There are many flavours of video today as a result of a loosening of our expectations, our viewing habits and the many mediums that we now receive video through, ranging from YouTube and Facebook to HBO and Netflix. The era of episodic television is over…wait a minute maybe not …maybe it has just morphed into such a broad ranging format we can no longer point our finger and define video so easily.
Video is no longer in neat little categories like corporate video or television shows or readily recognizable commercials – the lines between these mediums has been fudged and it should be pointed out that they have been fudged by advertisers for the most part. We have lulled ourselves into believing that we have created these new popular videos through a more diverse and creative medium; but in fact w have simply been allowed to develop mediums that will better hide the messages of advertisers.
The problem, in part, is that as individuals and companies we have bought into this process. The advent of cheap video production, basement online suites, small lower cost cameras and an army of creative types being churned out by colleges and universities has created expectations for lower cost and more creativity. A reasonable expectation I’d say …The unfortunate truth remains that while we have benefited from a less formal video production process, the hall marks of good video have remained consistent.
Great interviews still require good interviewers who are prepared and provide meaningful insight. Great imagery still needs a good cameraman, complemented by good sound and good editing. Well planned and thought out videos produce better results when a professional team is involved in production. Don’t kid yourself, all of the “reality television “ we see today that started with Survivor and followed by shows such as such as Jersey Shore, Big Brother, Hoarders, The Deadliest Catch, American Pickers, etc. all remain carefully constructed. They were the result of decreased budgets but as these shows now evolve and seek to compete for audience their budgets have also begun to expand with the expansion of their market share.
Big Budget television productions still remain the standard in television today; they have simply moved from regular broadcasting television channels to pay-per-view. Sky-rocketing budgets due to the more sophisticated, reality based demands of viewers have forced video/television production to create more on-location, dynamic productions that have the feel of feature length productions rather than episodic television.
The upshot of all this for corporate or industrial videos, is and has been, that as television becomes more sophisticated, so do the tastes of your audience, your customers, your corporate partners & suppliers. Relying on a more experienced production team and resisting the temptation to micro-manage the video will often produce good results. Good videos can inspire, inform and change behaviour if the production team is given some creative license and a budget that reflects the expectations of the video.
