Today I’m going to take you through some of the biggest crimes in video production. Over the years, I’ve seen many videos that have had a lot of potential, but which fell victim to these simple flaws.
Key Points
- 00:24 – Videos past their use-by date
- 00:54 – Trying to Act
- 01:20 – Radio with Pictures
- 01:58 – Long in the Tooth
- 02:26 – Too many messages
- 02:58 – No Strategy
Videos past their use-by date
I’m going to cut to the chase and start by telling you the worst-of-the-worst. Using out of date or old-fashioned techniques. This is easily the biggest mistake to have in a video. If your video looks like it was made when clip-art, cheesy transitions and dancing babies were all the rage, it should be thrown in the garbage bin and burned.
Out-dated videos will cause you to lose credibility and your audience will simply switch off. Even if you have a video that is a few years old now, it might be undermining your brand.
Use classic, timeless techniques and avoid trends. Your video will achieve far better longevity and effectiveness.
Not Being “You”
Something that I’ve noticed that goes wrong in corporate video is when people try to act. What I mean by this is that when you are trying to get your audience to connect with you, you should be yourself. Don’t try to act like what you think they would like. Otherwise you might look inauthentic, too formal or uncomfortable.
An experienced and professional video production company will make you sound and look great in the video. All you should concentrate on is being you.
Radio with Pictures
Another mistake that some producers make is what I like to call “Radio with pictures”. What this means is sometimes when a video is created, the visuals don’t add anything. They are usually just stock images or redundant cutaways that don’t tell a story or are giving any new information.
Video is a very powerful storytelling medium because you can see what is happening and the visuals tell a story. The mantra “show, don’t tell” is paramount to creating an effective video. If you choose to work with video, focus on the visual story. Don’t just waste such a great opportunity with lifeless, boring images.
Long in the Tooth
A very simple but common mistake is when a video runs too long. Trying to have too much information or too many topics in one video will get boring to an audience. Attention spans of viewers are notoriously short. So create punchy, to the point videos that can hold an audiences attention.
You might now ask: “So how long should my video be exactly?”. The answer is as long as it takes to communicate your key message and not a second more.
Too Many Messages
This leads me to the next video sin. Having too many messages in one video. When some people decide to make a video, they only think about making one. So they try to cram everything they want to say about every aspect of their business into a single video.
Doing this will create a messy, unfocused video. An audience won’t know what the take-away message will be and any message you were trying to make will be lost in the noise.
Concentrate on one message. Figure out what is the one thing that you want and audience to know and remember, and stick to it.
Not Working to a Strategy
The last, and most recent error that people make when creating a corporate video is not fitting it into your marketing strategy. Sometimes a team member will have the idea to create a video for their business, because they heard it is a must have in today’s online environment. But if it isn’t incorporated into a coherent marketing strategy, it simply wont be effective.
Work with a production company that cannot only produce a good looking video, but also understands video marketing. This will ensure you will get the best possible outcome for your video.
So, now that you know what are the biggest crimes in video production, hopefully you can avoid your video being put in the big-house!
If you’d like to hire a professional video production team to create your next corporate video, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Ryan Spanger is one of Melbourne’s most respected and sought-after video production professionals. Ryan founded Dream Engine in 2002, and specialises in helping medium to large corporates, government departments, and the non-profit sector to connect with their audience more effectively by using video.
