Video Creation Ideas On A Budget

[TheDude]

I am trying to help a friend add quality content to their site.  It's been determined that video is a great medium for much of it.  However, their budget and time is limited.  Here are some ideas I've had so far and comments on each.

Outsource to a budget production company

Pros: $500/min or less (I hope), time saving

Cons: Quality, possibly boring

Sock Puppets

Pros: Doable in-house, creative and engaging, multiple characters possible for a conversation rather than 1 actor

Cons: Does not fit the corporate theme/feel of the site

GoAnimate Cartoon Animations

Pros: Doable in-house or hired creator at $500/min or less, creative and engaging, multiple characters possible for a conversation rather than 1 actor

Cons: Off-limits, as this is being utilized by a subsidiary partner site that we need to differentiate from

Slideshow Video

Pros: Doable in-house, no actors required

Cons: Possibly boring, only suitable for certain topics

Does anyone have any additional ideas to throw out there or comments on how to implement the above in a suitable way for this corporate site?

[PhilNottingham]

Practice, Practice, Practice.

[EGOL]

they just need to get over being camera shy.

Exactly!

Go down to their office with a camera and tell them... we are making your first video TODAY!

[TheDude]

Thanks for the in depth response.  We just had a marketing meeting last Friday where we used your slide presentation on this topic as a reference.

I think the best thing my friends can do is just put themselves out there and film the videos themselves.  They have the technical know-how, they just need to get over being camera shy.

[PhilNottingham]

Creating great video on a budget isn't hard - you just need to have a killer idea behind it.

What worries me slightly here is that you seem to be focussed on the production elements (form) before having solidified the core idea (content) and what you want to achieve from the video.

If you take the approach that you're just going to do video and then work out afterwards what that video will look like, then decide what kinda content it'll be and how you'll integrate it in your site - you'll inevitably be doomed to failure with substandard content, as you'll have engaged in the process in exactly the wrong order.

The technical and practical approaches for your videos can only really be effectively decided once you have the core content idea planned out - using the audience goals and dramaturgy to determine the form.

So, my advice is to work as follows:

1. Work out what you want from the videos - why are you doing this? Conversions? Links? Branding?
2. Work out what the content is going to be - Tutorials? Product videos? This should be defined by the goals
3. How are you going to host the content - Platform? Location? Embed style?
4. How are you going to build out the content - Filming, Animation, Costs etc.

Once you've worked out the plan for points 1-3, you can look at point 4. below are a few tips for keeping costs down while achieving the desired outcomes. The biggest pointer I can give you is to say that if you're doing tutorial/informational content - then the quality can afford to be much less polished than anything with a sales focus. Remember the core of why people will watch the video - if it's to learn something or get an idea, provident the advice is good, the production doesn't need to do more than simply give away that information. I made these 57 videos in a day, with no budget, on that principle.

• Talking head/ direct interviews as part of tutorial/information content work well to improve brand trust.  If you don't have a strong identity, make sure you're getting the faces of the senior management at the firm in front of the camera. If you can combine this method with slide/shows animations for informational (not heavily promotional) content, then you can create great content very simply that works to express brand identity and convince potential customers of a USP. when doing some talking head stuff - make sure you have an interesting, ideally branded, physical background and film in well-lit conditions.
• If you want to buy a camera for short pieces, but have somewhat restricted budget, a good DSLR with a quality wide angle lens is usually your best bet, provident you don't require varied depth of field.
• If you want to outsource cheaply - i'd recommend looking on mandy.com to find some good freelance film professionals
• GoAnimate cartoons are fine - but really not appropriate if you have a serious brand or are trying to sell services/products. I'd only use these if you have a clear message/fun piece of content that has no informational/sales driven goals behind it
• If you do screencasts - make sure you add some motion or annotations to make it seem more polished and professional. Camtasia is a great, cheap program to do this with. Additionally - http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ isn't bad.
• If you have skills in illustrator/photoshop, it's very simple to turn nice designs into beautiful animation using AfterEffects or Motion - with tons of good web tutorials out there for how to make that work. If you're a mac user, Motion is only $49 from the Mac app-store so great for restricted budgets.
• If it's a corporate feel to the site with business objectives - don't use sock puppets.
• If you're creating anything that is somewhat directly advertorial - make sure the production elements are strong
• Stock footage isn't that expensive - utilize some of that for anything advertorial that required quality production value. http://footage.shutterstock.com has a nice library.
• Actors are cheap. If you can offer some good exposure, it's not hard to pick up good actors for minimal costs or simply expenses for a short film.
• Find out which are the best schools/colleges/universities in your area with media/production departments. Speak to the students and see if you can get some to come in and work with you. Many students will value the opportunity and are happy to work for minimal fees.

Hope that's all useful.

Phil

[MarieHaynes]

If you do this, I would highly recommend purchasing a Canon Rebel T2i plus a good quality tripod.  I bought one and can shoot really good quality HD video.  If you have a Mac, the video editing in iMovie is quite good.

[TheeDigital]

As we do videos for many of our web design clients, we have similar issues regarding budget constraints for their lead capture page or homepage.

While site content is undoubtedly continually important for SEO, there's really no better way to convert prospective customers than a well-thought out video. If you're going to undertake a video, I would recommend allocating as many resources as possible (even if it means skirting on some of the web design).

A couple of other ideas than the ones you listed are Stop Motion Animation, Green Screen, or a Whiteboard-based video.

Stop Motion Animation only requires a decent camera and/or photographer. The majority of the effort is on the post-production, but it could be a cheaper tactic to utilize the resources you have. Here are a couple of ideas: http://on.mash.to/brnohE

Green Screen video doesn't necessarily require a professional green screen. If you have a free wall, paint it green and utilize someone's editing experience in post-production. It'd be an excellent way for testimonial videos as well as a potential introductory video.

If I were in your shoes, I'd piggback off SEOMoz and utilize their Whiteboard idea. UPS made it famous, but it's an excellent way to articulate a site's services and/or value, while simultaneously creating a face for the company. It's also super, super cheap to product. Here's an example of a previous SEOMoz Whiteboard Friday: http://mz.cm/J1M912

[EGOL]

If you are good on camera or know how to storyboard a demonstration then just get a video camera and give it a shot yourself.  Will not be a waste of your time.  You will learn lots that will help you no matter which way you will go.

I procrastinated for a long time before my first video then we just said... let's try it, and flew without a big production.  It worked great for short product demo and how-to-to-it videos.

Just do it.