Getting More From Your Shoot
When GINGERBEARD Media first started back in 2012, nearly 100% of our work was for website introduction videos. Clients wanted 5+ minute videos that would explain the entirety of their business to potential clients. However during our initial meetings, our role was to try and reduce that length to around 2 minutes;- viewers didn't want to watch 5-minute videos, and we coached our clients to act on that.
Fast forward to today and we continue to educate and coach our clients about reducing their video lengths. Most of our videos end up being around 1:30 to 2 minutes - which could be reduced further, but we're also now coaching and encouraging our clients to think about getting more from their productions.
What On Earth Are You On About?
In most video projects there is a chunk of footage which never makes the final edit.
There are generally two reasons for this - 1) it's not good enough, maybe it's out of focus or something isn't right - like the presenter's lines or the way something happens in the frame and 2) it is good enough to be used, but it just didn't get used - maybe the shot was too long so it was cut shorter or an alternative shot was used. And it's this 2nd group that we're focusing on.
Like a good chef, wastage from raw materials is exactly that - a waste. At GINGERBEARD Media we're always looking to use as much of the footage shot as possible. Afterall our clients have spent time (and money) shooting, and for it to end up on the cutting room floor is a waste.
So before going further - I want to point out that this methodology usually requires spending more time and therefore money, but in the long term I truly believe that it is of better value for our clients.
Getting More from Less
And what this boils down to here, is the use of alternative and additional edits.
Whether you've shot the video yourself, or you're paying someone to come and shoot your business I believe that you should always be considering 'what else you can get' from the production.
So if you shoot a script and a series of b-roll/cutaways - could you put the b-roll to another use - like a facebook cover video? Or could you use unused b-roll to create a 2nd, shorter version of the video? Would these additional/alternative cuts help you market your business?
If the answer is yes - then let's crack on.
Basically, can you turn the time you spend shooting into more than one video that will help market your business better.
It was this philosophy that helped develop and launch our Business Introduction Video Package - we know that we'll have left over and unused visuals and when combined with some repeated visuals from the main project, we know we can deliver our clients more.
As I mentioned towards the start of this article, this methodology does usually add some time/money into the final product - as more time is needed for editing. But the end result is that often for the same amount of time spent shooting, you'll often end up with a lot more content to get out there and market with.
So if you're looking to create marketing material about your business, be it by shooting for yourself, or when you use a professional company - my belief is that we should always be looking for more ways to improve cost-effectiveness, and turning your shoot into more videos is a great way to do that
As ever I hope this article has been interesting and useful. If you'd like to have a chat about how GINGERBEARD Media can provide you with better value for your next video project, then please get in touch. And if you're shooting your own video content for your business then wy not join up to our Facebook group; How to Shoot Video for Your Business?
Thanks for reading, until next time...
Beard Out!
