As somebody in the business of creating and producing professional videos for other businesses, from SMEs to corporate companies, I think it’s vital to keep the most important person in the video production process in mind at all times. That is, the viewer, the person or people that are going to watch your video.
As video producers it’s easy to get caught up in the hype, the possibilities of the equipment available, the special effects and so much more, but in the end there really is only one things that counts. Will the video do what it was intended to do in the first place?
For many businesses (who choose to use video or TV commercials etc.) that really is as simple as engaging the viewer to take action, to contact you, to follow clear instructions or to understand a product or service better.
So when it comes to producing your videos, whether that’s using professional video production company or doing it yourself, always think about the viewer, try to be the viewer and that’s not always easy.
Think about what you say and how you say it, avoid the jargon or if you use jargon, explain what you mean. If you’re demonstrating something make sure the viewer can see what you’re doing clearly and don’t just tell them what you are doing, it’s a video, show them. If it’s not possible to show video content of what you are doing maybe include some photos in your video to help explain the process visually.
If you are going to talk on your video, make sure you viewers will be able to hear you clearly, this may require the use of a microphone of simply getting the person talking closer to the camera.
And most importantly avoid the motion sickness syndrome. I watched or should I say I tried to watch a video recently and the camera person clearly wanted to show as much detail as possible as quickly as possible and simply made the video unwatchable. This was also reflected in many of the other viewers comments so be mindful to take it easy with any camera movement. Preferably use a tripod if you can or where you need to move around make the movements slow, smooth and progressive.
Video production is a challenging process and should be well thought out and produced with that all important person in mind every step of the way!
