Making great video content: where do I start?

BY SARAH HICKEY

When it comes to the direction of TVC productions in Australia, it helps to work with people who know the lay of the land when it comes to casting, location scouting, production management and liaising with third parties where required. And given every project is different, we make sure we work with versatile directors who can work closely with clients to understand their key messages and craft a film that really strikes a chord.

Tailor your content to suit your brand

First off, there are no rules. The way we make content for your brand may end up being completely different to how we approached a project with another client, or how we approached your last video. There are infinite ways of producing video content, and our aim is always to fully understand your aims and goals first. The better we can understand your aims, the more we can tailor our video material to exactly fit your needs and deliver the right message to the right audience.

That said, we’ve learned a lot over our years in film & video production. And we’re here to help you avoid the common pitfalls that often cause a video to fail. One of the biggest factors here is the length of each video. For branded content, online especially, we find that shorter is better. Keeping your brand film clear and concise will maximise audience engagement, even if it means losing a few of your key points, or finding a quicker way to get to those points.

Choice of talent: Professional actors or real people?

Another big one is your choice of actors or talent. At Monster & Bear, we work with a mix of professional actors as well as talent who have never been in front of the camera before. The decisions made here can hugely shape the way your video is received, and dictate whether it succeeds with your audience. For some projects, we’re definitely able to work with non-talent, and this can lead to some beautiful, authentic moments on screen – your audience can really tell that these people on screen are genuine.

For interview-based projects, getting the real people featured is mandatory. Your audience can spot a fake CEO being interviewed, trust us.

But on the other hand, there are many limits to what non-actors can do. If you require someone to confidently speak down the barrel of the lens to your audience and deliver a clear message, a professional actor is your best bet. Professional actors are more aware of how their tone of voice, stance and posture translate on screen, and are much more flexible in their delivery, changing to meet the needs of the brand. A professional actor will also be much more comfortable on screen, and used to the process of repeating themselves, take after take, where an amateur actor would run out of steam.