T is for Time Lapse

One of the more unique uses of video. This video is actually a series of still photos from a kitchen remodeling project. I used a still camera that took a shot every minute (I think). At the end of the project, I had beaucoup still images that I dumped onto a video timeline and rendered out as a video. It's a "stop action" look and feel but I think it is a great way to show changes over a long period of time.

Q is for Quality

My first word in video production is "understandability". Second word is actually a phrase, "relate to your target viewers". Quality in the video world, I think, tends to be more skewed towards some geek thinking that you need the latest and greatest 4k video camera or some other techie piece of gear. I think quality video needs to be steady and well lit, it does not need the latest and greatest tech to be good.

One reality of video is that all your high quality raw video, goes from this huge piece of video, all the way down to the size of a playing card, for viewing in a browser. The audio survives the downsizing better than the video. So I worry more about the audio, spending more time getting that recorded as cleanly as I can. This is usually complicated though by the tendency of the client to be nervous which is heard in their voice, and by the typical lack of preparation, such that the client requires several attempts before they have fluidly pieced together what they want to say. It is the audio that carries the "understandability". It is the words that the client chooses for the audio that "relates to their target viewers"

I think a good business video boils down to keeping things simple and easy to understand and speaking with the words that your hoped for customers are going to relate to.

H is for Home Construction Companies

Some of my enduring themes appear again in this video from a Home Construction company in Kenosha. Credibility (multiple generations and mention of start year), Example (three different showrooms), and Good speaking voice.

A business video does not have to be this major bank breaking affair. After all your customers are not likely to be major bank breaking customers right? Speak in their language, show them things they are looking for, and keep it simple. No one goes into a purchase looking for complexity, regardless of what it is. Simple words, quick to understand imagery and good body language. I think that's the gist of what it takes to get someone's attention and get them thinking further about doing business with your company.