any images, graphics, logos, video footage, etc. that your video producer can use or should use in the project. There is often a huge disconnect here.

Clients assume that once the video producer is on board that they will take care of everything. This is only true IF you have armed the producer with the necessary resources inside your company or organization. Who can provide a high-res version of your logo and branded graphics? Who on the inside will help coordinate interview shoots with company executives? Who will sit down with us to make sure we understand EXACTLY what you want to accomplish with the video? Who will be responsible for reviewing all versions of the script and edited video to make sure those goals are being met?

Sometimes its best if the video producer has a single point of contact for all questions and issues related to your video. On other occasions, it’s better to give your producer the names, phone numbers and email addresses to the exact people responsible for certain things inside your company. For instance, I have a large client that I produce videos for regularly and in order for me to meet their tight deadlines, I have the contact information for several people within their internal creative and marketing departments. This gives me the freedom to work with EXACTLY who can get me what I need instead of going through a project manager (middle man). Some companies prefer to always go through a single point of contact but I’ve found that its easier to get things done faster if I have access to multiple people inside your organization. Now, if the project manager is a rock star, and many of the people I work with are, a single point of contact is great because as the video producer, I only have to make one call or send one email to get multiple things done.

Finally, try to return phone calls or emails from your video producer immediately during the course of your project to answer any questions or to address any issues. Waiting several hours or even a full day to hear back from the video client can either delay the video project or force the producer to continue working in a direction that may not be what you were hoping for. The video producer has to deploy resources in order to meet a deadline within a particular budget. Any delay in response from the video client can create problems that may pop up later in the project as missed deadlines, miscommunication regarding expectations or an increase in budget. Dealing with any of these issues isn’t fun for you or them so do your best to communicate often with your corporate video producer to make sure your project results in a successful video for you and your business. If they are worth their salt, they will return the favor. Frequent communication regarding project goals and milestones will ALWAYS result in a better experience for everyone.

Want to produce a corporate video for your business? Need a video producer with years of proven experience? Call Kris Simmons at 423.757.9585 or send an email to arrange a discussion.

Are you attracting enough prospects to your booth? Would finding a more dynamic way to present your products and services lead to more success?

Discover how one of our clients used an interactive DVD presentation to get better results in this case study.

CHALLENGE

Brandon Meredith, Advertising Coordinator with Astec Industries, Inc. had an interesting dilemma when preparing for a major industry trade show last month. He was racking his brain trying to figure out how to devise a presentation strategy that would enable 3 distinct companies inside their Asphalt Group to showcase numerous products all while sharing the same audiovisual presentation equipment.

Brandon knew the presentation had to make a great impression so that prospects would be drawn to their booth yet simple enough so that any of their sales representatives could operate it flawlessly with just a little bit of training.

Isn’t that what every great trade show presentation should do?

Has this ever happened to you? Do you have a trade show presentation that lacks creativity or is too complicated to operate? Are you like Brandon and need your presentation to make a great first impression by bringing your products and services to life inside your trade show booth?

I and the team at Fire Eye Productions, Inc. built an interactive DVD for Brandon that took full advantage of videos and high-resolution photography to tell the story of each of the three companies. In developing the presentation, we made sure to keep the functionality simple enough so that anyone was able to navigate it with a basic DVD remote control.

What do you think? Would a dynamic DVD presentation like the one described here help you make a better impression at trade shows? Would it attract more prospects to your booth and help them better understand your products and services? Could your sales team generate more leads if they didn’t have to worry about operating complicated equipment or navigating a difficult presentation?

Astec Industries now has a very dynamic, interactive and easy-to-operate solution for showcasing the products of all three companies that make up their Asphalt Group. The interactive DVD was designed with future updates in mind so it will be easy and cost-effective for Brandon to revise the presentation whenever he needs to add new products.

Want to discover how to make a better impression at trade shows? Call Kris Simmons at 423.757.9585 or send an email to kris@fireeyeproductions.com to schedule a free trade show presentation analysis.

Wish you could avoid having to deal with multiple vendors for trade show video production, DVD authoring and CD/DVD duplication?

You can! Fire Eye Productions, Inc. does all of the above. Find out the fastest way to make your trade show booth come alive and work to tell your company story so prospects understand the value you provide. Call Kris Simmons at 423.757.9585 or send an email to kris@fireeyeproductions.com to schedule a free trade show presentation analysis.

Fire Eye Productions, Inc
“Helping You Bring Trade Show Presentations To Life With Videos and Interactive Media!”
http://www.fireeyemedia.com

One: Create the Mega Plan

Don’t wing it, whatever you do! Map out the objectives, timeline and an outline of the elements that will be included in your Audiovisual Presentation. Make sure to include a script if needed, content and cues, and any additional “upsell” messages. Preparation is key to a successful audiovisual presentation. Make sure to list the event producer, technical personnel and talent, and include any needed contact information. Make sure each and every person participating in the production in any way gets a copy of your Mega Plan! Try to anticipate anything that might go wrong, and include possible solutions. Leave nothing to chance!

Two: Pick the Right Equipment for the Job

Whether doing it yourself, or hiring a team of professionals, choosing the right audiovisual production equipment for the job is essential. Good lighting and sound is not only important, it will make or break the success of the presentation. Lighting must be natural and not harsh, limiting shadows and unwanted visual effects. Sound has to be even, sharp and crystal clear. If you have the budget, make sure your production team (technical support) is present for the entire session. If they are experienced, they will have the proper equipment and backup plan for any issues that may arise. If they remain for the entire session, they will be able to correct anything right away that may affect the quality and overall success of the presentation.

Three: Editing for Post-Event Distribution

Be logical! First and foremost, the editing of your Audiovisual Presentation must make sense! At all times, while editing, you should be as focused on the big picture as you are on each frame of video. Always remember the objective and main messages. Make sure all filler words like “um”, “uh”, “you know” get cut out. Fillers are much more distracting than a few dissolves between jump cuts! Coughs and sneezing? No one wants to hear that – drop the volume on those! The mark of a great editing job is when the edits are invisible, and the transition from scene to scene or angle to angle is smooth and flawless. Adding motion graphics and/or music can be a great addition as well.

An effective audiovisual presentation has many benefits. It can be used in the corporate world for training or the dissemination of key company information or happenings. It can be used to record special business events or seminars for post-sale profits. And to use the internet to its fullest potential, add your video to your company website or intranet.

High quality audiovisual presentations add immeasurable credibility to any size business. The look and feel of a flawless production speaks volumes about the company.

Want to learn how a professional audiovisual presentation team can make your events, meetings and seminars more successful? Call 423.757.9585 or email kris@fireeyeproductions.com to schedule a free audiovisual presentation analysis.

Fire Eye Productions, Inc.
“Helping You Bring Corporate Meetings and Events To Life With Professional Audiovisual Services!”
http://www.fireeyemedia.com