How to Create A Cost-Effective Video OR Outsource?

[ringochan]

We are planning to make videos for our unique products but we do not have the experience of doing one before.

Is there any tutorial online teaches people how to make one without spending alot of money or using expensive equipment?

Does anyone have experience outsource their videos and how much am i looking to spend? Where to find talented videos maker with cheap price?

[PhilNottingham]

I fully take your point, though i've actually never come across a scenario where I've thought Animoto etc would be a better solution than doing less content - but doing it properly.

Personally, I don't think the baby clothing line video is fit for purpose - I can't even read what the writing says and I actually think just an image slideshow would work much much better here than the video form factor they've chosen.

However, I am conscious that I'm a bit of a fundamentalist about this and I concede that there may be occasions when due to very limited budget and creativity - these kind of stock solutions are appropriate.........I've just never come across one yet.

[vmialik]

Agree with you on this one Phil. Just like in your amazing whiteboard Friday video (that you rocked in btw) There are various types of videos and for many animoto is a very limited solution. Especially if not much thought and quick-fix is what a person is after.

However I kindly disagree, and say that there is a place for animoto, especially for small businesses even in product video. Small businesses have limited resources, and not to say that many cannot afford HDSLRs, and iMovie as it is very very affordable even for small business these days. However, because of the budget limitations, small biz owners need to get creative, and once creativity is unleashed, and time put in; any tool can be a good tool with enough creativity and time. Animoto very limited, in that it just does slideshows, (well videos inside slideshows as well), but it does them well, really well. It might not work for every situation. But you can still showcase a great product, and tell a great story.

Good Example (Animoto for product video of baby clothing line, not sure how big this company is but having a VP of Marketing probably means they have a budget and know their options, but still chose animoto): http://animoto.com/blog/business/small-business-video-marketing-spotlight-sweet-spud/

[PhilNottingham]

Hi Vadim,

not to pick on you at all, because I think you've given a great answer - but I want to generally object to the suggestion of using things like Animoto and Wideo etc... because the kind of content you get in return, while it's scalable and low cost, it's also really low quality and incredibly generic.

IMO, if your video doesn't speak to the USP of your product or your brand in some fundamental way, It's not worth doing. I know that's a hardline to take, especially with SEOs who often, sadly all want to do everything as cheaply as possible and don't care too much about quality -- but I really think you're always better off following your second suggestion and finding a talented freelancer or student who can build out something customized and uniquely valuable for you. The cost shouldn't be prohibitively greater and you'll get way more for your money in the long run.

[PhilNottingham]

I absolutely recommend finding a good local videographer to work with, rather than using any sort of "out of the box" solutions, since in order for your product videos to actually be any good, you'll need to ensure you communicate some of  your unique understanding of the product within the content itself - and this requires you to work with someone fairly closely.

Sites like mandy.com, shootingpeople.org, searchlight.com, skillset.org, productionhub.com, filmandtvpro.com will all allow you to input a brief and find people to work with who may suit your needs.

If you have a large number of products to go through, the cheapest and most scalable way to do this will be to hire a good camera operator for a day or two to get loads of stock content for all of your products, including interviews with any staff who can explain about all the products etc (dependent on what you're actually selling) and then, you can hire an editor to make sense of this footage and turn it into the videos required. Then, further down the line, if you want to do more videos or different styles of videos (see: http://moz.com/blog/the-kind-of-video-you-should-create-for-your-business-whiteboard-friday) you will probably be able to do this by just adding some additional shots to the library of footage you've already built up.

[vmialik]

So true Guillermo, animation works really well to show and tell a product. Thanks for sharing Wideo, its great it could be a great low cost solution if you can get great graphics. I just saw this, and it looks clean and simple: http://www.wideo.co/view/177481367942562265-casey-solar-energy (I also like the voice of the powered by Wideo) sounds cute!

[SEO5Team]

Good info Vadim.

Very useful info in the post below as well:

Beginner's Guide to Outsourcing Video Production

[guillermoga]

Hi Ringo!

It really depends on what kind of video you want to make. Animation videos are very used nowadays. You can see Crazy Egg's site as a very good example of how to promote a product by these types of videos. At least in my country, to hire someone to design this, is kind of expensive and learning Adobe After Effects to do it yourself can take a lot of time.

I found the solution on Wideo which allows you to make a pretty decent animated video very fast and "as easy as editing a doc in Word". I hope it helps!

[LesleyPaone]

One thing you might be able to do is go to a local college and hire someone for work for their portfolio. I have heard stories about clients doing that and it working out well.

[vmialik]

The easiest and yet very professional looking way of making a video would be animoto.com

If you have pictures, you select the music and and titles, and you can tell a great story. If you take good pictures, that is. You can also do the same with videos instead of pictures, on animoto.

The key here is to use images and videos that are done in well lit environments. And audio needs to be as clear and noise free as possible. This can be solved by using background music and telling your products story visually.  At the end of the day, Lighting and Audio make a great video... well and great product/story

Hope this helps! Again this is if you are starting out and want to do it your self and not waste too much time, and still get a great result.

Outsourcing, if you record your own footage its very easy to find a person to edit and compile that for you. As for recording you need an actual person nearby.  Contacting Film departments at your near by university or college might be a great place to start looking for cheaper price, as this can get expensive.  But the students should be familiar with HDSLR technology that is rocking the film industry with great images coming out from cheaper cameras and combined with great lighting and audio you can get great videos.