Step 1 – Strategy
You start with a strategy and goal in mind – in the end these costs need to have a return – whether your goal is brand awareness or lead generation – identifying your strategy, the customer, their pain points, and your offer as the solution is the foundation of any great commercial.
Step 2 – Pre-Production
From there, you should script video ad concepts to support your marketing strategy. These scripted ad concepts should revolve around an outside-the-box, groundbreaking never been seen before way of showing your customer their problem and your offer as the solution. No idea should be too big. Everything is possible here.
Step 3 – Casting & Location Scouting
Once you sign off on a script, you should begin working out the logistics, first place being casting and location scouting. At Feel Right Inc., we use Backstage to gather audition tapes and Giggster to rent studio sets. This could take about 2-3 weeks on average before actors are selected, a production date is scheduled, and a location is booked.
Step 4 – Film Logistics
Simultaneously, you will need to prepare a crew which includes a director and cinematographer who, together, can assemble the necessary camera package to capture that style you are going for. They will also work together to come up with a shot list so that it keeps the entire production team organized for the shots needed during the time allotted.
Step 5 – Equipment & Props
There should also be an equipment rental list to support the way certain scenes are shot – this can include dollys, stabilizers, lenses, and so on. The shortlist will also make it clear for which props are needed – this can include anything to a certain wardrobe, costumes, gadgets, and any type of item that is needed to support the script.
Step 6 – Call Sheet & Production
A call sheet should be sent out to talent, crew, location owner, and everyone involved. The day of production, there’s a lot of energy and lot of delegation from the production crew setting up cameras and equipment to the gaffer setting up lights, to rolling cameras, directing actors, a sound guy to capture audio, set design for props, actors getting direction, and making the overall environment and production come to life within the booked time limit
Step 7 – Post-Production
Once production is done, back to the studio we go for editing, which includes going through gigabytes of raw footage, selecting takes, syncing sound, adding sound design, and color grading the masterpiece. Once a final draft is ready to go, you can run your ad campaign and measure the performance of your campaign. But it doesn’t stop there.
Step 8 – Testing
This is where things get interesting. Your data will tell you how your commercial is performing and you can always edit new iterations of your ad based on that data. If there’s fall off at a certain point in the video, the editor can switch certain scenes around, take out certain shots, reconstruct the ad by overlaying certain text. This can be a lot of fun for testing performance, perhaps even different audience segments and just seeing which iteration to go all in on and which ads to turn off.
It may seem overwhelming but with the right professionals in place and good understanding of your marketing goals in mind, you can see your brand break through the noise and get the results you want.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Feel Right Inc.
Marketing Agency
Entrepreneurs are creatives, but most creatives are not entrepreneurs. We are a team of entrepreneurs. Creating not just to create, but to add value to people’s lives. Our clients, their customers, and our team. So, in order to deliver the best products and services to the buyers who need them most we fuse outside-the-box video ads with customer-focused strategy to simplify offers, tell stories that Feel Right, and inspire action.
(949) 292-3292
info@feelrightinc.com