Let’s say, you want to create high-quality videos consistently for your brand, but you’re unable to do it yourself because of your schedule. So, you decided to hire Ottawa video production to help you instead. What’s next?
One of the most common things brands do these days is hiring a video production partner. You might want to do this, too, especially if your hands are full, but you want to grow your business through videos. Lucky for you, we’ve come up with essential tips when you work with an Ottawa video production partner.
9 tips when you work with an Ottawa video production partner
Identify the purpose of your videos
Starting with the basics, you should be able to answer this question: Why are you making these videos? You should also establish the following:
- Your target audience – do they already know your brand? Or is this the introduction?
- Your call-to-action – do you want to drive sign-ups, or do you just want to generate brand awareness?
- Where the videos will be posted – Videos for a landing page are different from the ones you post on social media pages.
Check your tone
As you already know, strong emotions cause strong reactions. With that said, nobody really knows your audience better than you do. Picking the right way to convey that emotion is the key to your success. Let’s say, you want your viewers to come away from your promotion video with a feeling of trust. If they are a start-up community, then you might want to go for a personal, friendly tone where viewers hear from real employees. If the audience is more corporate, then you might want to use a more formal tone, while you lean on facts and company history.
It might also help you if you provide your video production partner with a few examples of videos you like. Good Ottawa video production partners will walk you through the process of finding the right tone.
Find a video production partner
Now that you have established what kind of videos you want to make, it’s time to find a partner to match. Do some research, and make sure you review the portfolios and demo reels. You may also get recommendations from your peers and then set up some meetings.
Make sure to share your own creative vision, as this might take the form of a creative brief, where you make it in writing. Try to take pitches, too, based on your initial concept, just to see if your instincts match.
An ideal setting would be to hire an Ottawa video production partner that has strong skills where you lack and vice versa. It won’t be a good idea to hire someone with similar skills. So, if you already have a team with animators on staff, then look for a partner with great writers to work with you in creating something brilliant.
Share your vision onset
Once you already have your team, then it’s time you start working like one – sit down together for an exploratory meeting where you will have to go over the details of your project.
This is where you discuss a more in-depth creative vision and have the opportunity to provide your own brand standards, including the design elements such as colors and fonts.
At this point, the most important thing is to do is be open to new ideas and being honest about who you are as a brand and what you’re expecting.
Define the scope of the project
What do you expect to get from the video production partner? Not all production companies are the same – they offer different services. Do you need more assets? The sky’s the limit when it comes to video production. Just make sure to identify how high you want to fly before you take off. However, much of the scope depends on the next tip.
Know how much your budget is
Expect questions about how much your budget is from video production companies. They need to know what they’re working with to give you an accurate picture of what they can do.
When you set a budget, you should remember the triple constraint theory – it says while it’s perfect to balance speed, quality, and cost, any changes to one of these elements can affect the other two. For instance, if the deadline is coming up, you can’t maintain high quality without spending more money. And if your budget is small, then it’s harder to come up with something of high quality.
Set a timeline for the video production
Most production companies have a lot of projects to do. Nailing down shoot dates and delivery timelines in advance are the key to meet the deadline. Make sure you include the dates for your team to respond to feedback. This will give everyone clear expectations from the beginning. There may be changes in the schedule along the way, but at least you have something to aim for.
Accept new ideas
A harmonious relationship requires both parties to know how to listen. You’re working with a video production partner for a reason. After all, your brand can benefit from an outsider’s opinion. You should take this as an opportunity to shake things up, fill in knowledge gaps, or pivot your strategy.
Communication is very important
You should also expect the Ottawa video production companies to ask for feedback at various stages. As a client, the best thing you can do is to be responsive. If you don’t, it can hold up the delivery of the video. Even if you need more time to gather approvals from the right people, you need to keep the lines of communication open. Also, try to give hard dates to the team for feedback when it’s possible.
Working with a video production partner in Ottawa is a relationship game. You can hire the most talented team, but if you can’t keep up good communication, then you’ll only be disappointed with the results.
