corporate video

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Do Your Own Corporate Video Production

Owning a car doesn’t make you a mechanic. Owning a camera doesn’t make you a producer.

Gone are the days of confusion surrounding the complexities of high quality camera work, understanding the technical intricacies associated with commercial videography and having to wield a near brain-scientist-esque mind to edit and create videos for your organization. Today you carry a camera in your pocket capable of shooting SD, HD and 240 fps, slow motion footage. Even if you don’t understand the majority of the aforementioned verbiage, you understand how to “do it”, because your smartphone makes it so easy to shoot a video that you don’t even have to completely comprehend how you’re doing what you’re doing. You’re just doing it. We haven’t even mentioned that in our current technological climate, if you take the seemingly simple step up to a DSLR photo / video camera you can full on feel like you’re wielding the video power that only Merlin himself might possess, you know, if he lived today.

But here’s the simple truth: just because you can doesn’t mean you should. While flipping a camera on might seem like the most difficult step in creating a quality commercial or promotional piece, the truth is you don’t know what you don’t know. Hence, our article today: 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Make Your Own Corporate Video. We write this with all humility in our hearts, also with a desire to save you from total embarrassment. Below are our 5 solid reasons to steer clear of the “do it yourself” mentality. Here goes nothing.

Video Production – It’s all in the Details.

If you’re a professional in the creative marketing space, (which you’re not), you know that before any lights flip on, a camera rolls or a production assistant yells, “action,” there are days, weeks even of preparing for your on-set production. Of course, decisions have to be made about locations, talent, scripts, insurance, crew and schedules (most people could devise the necessity of these details), but what about the notes known by only those who live the #setlife? Within each of those details come a wide array of choices that could easily make or break your video. Let’s take casting for instance. One warm body does not equate to another, so how do you decide which actor is the right actor to do the right acting in your right video? A trained producer will know. You just might not.

Pro Video Production Gear Doesn’t Make You a Pro

It’s a common misconception to think that just because you own the camera and know how to point it means you’re capable of moving people to action. Producing amazing video content is so much more than owning the gear, it’s knowing the secrets behind why a certain piece of equipment should be used for a certain shot or moment. Think of it like an artist’s brush. Any brush will smear paint on the canvas, but which brush should be chosen for this exact effect? Video equipment is simply a tool, and someone with the knowledge and understanding of how to use it is the kind of director and producer you want creating your content.

Video Editing is More Than Just an App

So, let’s say you did end up shooting a piece for your organization. What now? Well, it makes sense since you’d download whatever-available editing app / software you can find and get to work, right? Wrong. Your misconception is the magic is in the technicalities of the software, but the truth is the magic is in the experience. Seasoned editors understand there’s a cadence to timing, a power to thoughtful transitions and a skill to audio mastering they’ve come to learn through the years and years of failing and picking themselves back up only to dive in deeper into the dark world of editing. When you hire a quality editor, you’re hiring them not for their capacity, but for their years of learning on everyone else’s project only to bring it to yours, which is a truly magical place to be.

Video Content is King

At the end of the day, content reigns supreme. You can have a concept for a hilarious or dramatic piece, but if there is no “why,” it’ll all fall short. That’s where YOU come in. You KNOW the content. You LIVE the content. You LOVE the content. That’s where you should be spending your time. Instead of buying up the latest and greatest gear package, scheduling crew and trying to convince your sister’s friend’s mother to be in your video, use your time to focus on what only you can bring to the table: the drive, the passion, the knowledge, and the content that only you can provide.

You’ll Break the Budget Doing it Yourself

Right out of the gate, this seems like a contradiction, right? Most of the time you’re thinking, “We can save the money by doing it ourselves!” The problem is you’ll end up with a subpar product that your clients and customers can totally see right through thus rendering you a subpar response. So, what happens in the end? You either trash the video or end up hiring the right team to re-create what you originally wanted. Now, you’ve wasted your own valuable time and paid for one video twice. “I’d love to talk to accounting about how I wasted everyone’s money!” said no one ever!

It’s Not About Us. It’s About You

Here’s the deal. This article isn’t about you paying out of pocket to bring us in to produce your next project, it’s about bringing your vision to life and attracting the right customers attached to your vision. You want a video that you’re proud of and communicates the heart and soul of your organization. Don’t lose out on potential clients and partners because your DIY video didn’t stand up to your competitors’ videos; and don’t waste your time doing it all yourself in an attempt to save a buck. Click or give us a call today and let’s talk about how we can give your organization the training or promotional video you deserve.