If you are considering commissioning a Corporate Video / DVD, it is advisable that you know something about the process of producing a Corporate programme and the best way to go about commissioning a Production Company. These guidelines should help you to choose a Production Company that will produce a professional programme, fulfilling your objectives, and providing you with a valuable investment for the future.
A well-produced Corporate Video / DVD can add value to your business!
Although once considered to be an expensive way of communicating your message, it is now a most cost-effective and efficient means or promoting your company, services, products, creating new business or producing an efficient workforce and safe environment. Producing a Corporate Video / DVD is no longer limited to large multinational corporations but is now within the reach of the smallest companies and organisations.
Corporate Video / DVD at exhibitions
If your company has an exhibition stand, then a Corporate Video / DVD can be very beneficial to you. A plasma screen and a well-produced promotional Video / DVD will get you noticed, keep potential customers occupied whilst waiting to speak to you, and overcome the constraints of limited floor space and inhibitive environments. Products can be seen in action and skillful manufacture of products demonstrated.
Training Video / DVD
Training staff can be very costly and time-consuming, whereas the use of a training video / DVD is an efficient and cost-effective means of training your staff, ensuring they have all the necessary information presented in a clear, concise manner, whilst ensuring consistency.
Where do I begin in commissioning my Corporate Video / DVD?
Firstly, you need to choose which Production Company to commission. Although Corporate Videos / DVDs can be made at competitive prices, it is essential that whilst choosing a Production Company you are aware of the potential risk you are taking if you commission a company based purely on the most competitive price. It is advisable to ask for a copy of the company showreel, in order that you can see samples of their work. Although it is very unlikely that you will see anything the same as you require, it should give you a good idea of the competency and expertise of the Production Company to produce a professional production.
Do be careful however, when requesting a showreel, to ensure that it is a demo produced by the company itself - many Production Companies buy showreels for supplying to potential customers!
What will my Corporate Video / DVD cost?
Once you have identified your need for a Corporate Video / DVD, your first question is likely to be 'how much will it cost?' If you merely contact a Production Company and tell them that you 'want a Corporate Video - how much will it cost?' you are likely to be disappointed. A professional Production Company is not likely to give you a figure! It really is like asking them 'how long is a piece of string?' If you can give them some idea of what your requirements are, they may be able to give you a clue as to what sort of cost you are looking at, but until you can discuss in detail your exact requirements and programme objectives, they will not be able to answer this question.
It is helpful if, on approaching a Production Company, you can tell them the allocated budget for the programme. If they know from the onset how much you are able to invest in the project, they will often work around that figure and advise you on how best to meet your objectives whilst remaining within your budget. There are many factors which greatly affect the costs. For example:
the choice of music - do you want a particular well-known piece of music that will incur substantial copyright fees or do you want a piece of library music for which the cost will be greatly reduced? It may not be necessary to pay the top price for music when either will fulfil our objectives.
the choice of talent - do you need a well-known voice-over artist or presenter? This may not be necessary for your programme.
Producing a programme is an 'art' and therefore you may find that the cost of a Corporate Video / DVD varies considerably from one company to another. Each Production Company will have their own ideas on how best to meet your objectives, ranging from producing a simple, effective programme, with at a very affordable price, to an elaborate programme with lots of animated graphics, special effects, a well-known presenter, exotic locations etc.How to establish a realistic budget
A good way of looking at this would be to consider the value that having your own Corporate Video / DVD would add to your company, your services or products and then to use this as a basis in establishing your actual budget.
Other factors to consider before commissioning a Production Company
Codes of Practice and Standard of Production
If you are investing in a Corporate Video / DVD to promote your company, services or products, you should be insisting on a production of the highest quality. Therefore, it is worth considering the standards to which the production companies work and the Codes of Practice adhered to. For example: companies that also broadcast programmes will be familiar with broadcasting standards and naturally adopt these within their programme making. They will have test equipment which enables them to keep colour within colour legality and audio within the allowable peaks, without producing frequencies which may even be damaging to some television sets. The advantage of this to you is that the production is more accurately reproduced across a wide range of television sets, and monitors with consistency in colours and clear sound without distortion, therefore providing you with a much more portable and reliable production.
Widescreen or 4:3?
You have a choice of aspect ratio in which your Corporate Video / DVD can be produced, either 4:3 (standard television) or 16:9 widescreen (now demanded by most UK Broadcast Companies, widely used at exhibitions and increasingly used in the home.) Your decision should be based on the most likely television set or screen on which you expect your programme to be viewed, and whether you want your progrmme to be of broadcast quality. If your decide you would prefer to have a widescreen programme, you should stipulate, at the beginning of the discussions with the Production Company, that you want it produced in 'full 16:9 widescreen' (not 'letterbox'). If you do not make this clear, you may be offered 'letterbox' which will give a lower resolution when played on a 16:9 monitor.
Copyright
You should check that the Production Company is familiar with the copyright law in order to avoid any risk of implication to your company for use of material without clearance.
Prior to commissioning a Production Company, you should also consider what rights you wish to retain and which rights you will agree with the Production Company retaining. If the rights are not mentioned in the contract, then technically the Production Company retains the rights to all footage. Often a Production Company will retain rights to all unused material and pass the rights to the finished programme to you, apart from an library footage used. Occasionally, a Production Company may request to retain the rights to use your finished product in their showreel for promotional purposes.
Insurance
Check that the Production Company has the necessary insurance cover before beginning work on your programme.
Discussions with the Production Company
You will need to discuss your requirements and ideas in detail and so the Production Company will arrange an initial consultation meeting. Following this meeting they will put together a 'Treatment' or 'Proposal', outlining the objectives of the programme, the means of achieving the objectives, and a Budget. From this initial document it should be possible to see how the programme will work. You will have the opportunity to suggest any changes and additions to ensure you are happy that it will meet your objectives.
Signing the Agreement
Once you are happy with the Treatment / Proposal and Budget, the Production Company should provide you with a written contract to be signed before any further progression of the project. This agreement should include copyright ownership, time-scales, details of costs and additional costs.
Payment terms
Payment terms vary from one Producer to another, but it is generally accepted that a third of the total budget is paid on acceptance of the Proposal / Treatment, one third either prior to, or immediately after the shooting, and the final third on acceptance of the finished programme.