FAQ
When it comes to facts on
streaming web video, there is a great deal
of confusion and uncertainty in the business world.
Potential users who could benefit
tremendously from this technology are still under the delusion that
it is expensive, complicated and somehow inaccessible to the
average user. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Companies and professionals who
are not making full use of this very available technology are
missing the boat when it comes to promoting themselves powerfully,
effectively and last but not least, cost-effectively!
Broadband
Facts:
Worldwide
consumer broadband connections will grow
from 323 million connections in 2007 to 499
million in 2012.
Worldwide
consumer broadband connections penetrated
18% of households in 2007, and by 2012,
households with a broadband connection will
reach 25%.
Five
countries exceeded 60% broadband penetration
into the home in 2007; and, this is expected
to grow to 17 countries by 2012.
The five
countries with broadband penetration into
the home above 60% are Canada, Netherlands,
Switzerland, South Korea and Hong Kong.
However, countries like the USA, India and
China are not too far behind...
|
Frequently Asked
Questions on Streaming Web Video Production
Click on any of the
titles & sub-titles in the list below to have your Frequently Asked
Questions answered. If there is something that we have forgotten to
include, don't hesitate to give us a call at
604.926.5805
and we'd be happy to address any issues you may be facing...
-
Why would I need a Web Video...
-
Why do I need
a Web Video?
-
Web Video is one of
the most effective methods of increasing online sales and it
does this by increasing the conversion rate of web pages. Online video
has the effect of raising the comfort level of viewers by
speaking to them directly, which in turn
encourages them to follow the call to action. The
BIA/Kelsey User View Study done in early 2010 published the
following results:
21% of viewers make a purchase
after viewing a web video
26% of viewers visit a brick-and-mortar store after watching an online
video.
21% of video viewers request more information on the
product or service being promoted.
-
According to Arbitron/Edison Media Research, more than seven out of
ten
Internet users in the North America say... websites would be far
more enjoyable if sound & video were included more
often.
-
Did you know that more than one in every
four viewers is already a “Streamie”
- ie. someone who likes watching streaming videos online.
-
Studies have shown
that over 6% of all adults watch online video daily and
another 17% watch it at least once a week.
-
What is a
Promotional Web Video?
-
Promotional Web
Videos are typically one to three minutes in length and
are designed to
“dynamically” inform, educate and/or persuade viewers about your
product or service, in a way that leads them to take the desired
action - i.e. to ask for more information, subscribe to a
newsletter or to make a purchase. Web Videos are the most
important online tool when it comes to making a direct, personal
connection that builds trust and confidence between you and your
prospective customers.
-
Can I afford
a Web Video?
-
The actual question
is, "Can I afford not to have a web video?" Customers
use websites as a critical step in their decision-making
process, making your investment in a Web Video pay for
itself in a very short time! Ask yourself how many sales
you have to make in order to pay for your web video - typically
its anything from one to five - making the web video a very
profitable investment that not only pays for itself but brings
in profits for months (sometimes even years).
-
What Difference
Does A Web Video Production Make?
-
What Other Uses Are
There For Online Video?
-
Online
Promotion - promoting a product
or service - a web video is one of the most
cost-effective tools for
delivering information that leads to a 'purchase
decision'. Web video
can explain and illustrate a difficult concept faster
and more effectively than any other medium. Alternatively it can
lead the viewer to
navigate to other areas of the website - either to get
more information or to contact the business directly or even
subscribe to a newsletter, all of which are vital steps in the
sales process.
-
Product
Demonstrations – The ability of web video to
demonstrate a product in a short time is something most viewers
appreciate and has the desirable effect of shortening the sales
cycle.
These days, a big
advantage is the ability to include interactive features such as ‘BUY NOW’ buttons
inside the video.
-
PPC - Pay Per
Click Campaigns – Web video will easily
get your Pay Per Click / Search campaigns working much
harder for you. When you drive internet traffic to a
specific landing page your website video presenter will
immediately welcome the visitors and provide them with
the information relating to their search journey.
-
Direct
Response – Web Video is the perfect
tool for eliciting a Direct Response to your "Call to
Action". The almost 'personal' relationship fostered by web
video with your viewer makes it easy for them to relate to you
on a very human level, building trust and confidence in you as a
product/service provider.
-
Customer
Service – Some of our clients have used
web video to disseminate important facts or
information about their products, which have the
advantage of decreasing calls to their support call centers.
-
The Various Types of Web Video...
-
What is a Promotional Web
Video?
-
One of the
best ways to draw attention to your website and boost sales is
with a Promotional Web Video. A Promotional Web Video is a
short, 1-2 minute video on the home page of your website that introduces you, your company
or your product to your viewers. It communicates your message in a way that won’t happen
using still pictures or written words. It has 3 parts -
a hook (like your customer's business pain), a solution to the
customer's business problem and the 'call to action'. In 1-2
minutes it should tell your viewer everything they want to know
before they proceed to enter your website and should also
persuade them to take the desired action.
-
Are there other types of web video
apart from the old "talking heads"?
-
Most definitely -
depending on your particular need and of course budget, there
are a number of different web videos that serve many different
purposes - you can view some of the different types by clicking
on the
"Video Packages" link on the top menu, or just call us
and we'd be happy to discuss your best options depending on your
exact business need.
-
Our most popular web video is the
"Walk-On Video" which has the added advantage of making
your site stand out from your competition.
-
What is a
testimonial video?
-
Interview
Videos - how do they work?
-
This can either be a
testimonial video or a full-fledged interview of you (or your
spokesperson) talking about your company, product or service. It
lends an air of credibility to the video presentation and can be
very informative. The process
is very straightforward. The actual shoot lasts from
about 1 to 2 hours, during which the videographer will interview you
(or your
employees or customers). The videographer will then edit the
footage, add music, titles, subtitles, graphics, etc. to produce your
finished video interview.
-
Things you should know before
starting production...
-
Planning a
web video - what does it mean to me?
-
Our
main objective is to make the entire process easy and as
painless as possible for
our clients. We always start by defining the business
objectives, which determines the main message and script. Once we have this
taken care of we are
able to get started on the actual production. You can be
as involved as you like in the process or you can leave most of
it to us, providing only your feedback and approvals as we move
along. We always check with you at every stage
of the production that we are progressing the way you
had in mind.
-
Do I need a
script?
-
Its always best to
use a script - even if its just a rough guideline. The resulting
video shoot will be shorter, easier and more efficient and the
finished product will look much more professional, with less ums
and ahs and less editing costs.
Some dynamic videos don’t use a script, but
may use an interview-style, “question-and-answer”
format.
-
How Easy Is
It To Write My Own Script?
-
You know your business best and you
know what is important and why? While this is true, writing a short,
compact script that reads well in the spoken voice (as opposed
to the written word) is a
skill that is usually best left to a professional.
Your best option is to write your own script and then
turn it over to a pro to edit and streamline to fit the desired
run time.
-
What If I
Cannot Write a Script?
-
If you're
having trouble writing your script just call us and we
have professional script writers who can write the perfect script
based on your facts at very competitive prices. If you'd like to
save some money, write the rough script yourself and at no extra charge we will review your script,
suggest a few modifications and talk you through them so that
your final script meets your business objectives.
-
Do I have to
be on camera?
-
Not necessarily. If you
would rather not be on camera you can have a business
partner or employee act as your spokesperson. It’s best
to choose someone with a camera-friendly, enthusiastic
personality and a good speaking voice.
-
Another commonly
used method option, is to have you on for a few seconds
somewhere in the middle of the video, with the rest of the
presentation being narrated by a professional voiceover
artist.
-
What if I
make a mistake on camera?
-
Don’t worry!
Have Teleprompter, Will Travel! Our teleprompter option
ensures that you can just read off your script while looking
directly into the camera, making it look natural and very
professional. In rare instances when a teleprompter is not
feasible, we can always edit the video in post-production to
edit out the mistakes and bad takes.
-
How do I
prepare for a video shoot?
-
We will
help prepare & email you the draft script based on our
discussions, for you to approve or revise the script. Once
the final script
is approved by you, you should review it carefully to
familiarize yourself with it prior to the shoot. You must
email your final script, duly signed-off to us, for entering
it into our teleprompter, at least a couple of days before
the shoot date.
-
We will discuss and advise you of what
you should wear to suit your online image and message (avoid
anything green if the video requires a greenscreen shoot)
-
Click here for a
list of
Pre-Shoot Guidelines to help you get ready for
your shoot.
-
Video Production Facts &
Pricing...
-
What does a
Web video cost?
-
We'll answer
that if you can tell us how much a house costs - or how long
is a piece of string! :-)
-
The simple
truth is that no two video productions are the same,
however we do have a fairly convenient pricing structure
which, in the case of longer corporate videos, is based on
the finished duration of your video. However, for our more
standard web videos we have set flat-rate pricing which is
extremely competitive.
-
How Do I
Choose The Right Presenter For My Online Business?
-
Choosing the
right presenter is an critical part of the process.
He or she
should be someone who will fit your business image and
your message. If you’re unsure, no problem, we have a number
of professional presenters at very reasonable rates who
would do a great job for you.
-
How Much Does
An Online Video Presenter Cost?
-
Depending on the type of production,
the duration of the video and any special requirements,
professional spokespersons can charge anywhere from $250 to
$500 per video and we can help you source out the perfect
person for your project..
-
I Want More
Than One Video - Are Volume Discounts Available?
-
Can I get a
web video done cheaper?
-
You can always find
someone cheaper - but do you really want to? BWe all know
that ‘you always get what you pay for’ and cheapest usually
never means the best. Having said that though, we pride
ourselves on being extremely competitive (but not 'cheap')
since we like to preserve quality and make sure your video
meets your business objectives.
-
We are not just 'videographers' - we
are primarily businesspeople who are ALSO videographers -
after all, the objective of your video is to grow your
business and we're there to help you do that.
-
Typical web
videos could cost on average anywhere between $350 and $1500. If you get a substantially
lower quote from anyone make sure you're comparing
apples to apples because there's always a hidden reason why
something costs way less - if something's too good to be
true, it usually is!
-
Some
things to consider when finding a company to produce your
web video:
-
How long does
it take to get my new video?
-
What is the
web video development process?
-
•
Discuss, plan & develop the concept - collect the facts
to be scripted.
-
•
Create a professionally written script
-
•
Select a professional presenter – we can find one for
you or you may use one of your employees to present. We generally
recommend that our clients
only present if they are confident, not camera-shy and
can speak well. However, in many instances, especially in
the case of service providers and professionals, it is an
advantage for the business owner to present personally,
since customers like to see who they are dealing with.
-
• Storyboarding
– matching the written script to ideas of the
accompanying graphics or text that will appear onscreen.
-
• Filming,
Editing, and Post-Production – in certain cases (for
more involved productions other than walk-on videos or
talking heads) we will submit a draft version of the video
for you to review and we can
make any critical changes as may be necessary.
-
• Build an
Interactive Video player – so people can control the
video with start/stop/mute buttons, etc. and even in some
instances click on the
video to send an email or navigate to another portion of
your website.
-
•
Implementation on web page – we prepare the HTML code that your webmaster
can cut & paste into the predetermined area
on your website - a task should not take more than a
few minutes.
-
So tell me - what does
a video really cost?
-
Well, a
straight forward introductory video can be as little as
$375 and can go up to $1500 or more depending on the
duration, complexity, extra options, etc. If a client orders a
video series, we would be able to
spread the one-off costs over the whole and reduce the price per video
significantly.
-
Can we use
our own employees to present the video?
-
Yes,
BUT... be aware
that presenting
on camera is a job for someone with the right skills and
personality and in our experience
not too many non-professionals have what it takes.
Unless it is important for the business-owner to be the
presenter, we would recommend using a professional since
your company's image is on the line..
-
Can you use video
footage supplied by us?
-
Yes we can.
However, please be aware that the quality of the
finished product is in no small measure affected by the quality of the
source video you provide and the format it is available
in. "Garbage In - Garbage out" - if the source quality is
low there is only a limited amount we can do to
improve it.
-
How Involved
Do We Need To Be?
-
As little or as much as you
would like to be. We provide a start to finish service: from
scriptwriting through to implementation on your website.
We would certainly like you to be involved in the scriptwriting
and storyboarding, but maybe not so much in the others in
the presenting and post-production. In any event, we
will be there with you every step of the way wto advise you on the messaging and presentation
and to
ensure that the final outcome is professional &
effective.
-
How Long Will
It Take For Me To Get My Finished Video Production?
-
What Size
Will The Final Web Video Be?
-
How Many
Videos Do I Need?
-
Who chooses
the background music for the video?
-
Not every video
needs music - e.g. walk-on videos or testimonial videos.
However, for those that do, we have the
experience and the stock music libraries available, to choose the
most suitable music to fit
your video’s style. Your suggestions however, are
always welcome.
-
Important: NEVER use commercial music
without a release or you will get sued for copyright
infringement. We have a large library of royalty-free music
that you can use (at no extra charge) without any danger of
being sued,
-
Can I ask for
changes to the video?
-
Yes. When
the video draft is ready, we will send you a link to a web
page where you can review it online. At this juncture you
can suggest changes to the music track, fix typos, etc. You have
two rounds of free edits so we can get
everything just right. Note: this is true only for the
longer corporate videos and does not apply to the shorter
standard web videos like talking heads or walk-on videos
which do not have much to edit anyway.
-
How we help you with your video
production needs...
-
We'd like a
sales video, but don't have a creative idea yet, can you
help?
-
We don't have
any video clips, can you still make us a video?
-
Yes, we have
a large library of royalty free video clips and still
images that we can use.
We can even create a full video from just stills, text
and graphics. Our royalty
free music & sound effects library is at your disposal and
of course we can
use professional voice artists to record your
script.
-
Can my video
be turned into a webcast?
-
Yes, your
existing
video can be converted into a video webcast (or
videocast), or we can
record and produce your webcast for you. We can even host
your webcast or help you serve it up it on your own website. We
can even advise you on ways to promote your video online
and on how to use it to generate web traffic.
-
We need to
record a presentation, but don't have a big budget
-
We offer a
simple, low cost, package solution to
record meetings and presentations. Our operator sets up
1 or more cameras and uses a video switcher to cut
between cameras much like a live TV broadcast does. This live
mixed footage is burned directly onto DVD, bypassing the
post-production editing process, which is a significant cost
savings while still providing a professional
video of your event. If needed, we can still edit the video
later on, but will quote separately for that service.
-
We don't have
a website, can you put our video online?
-
Yes, we can
submit your video to all the well known video sharing
websites like YouTube, Yahoo and Google Video. These
sites don't charge for hosting your video. We can also
host your video for you on our own website, If hosted on
our site your video can be password protected - unlike
the free video sharing sites where it is open to the
public. We are also a full-service web development company
and can develop up a
full or mini-website to host your video. This site can be
fully customized and branded with your company logo and
information.
-
Our Website
doesn't support video streaming
-
That's highly
unlikely - most if not all websites these days at least
support streaming video. However, if for whatever reason
your server is incapable of hosting video, we can host your video clips
for you. For a small fee, we will host your files on our
server and provide you with a small piece of code to paste
into your webpage. This will make it look like the video
is playing on your website while it is actually being streamed from our servers.
-
We have a
PowerPoint Presentation, can you convert this to video?
-
Most certainly - we can
convert any PowerPoint presentation to video and if
needed add music, a professional voice over and other
effects before converting it to a video in any format. This can then be
authored to DVD, encoded as a podcast or streamed from
your website.
-
We would encourage you to look at our
very specialized and unique service of providing PowerPoint
Videos for online use, with a side-by-side presenter video.
We are the only company in North America to provide this
exceptional service at really low cost to professionals who
would like to present their PowerPoint slides personally
online. Take a look at our website:
www.presentingforprofit.ca and you'll be amazed at
the possibilities this presents.
-
Can you
generate animations for our video?
-
Can you
find actors for us?
-
Do I have to
use one of your actors?
-
Can you help
me write my script?
-
What if I
don’t want to be on camera?
-
For an
additional fee we will hire a professional talent to be
the spokesperson on your video. Otherwise, all our value
priced packages include your company representative as
the on camera spokesperson. You also have the option of
just showing your product with no introduction given by
a spokesperson. In this case, we can simply record your
voice to be read over the video.
-
Do I have to
use your studio?
-
No. We have
the ability to edit video that is shot in another
studio.
Note: we do not guarantee the quality of the edit because
we did not shoot the video. We will need to receive the
file in an uncompressed MOV or
DV-AVI format. Please speak with us for exact details.
-
Can I use my
logo in my video?
-
Of course!
We request that you send us the highest quality logo
file (.jpeg, .gif, .pdf, .tiff or .eps) and we will do
the needful.
-
Can I use
company product photos in my video?
-
Do you coach
executives on camera?
-
Post-Production - what happens
after you shoot your video...
-
Can I add
just a testimonial video to my package?
-
Can I make
revisions to my video?
-
We will post
a finished version of your video on our website for you
to review. For certain packages only, you
may make the allowable number of revisions at no charge.
Edits
beyond this point, are billable at $150 per hour.
-
Can I change
my video at a later date?
-
Can I get a
DVD copy of my video?
-
Who owns the
video?
-
You own the
finished footage. There are no server or usage fees and
since we use royalty-free images and music, those don't cost
anything either. However, you do not own the royalty-free
elements - merely the right to use them in that particular
video.
We do hold
ownership until the minimum terms of our contract have been
met and we will make a copy available to you when we have
received full & final payment.
You can use your video however/wherever/whenever you
wish. We do however, retain the right to use your video or
portions of it in our portfolio and for our own promotions
as examples.
This is your
video and eventually you will own it. If you choose a monthly rental option
then the minimum terms & conditions will apply.
-
What if I
want more videos?
|
|
