A video production brief is vital to the success of your corporate video project. It helps you clarify your objectives and communicate them clearly to your creative team. It sets the course for a smooth-sailing production process. Without a well thought out brief, a video project can get entangled with reshoots and re-edits. And nobody wants that.
In this article, we’ll break down how to plan a video project to get the best results.
5 Ws (and 1 H) to ask before starting a Video Project
Why are you producing a video?
Identify your objectives. By first establishing what you want to achieve, you anchor the project around a purpose. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness through advertising? Do you want to introduce a product or service? Get more lead conversions? Drive more app downloads? Think this through carefully. Every other decision you’ll make moving forward must align with your goals.
Who is the target audience?
These are the people who will watch your video. They are those who will ultimately make the purchasing decision or take some sort of action that lets you fulfil your goal. The target audience defines the tone of the video, the technique and pace, the script, and concept art and design. For instance, the language and tone you use for a video aimed at kids would be very different from a video intended for CEOs.
What is your key message?
It’s the content of your video. What do you want to communicate to your audience? If you’re going to launch a new product, then you may want to outline the problem it solves and how your product solves it better than others in the market. It’s crucial to have a clear message so that it can be easily understood and acted upon by your audience. If you have more than one key message, it might be a sign that you need to produce more than one video.
Where will your video be distributed?
Videos distributed on social media have a different format and style compared to those distributed on your website, email campaigns, or even at a tradeshow. For example, Facebook videos generally have a square or vertical aspect ratio. The silent-autoplay will also affect the video style since this means using more text-involved design. The platform affects the length of the video as well. Ad videos tend to be shorter (20 seconds) than explainer videos (3 minutes).
When will your video be published?
The time that you decide to publish a video will define the message that you compose in your video. For example, if this is your first video, then your audience should be introduced to you and what you have to say. But if your audience has been watching your videos, then you should reduce the formalities and jump into the topic.
How will you produce the video?
By answering all five Ws, you can solve this final question. All these elements influence how you’re going to say what you want to say and achieve what you want to achieve. It dictates the creative approach, like whether to go for realistic or cartoon animation, and it defines your budget.
Corporate Video Creative Brief Template
Once you’ve sorted out your 5Ws and 1H of your video project, you’re ready to fill out a brief. We’ve made a simple one here for you. Download the file, fill it out, and send it your creative team.
Don’t have a video production partner yet? Work with Digital Alchemist, an Auckland production company, to get started on your video marketing strategy today.