How to Make the Most out of your New York Video Production Process

How to Make the Most out of Your New York Video Production Process

Video production is an investment of both your time and your money, especially in New York where your video production could be a significant investment financially, so you want to make sure that you’re getting the most for your money. When most people think about video production it’s usually the “lights, camera, action!” that gets all the attention, but to really get the most out of your video production in New York, it all comes down to the pre-production. It may sound boring, but a detailed and thorough pre-production stage of the process is key to ensuring that the production and post-production stages go as smoothly as possible. Here are some tips on how to maximize your pre-production time to get the most out of your video production in New York.

Message

It sounds pretty obvious, but having a clear objective, target audience, and message for the video will help you and your video production team to work more efficiently and effectively and leave less room for interpretation. Make sure that everyone working on the project knows what the goal of the video is, as well as who the viewers will be, and the main message the video is conveying. A quality New York video production team will be proactive and ask you these questions up front, but if they don’t, make sure that everyone involved in your project from actors and writers to camera operators and editors, knows what you are trying to achieve with your video so that everyone is working towards a common objective.

Distribution

Think about your end game for the video and work backwards. Are you going to be using a video hosting service? Posting to social media? Sites like Instagram and Twitter allow you to share videos, but they have certain requirements, so you may need different length edits, and different file formats of your final video production. Make sure that your video production team knows this ahead of time so they aren’t scrambling at the eleventh hour to export your video in all the formats needed to meet your deadline. You should also think about where your audience is. Are you targeting New York, the tri-state area, or further? Does your video need to have slightly different call-to-actions or messages? If you know this ahead of time, you can maximize your filming time by planning to record different scripts or create varied end slates to reflect these different markets. You don’t want to get to the editing stage only to realize you should have filmed several different versions of your video production.

Storyboards and Schedules

Alot of people are in a hurry to get to the production stage of the process and don’t realize how much it could help to have a treatment or storyboard. You don’t want to rely on luck to make sure that your video production team gets everything needed for your video on the day of shooting. Having a storyboard or an outline gives everyone a guide map to follow. Your video production team can use this to create a shot list and a shooting schedule for your production day(s). This will make sure that you are maximizing your filming time, keeping everyone organized and on schedule, and filming in the most efficient order possible. Flying by the seat of your pants on filming days leads to missing shots or scenes, inefficient scheduling, and a lot of disorganization. Think about the different locations and people that need to be filmed, and all the schedules that need to be coordinated. A professional video production team will be able to think through the filming days, and create a schedule that is realistic and attainable.

Locations

The location is a big component of a video, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re making a conscious decision about where to film and not just leaving it up to what happens to be available at the last minute. Some video productions are able to be filmed entirely on location at your office, others require an alternate locations, a studio, or even outdoor locations. In each case, there’s some steps you’ll want to take during pre-production to ensure your location is ready to go for filming day. If you are filming at your office in New York, different locations pose different challenges. Which part of your office has the least amount of noise and interruptions if you need to film interviews? Which parts of your office are going to look best on camera? An experienced New York video production team will be able to scout your location, create a shot list with the best locations, and plan for all these details.

Sometimes your video requires filming on green screen or a custom set, or sometimes it’s just not possible to film at your office. In these cases a studio is a great option, and for video production New York has a lot of options. Do your research when it comes to pricing and locations, make sure that you’re getting a good rate, that the studio is available for the day and length of time you need, and that the team is flexible and easy to work with.

If you’re filming outside in New York, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have all the necessary permits. Getting caught filming without the appropriate video production permits can bring your shoot to a screeching halt! Take the time in pre-production to do your research and get everything you need for filming day.

Casting

Not all videos require casting in the sense of professional actors, but most corporate videos will feature people from your company in interviews and in b-roll. Make sure that your people are going to be comfortable on camera, that they understand what the video is about, and that they are prepared for the film day. This can include rehearsing lines and actions, reading over interview questions, selecting wardrobe, even casting within your company. Be sure to select people that are going to best represent your company, have a great personality, and are articulate and expressive. Don’t rely on the video production team to be able to grab people on the day of filming and expect amazing results. And always, ALWAYS have people sign release forms. Nothing is worse than having hours of footage that can’t be used because someone decided after filming that they don’t want to be in the video.

If you are casting for a spokesperson or actors, you’ll want to make sure that there is plenty of time prior to filming so that you aren’t pressured to settle on someone. Sometimes you luck out and find the perfect actor right away, other times it can take 2, 3, or more casting sessions to find just the right person. If you don’t allow enough time for the casting process, you may be rushed into choosing someone that isn’t right for the part. There are tons of actors in New York, so there will be a lot of options. Just remember, this person is going to represent your company, so make sure that you have time in your video production process to find someone that is the right fit.

Maximize your time!

So you’ve got everything figured out. Your locations are set, your shot list is created, and all your key staff are scheduled to film interviews. It was probably pretty tricky to get everyone scheduled, so why not make the most of the time you have with them. Are there any other questions you can ask your staff? Or additional messages you can have them film while they are there? Think about other content that you would like to create around this video or stand alone pieces. Maybe you are filming at a client’s location, can you schedule time to also get a testimonial from them? If you’re working with a video production agency, they can help take a look at your overall marketing strategy and make suggestions for other video content that can be created during the filming time.

 

These are just a few of the ways you can make the most out of your video production, and maximize your budget. And just remember you’re not alone! Your video production agency does this all the time and will be able to help with the pre-production process. A quality New York video production company will want to help you maximize your budget and time, and can help make suggestions for additional content as well. It’s all in the pre-production, Measure twice and cut once! or in this case, plan twice and film once! Okay, I guess that doesn’t really work the same… but you know what I mean! Before the lights, before the camera, and before the action – plan, prepare, and plan!

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