Video is a powerful marketing tool and it is evident from the fact that 92% of businesses are using video content as a crucial part of their marketing strategy! However, some companies are unable to tap the full potential of video marketing due to various reasons including lack of time, uncertainty about the ROI, no clarity about where to begin, and others.

If you are also worried about how to get started, there is help at hand! If you do not have in-house expertise and equipment, there are many video production companies available that offer valuable video production services to make your life easier.

Let us first understand the video production process and what services you can consider for making your video marketing strategy work.

Video Production Process

No doubt, videos engage your audience better, improve accessibility and sharability, increase information retention, and much more. Nonetheless, it takes concerted efforts to make your video stand out. This means you need to make sure that key steps in your video production process are met, regardless of whether you use an in-house team or a video production company.

The video production process can be divided into four steps:

• Preproduction
• Production
• Postproduction
• Marketing and distribution

#1 Preproduction

This step includes preliminary planning activities but sets the foundation for your video, making it clear what you want to achieve with your video marketing strategy.

What is involved?

• Identifying the goal or objective of your video—brand awareness, customer testimonial, product/service promotion, etc., target audience, tone and the type of video—animated videos, explainer videos, corporate videos, social media videos, promotional videos, video ads, brand video, etc.
• Defining a budget and timeline
• Pitching and creative development
• Scriptwriting and storyboarding
• Listing shots to be included in the video (shot list)
• Scouting for location
• Scouting for talent/characters
• Getting necessary permits from local bodies or authorities
• Arranging/renting equipment
• Hiring contractors as per your need

What skill set is required?

Producers, directors, writers, storyboard artists, cinematographers, location scouts, set designers, casting directors, talents, costume designers, and makeup artists.

Types of Preproduction Services

1. Creative: It involves refining the creative aspect of the video such as concept, script writing, storyboarding, etc. If you are working with an external video production company, they will work with you to understand what story you want to tell, how you can tell it, what you want your potential customer to do after the story, etc.
2. Logistics: It involves planning how you will execute to turn your concept into a powerful video. It includes arranging for location, permits, equipment, etc.

#2 Production

This step is all about execution and involves the actual shooting of the video. This means the video production team and other personnel will get into action!

What is involved?

• Filming
• Setting up sound, lighting, and other video equipment
• Recording b-roll (extra footage for supporting the story)
• Recording sound on the location (interviews/voiceovers)
• Reshoots

What skill set is required?

Cinematography team, directing team, sound team, lighting team, grips and equipment operating team, costume and makeup team, and talents.

Types of Video Production Services

Video production services are quite extensive because of the involvement of a video production team, other personnel, and equipment to shoot the video. Depending on your requirement, you can hire for the following services:

3. Video production: The producer is the main point of contact and is involved in all stages of production. It involves overseeing and coordinating budget, talent, equipment, etc.
4. Camera/screen direction: The director of cinematography directs the making of the film with the camera operator (cameraman), talents, and equipment (high def camera, mic, etc.) to capture the story on the screen.
5. Audio engineering: The field audio engineer will control the sounds on the location during recording by mixing and manipulating through specialised equipment, set-ups, and others.
6. Lighting: The gaffer who heads the lighting technicians will help design and execute the lighting plan for video production.
7. Equipment: The grip will help set up, rig, and maintain equipment on the set so that the director and director of photography can capture what they want to.
8. Costume and makeup: The costume team and makeup artists will help in enhancing or altering the appearance of your talents or characters during shooting.
9. Drone operations: If your video involves drone shots, then a drone operator during video production is a necessity.

#3 Postproduction

This step after filming and before release involves different skillsets and software to produce a high-quality final video.

What is involved?

• File management
• Video editing
• Colour grading and correction
• Visual effects (motion graphics) and animation
• Sound/voiceover recording
• Sound mixing and editing
• Background music/soundtrack
• Audio mastering

What skill set is required?

Editors, animators, visual effects artists, sound mixers and editors, colour graders, sound recorders, and voiceover artists.

Types of Post-Production Services

Post-production services can vary depending on the type of video and the goal.

10. Video editing: It involves trimming or re-sequencing segments, adding titles/subtitles, incorporating transitions, exposure adjustments, frame cropping, etc in the raw footage file.
11. Colour grading: Colour grading and correction is all about stylizing video to change the colour qualities of certain images captured to showcase the mood or tone.
12. Visual effects and animation: As the name suggests, you modify or manipulate imagery (CGI/VFX/SFX) in the video.
13. Voiceover recording: Voiceovers can help add additional information to your video, or describe, explain, highlight the context, etc.
14. Sound mixing and editing: It involves matching audio levels of different sounds in the video such as background music, voiceovers, dialogues, etc.

#4 Marketing and Distribution

Once your video is ready, marketing and distribution are essential for maximum reach. You would need a strong SEO strategy and video marketing strategy. Besides sharing the video organically on social media channels (Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Vimeo, etc.) you can also add the video to your website, popular blogs, emails, and newsletters. You can also for Google display ads, Instagram ads, and as sponsored content through influencer marketing.

You should also have defined KPI to measure ROI. For instance, the number of views, play rate, number of shares, likes, or comments on social media platforms, video completion rate, click-through rate (CTR), or conversion rate.

Final Words

Video production and marketing can appear overwhelming if you do not have the clarity and right resources. You can use your video marketing strategy to maximum benefit with little patience and much expertise! This is where working with an experienced, creative video production company can do wonders. You can utilise different video production services discussed above to save money and time.

To know how BOXmedia has helped large and small businesses ace their video production and marketing, get in touch with us today!