Company videos, also known as company story videos or corporate identity videos, portray a company’s story and are a great way to create awareness about your brand. Telling the story of your company is a powerful way to engage with customers and create strong connections. It allows for you to take control of your own brand image and gives you an easy channel for communicating that image. From Miami to Tokyo, any company can benefit from the exposure and engagement that a company story video generates.
What is a company video?
A company video can be used to amplify an “About Us” message or a mission statement video. It offers the opportunity to tell the viewer about your company, explain who you are, what your mission is, and what your company culture is like. It humanizes your brand and allows viewers to build a personal bond with your company.
A company video usually consists of the employees talking testimonial-style about the company, what they do, and why they do it providing the viewer with a personal insight into the company. The goal is to show off the great, unique personalities that make up the company as well as the culture and values behind them.
Why should you use a company video?
One of the main advantages of company videos is that they humanize your company and allow customers to connect with the company and its employees on a deeper and more personal level. It all comes down to simply wanting to make a human connection with your customers.
They also make for creative and engaging content to include on your company’s website. Company videos not only differentiate your brand and help it stand out from the competition, they can also provide potential customers the extra push they need to make a decision.
Where does Optimum7 begin when creating a quality company video?
Creating the Message
First, you need to understand what makes a great company video, and that comes from its purpose: to connect with the viewer. So your video should be personal, relatable, authentic, and passionate; and, of course, true to your brand and company culture. The Optimum7 team begins with getting to know your company, inside and out. We try to get the most personal and honest look into your company and the members of your team.
Communicating the Message
When it comes to producing a quality company video, the members of your team are your biggest assets. When we are producing a company video for a client, we always focus on the employees. The process begins with personal interviews with each member of the client’s team. During these interviews, we aim to identify the right mix of people that align with the company’s culture and values, as well as provide a personal, unique insight into the company. The goal is for the interviews to come together and form a meaningful, relatable message that is true to the core values of the company. The final selection of people should be diverse. Meaning employees from every level within the company should be included in order to provide a true and holistic representation, as well as a wider range of people and, therefore, personalities that the viewer can relate to.
How does Optimum7 produce a company video?
First: Filming Personal Interviews
Once the featured employees have been selected, it is all up to the Optimum7 video production team. The video production team will record each employee in a testimonial/interview style, which consists of a two-camera, three-light set-up. One camera will record in a fixed, direct, interview-style angle, serving as the primary source of content. The second camera will usually not be fixed, rather being handheld or set up on a stabilizer. The second camera allows for more flexible angles to capture secondary content.
Second: Recording Quality Audio
Audio is another important piece of the puzzle. Without quality audio, you won’t have a quality video. This is why we always strive to have top-of-the-line audio equipment and capturing audio of the highest quality.
Third: Filming Engaging B-Roll
After each selected team member has been interviewed and we are satisfied with the content we have captured, we move on to capturing b-roll. B-roll is supplemental footage to use throughout the video (in contrast to A-roll, which consists of the interviews). B-roll consists of the shots you see in classic company videos, such as employees working, socializing, in a meeting, shots of the exterior office, or of branding material within the office. B-roll varies greatly from company to company, as it highly depends on the location and infrastructure of the company. Also, make sure to take advantage of the location of the business, from the site itself, to the city where it is located. We work with a lot of businesses based in Miami, FL, so we make sure to take full advantage of that. We incorporate any bits of footage of Miami that are relevant to the video in order to supplement the brand identity.
B-roll might seem trivial, but it is incredibly important, as it is the most personal insight into your company, allowing the viewer to have an unscripted, candid view into the daily workings of your company. B-roll along with music carries the viewer throughout the video, eliciting certain emotions to fit with what is being said during the interviews helping them to relate better whoever’s being interviewed.
Fourth: Final Editing
Once the interviews have been filmed as well as B-roll, everything moves onto post-production. This is where the magic happens and where everything comes together. By picking the right music to convey the right tone, we create a story for the viewer that, from beginning to end, will aim at creating a relationship with the viewer. In the end, what we are doing is telling the viewer a story, your company’s story.
How much does a company video cost and how long does one take to produce?
A company video production usually costs anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000, depending on the complexity of the video. Many factors can affect the cost of a company video, such as production time, editing time, video length, and extra services. This can include anything from animations to having paid talent in the video (such as a spokesperson). The location is also a factor when it comes to determining price. Here in Miami there is a lot of competition, so pricing is a much more important factor for us than if we were based in, let’s say, Gary, Indiana.
Company story videos typically only take two days to shoot: one day of preliminary interviews and one day of production (filming interviews and B-roll). From there, it can take anywhere from two to four weeks to edit and finalize the video, which depends on the length of the final product, animations, and revisions.
So what are you waiting for? Increase awareness and connect with your clients by creating a company video. Contact us today and see what the Optimum7 Video Production team can do for you.
