How to Produce Video Quickly – Without Losing Quality

It’s readily acknowledged that the social media beast is a ravenous one, consuming content at an incredible rate. But in addition to the volume of photos, copy and video required to feed it, there’s often an urgency to the speed at which an idea needs to go from concept to completion.

Whether it’s to stay current, keep up with the news cycle, publicise something before it becomes stale or simply move quickly on an idea before a competitor, there are a multitude of reasons why a video might need to be created quickly.

While there is undoubtedly a time and place for a slower, more in-depth video production process, it’s liberating to realise that video can be created in a surprisingly short space of time, using a professional crew and without any loss of standards or creativity.

Far from a slap-dash, hastily cobbled together offering, video produced quickly can be every bit as high in quality as longer productions, simply by working closely with your production team to shorten long phases of the production process that can be managed more efficiently.

The most important thing you can do to get your project moving quickly is to make sure the brief you provide is clear and well thought-out. A fully informed crew is better placed to make strong decisions faster, work effectively within an accurate budget and foresee any upcoming issues that may slow down the progress of your shoot or edit.

The more knowledge your crew have upfront, the faster the process can move. When speed is of the essence, there are a lot of pro-active steps you can take to get the project off to a running start. It’s worth keeping the following points in mind as you plan your project and brief your team:

What is the main purpose of your video? What key messages do you want your audience to take away from it?

Where are you planning to use your video? – The end use of the video will affect what kind of video needs to be produced in terms of length, style, soundtrack etc.

What is your target audience? – and which platforms do they use online? Are they technically minded? Do they already know a bit about your product or does the video need to educate from scratch? Are they an older or younger demographic?

What is your ideal time frame?

What’s your realistic budget?

What other videos do you like? Can you give examples of other videos you like in terms of style, format, specific shots etc. or are you happy to be led? Either is absolutely fine, but being upfront about your preferences initially can save huge amounts of time.

Do you have existing content available? Existing assets like photos or previous footage. Do you have a script in mind? Particular phrases or points you’d like to make?

What can you share in terms of brand guidelines, logos, colours fonts etc.?

Where will the camera crew need to access, and will they need permission to do so? Do you have up-to-date contact details for people you may need to ask permission from? And how long will it take for the crew to travel between them?

Who else will be involved in the video in terms of contributors, interviewees or people who would need to grant permission (for example, parents of children involved etc)?

If you are planning to use drone footage, what information can you pass on about the local area, neighbours who may be impacted or any other information that you’ll naturally have about your location that a camera crew wouldn’t know?

Don’t panic if there are any ‘red flags’ like uncooperative neighbours or fussy contributors – the skill of a good Director is being able to smooth over any issues and be sensitive to the needs of everyone involved, but it’s best if you can let them know before problems arise.

Most of these pro-active steps aren’t difficult to achieve, but simply call for a more in-depth planning and briefing stage which, in turn, shortens much of the production process. The more detailed a brief you’re able to give, the more efficiently your video will be able to be produced.

Information that you take for granted can be invaluable to a film crew and having that knowledge can prevent precious time being wasted with false starts, unusable footage if permission isn’t granted, and time wasted trying to gain access to locations and contributors.

Working closely with your production company, and choosing the right crew to work with in the first place, will enable you to create videos with more speed and efficiency, but with no drop in quality. With a bit of careful planning, you’ll not only be able to produce videos that will create the impact that you’re looking for - but at exactly the time that you need it.

If you’d like to speak to us about quick-turnaround video, please get in touch.