Module 9 - Know your video limits

Why do you need to know your limits before you film?

Understanding your limitations and your capabilities before you start filming tells you what kind of ad you can actually make. If you are outsourcing to a video company to film the ad for you, they are probably going to manage everything and you do not have to worry about any of the points I am going to cover. If you are going to film it yourself, it might be worthwhile jotting these down so you have some idea of what you can do and what you might not be able to do.

What should you budget for?

Work out what you have got available to produce the video, and set that against the cost of your product or service. You might already have some footage, but you might have to buy some things in order to film it yourself.

You also need to take into account the cost of your product and service, because if you create a video that is very expensive, then you might not get the return on investment that you are looking for.

How does your deadline change what you can film?

Your time scale limits how you film, who is in it, and how much editing you can do afterwards. Does your video need to be filmed and edited today? Does it need to be done tomorrow? Does it need to be done next month? Maybe you have got a couple of months to create a really nice video.

You really need to think about when it needs doing by, and think about all the little goals along the way. That includes finding people to be in the video. Do you need to find them months before you actually film?

Where can you actually film?

Where you film depends on how limited you are, and it limits what you can do with the video. You might only have access to your home. You might only have access to your office. If you create a product, maybe you have access to the factory that the product is made in. You might want to hire out a studio space, and again that will be taken into account in your budget.

Do you need models, actors and voiceover artists?

If you use them, budget for them and get a consent form signed, because they can be quite costly. If you do not have the budget for it, you might want to think about using yourself, or some of your staff, and having you all in the video yourselves.

You also need to think about having a downloadable model consent form, because you need to get the permission of whoever is in your video to say yes, I agree to them filming me, and I agree to them advertising me in their video.

With voiceovers, we like to use a site called Fiverr, because you can get quite affordable voiceover artists on there. If you do not want to do that, then it might be worthwhile investing in a really good microphone to make sure your audio and your voiceovers are up to scratch.

What equipment do you actually need?

You can film on a video camera, on your iPhone, or on a DSLR with video capabilities, and which one you need depends on the scale of the production. Do you already own the equipment, or are you going to have to invest in it?

As a business coach, for example, you might not need the full production set. You might just need a good iPhone and decent lighting, and that can be a good enough video for your YouTube ad. If you want a bigger scale production, then you are going to have to have proper video cameras, proper studio lighting and proper microphones.

If you are doing regular filming anyway for your business, then it might be good to invest in a DSLR camera that has those video capabilities, because if you are filming a lot anyway it is just good to have there.

Other equipment to take into consideration is things like lighting and a backdrop. We like lav mics, which you can get for 20, and the rest of the equipment for around 100. So think about whether you want to purchase those, or whether you think you can manage with natural lighting and the microphones that come on your phone and your camera.

What props do you need?

Props are fully dependent on the subject, and their job is to set the scene. Whether that is your product or your service, do they require props to tell the story of what that product or service does?

Let us say you are filming a product that people use at home, and they use it to work from home. So you are filming from home, in a home office. You probably want natural lighting, you probably want a computer or laptop setup, and you want to think about everyday objects. Things like a coffee, so drinking from a mug. You might have to think about indoor plants you can use in the background. You might want to think about stationery, maybe a pot with pens and pencils in it, just something to set the scene and make it seem like an actual home office.

Those are all the things to think about when you are working out the limitations on filming your video, what you are actually capable of doing, and what is in your budget.