An introduction to creative video production

We recently worked with a client who was a little embarrassed to say that they had no experience or knowledge in how to commission a video production company, and that they had no knowledge of the processes involved, or how much it would cost or how long it would take etc…

But then, why would they? Simply put, it’s not their job to.

As a leading academic researcher in their field, there hasn’t been a need for them to know the inner working behind creative video production before. But (as with everything else at the moment) times are a changin.

With REF very much on the horizon and with university research funding under scrutiny, there’s a need to show how research monies and grants are being spent, and the impact it’s having on the wider public domain. So that need to publicise and promote is what eventually led to our client coming to talk to us about producing a project that would show stakeholders, policy makers and fellow academics the reach and impact of their research.

And of course, this led to those initial questions asked by our client – questions such as ‘Where do we start?’ ‘What do you need from us?’ ‘What comes next?’

With this in mind, we thought it would be worth sharing some of the processes and methods that go into commissioning a video production company, but looking at them through the perspective of our clients.

Over the next few months, we’ll be looking at all areas of production; from the commissioning and scoping out of video briefs; the conceptualisation and development of an idea; pre-production, production and post-production; management of feedback, right through to understanding the right format and approach for your online channels.

Later this week we’ll begin the series by looking at the very start of the commissioning process by identifying what’s involved in designing a video brief that meets all of your communication objectives.

We’d love to hear from you