Video Production For Event Organisers During Challenging Times
Dead Ready Productions chats to events organiser Jamie Chapple about the exciting ways the events industry is responding to the Coronavirus crisis.
Jamie takes us through some ambitious and innovative suggestions about how to create immersive remote events through the power of video, creating a whole new event experience that can be delivered directly to audiences at home.
If you would like to find out more about the services Dead Ready Productions can offer your business, please feel free to get in touch via the button below or by calling +44 (0)208 339 6139.
What Types Of Video Can You Create Right Now?
As the Coronavirus pandemic has progressed, we’ve seen some dramatic rises in our social media and video usage. In the US, Facebook and YouTube websites saw an increase of 27% and 15% respectively between mid-January and the end of March.
These numbers are striking, but hardly surprising. While confined to our homes in various stages of lockdown, we’re all seeking the connectivity, information and entertainment that video provides. This means as a content marketer you now have an audience that is both more accessible, and more enthusiastic about video content, than ever before.
However, conflicting with this audience opportunity are new challenges. Live action filming has to comply with social distancing regulations, meaning large scale productions with vast film crews are less feasible. And the tone of your messaging needs to be carefully managed: disruptive, brash campaigns should give way to more informative, empathetic content.
So with all that said, what are some types of video that it’s relevant to create and distribute right now?
1. Company update vlogs
A vlog is one of the simplest and easiest types of video for anyone to make. Now is a great time to get a company representative in front of the camera to talk about how your business is responding to what’s going on. Your audience for this could be either internal or external, with customers and employees both likely to have a keen interest in what you have to say.
At it’s simplest level, your vlog could just be a one-take effort using your phone – raw, authentic and personal. Or you can take it further and add animated graphics, music and titles.
This video from the National Trust, about their plans for re-opening, is an example of this in action:
2. How-to videos and tutorials
How-to videos have been hugely popular for a long time, and right now they’re a great way to connect with your existing consumers and help them get the most out of your product.
These types of videos are particularly suited to product manufacturers and software developers. They can either be self-shot to give an informal and relaxed feel, or professionally produced to give them some extra flair. And they can be based on live action footage, or on animated graphics. For the live action variety, these types of videos generally don’t require huge crews or many on-screen personnel – so with the right precautions, they can be filmed right now.
The below video for Wrapmaster, a manufacturer of kitchen dispenser units, helps users understand exactly how to use their products:
3. Location Tours and 360 videos
Your audience is currently less mobile, so now is a good time to bring locations to them. A tour of a venue or property is a great way to interest and inform viewers about somewhere they may be unable to attend in person.
The latter of these can be particularly immersive – the virtual tour featured on the Cary Arms website, a boutique hotel in Torquay, is a great example of a virtual tour.
Another video from the National Trust last week acknowledges that members are unable to visit one of their rose gardens in person, so offers them a chance to enjoy it via video:
4. Infographic animations
Currently audiences are primed for content that is informative and factual, evidenced by the upsurge in views for news contenton YouTube. Animated infographic videos are a great way to package up facts and figures in an entertaining and memorable way. By using animated graphics, kinetic typography, music and (usually) voiceover, you can present information in a dynamic way that has lasting impact.
Creating an infographic video focused around your industry or area of expertise is a sure-fire way to engage your customers. And since these generally don’t require any live action footage, the production process for these videos is totally pandemic-proof.
Anyone who was running live webcasts before the pandemic is almost certainly running more now. But if you weren’t before, now’s a good time to give it a go.
Live webcasts provide a great opportunity to build in interactivity by allowing viewers to ask questions, take part in polls, and share their comments. It’s therefore a great way to provide some form of networking opportunity, given the current absence of trade shows and conferences. And of course, it gives you an avenue to demonstrate your expertise and give your brand some personality.
There are lots of other types of video content that can be created right now, and the possibilities will increase as restrictions are gradually lifted. We’ll be covering more of these in future, looking at those most relevant to specific industry sectors.
If you would like to find out more about the video, animation, photography and graphic design services Dead Ready Productions can offer your business, please feel free to get in touch via the button below or by calling +44 (0)208 339 6139.
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Video Production For Foodservice During Challenging Times
In this week’s interview, we catch up with Nick Clancy, PR Account Director at Jellybean Creative Solutions, to discuss video marketing approaches to foodservice brands in the pandemic.
Nick shared some candid thoughts on the massive impact of the Coronavirus, but also how the situation presents an opportunity to connect with previously difficult to reach customers online.
He also gave us an insight into the types of video content that he thinks work best in the here and now – and how we have to be ready for this to change in the future. Enjoy!
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3 More Top Tips For How To Look Good For Video Conferences
We all know where to put the camera and how to light ourselves for a decent looking video call these days (and if we don’t, check out our earlier vlog), but now that everyone is used to meeting online, we’ve noticed some of the more subtle traps that people are falling into.
In this update, Dead Ready Director, Chris Tongue, takes us through his top tips to make sure you come across perfectly in your web conferences.
Here’s the transcript for fun:
Hello! Back at the beginning of the lockdown I posted a tips video on how to look good in video calls. Since then, we’ve recorded hours of interviews for several clients over the web and have noticed a few extra traps people can fall into, so thought I’d post a short update with a few more tips.
Extra Tip #1
Be mindful of reflective surfaces and how they have a habit of giving away ugly or embarrassing things in the rest of the room. This applies not only to windows and mirrors in the background, but also to those who wear glasses – a bored attendee may choose to make your window full screen, where it might be obvious through reflections that the discussion doesn’t have your undivided attention… (I’ll then zoom in on my glasses which will show that I’m playing solitaire or minesweeper).
Extra Tip #2
Remember to keep eye contact. This doesn’t mean that you have to look at the camera, just that you should keep looking at the people you are talking to on screen.
It can be tempting to look away while you form your responses, but you’ll lose your audience’s attention if you don’t appear to be talking to them. This counts double if you’re being interviewed or are delivering a presentation as you’re on screen for much longer.
If it helps, have your notes on screen, it’ll keep your focus in roughly the right place.
Extra Tip #3
Value your production values. If you’re being filmed taking part in an interview or you’re a guest speaker at a virtual conference – remember that your video quality reflects whoever is posting the video, so getting your setup correct is more than just a vanity exercise and can affect whether or not you’re invited back.
Good luck out there and thanks for watching!
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How Med Comms Brands Can Use Video In The Pandemic
Continuing our interview series exploring the impact of Coronavirus on marketing and content generation, this week we catch up with Gary Nolan, Deputy MD of Scientific Education Support.
Gary is refreshingly upbeat about the way his business has adapted to substantive change and he takes us through the way he’s not only been able to sustain effective communications, but actually improve them through the use of video.
He also has an interesting perspective on how he feels marketeers will have to embrace producing quick, dirty content for the short term, but to be ready to get back to producing high quality content soon.
