video Archives - Page 4 of 4

Uploading Video To Facebook Vs YouTube: Video Best Practices

The platform you choose to upload your video content to will have a huge impact on its success. Important metrics like views, likes, shares and audience retention will all be affected, making choice of platform a critically important aspect of your video marketing strategy.

In days gone by, YouTube was the undisputed king of the video world. However, Facebook’s aggressive push to muscle in on the video scene has now made them a serious player. These two platforms are without a doubt the big guns in video sharing these days, with both carrying their own pros and cons.

So, should you upload your video to Facebook or YouTube? The short answer is both! And when it comes to Facebook, you should upload natively.

Uploading To Facebook

Traditionally, people would first upload their video to YouTube, and then create a Facebook post that linked to it. However, the main way Facebook has curtailed YouTube’s dominance in the video world is by becoming less ‘YouTube-friendly’, with videos uploaded directly to the Facebook platform receiving preferential treatment.

For this reason, you should always upload your video directly within Facebook, rather than link to your video on YouTube.

Videos posted natively to Facebook benefit from larger thumbnail images, the capacity to auto-play in the viewer’s news feed, and greater organic reach. This last point is because the Facebook algorithm (the code that decides what people see on their news feed) favours Facebook videos over YouTube links.

This greater organic reach in turn leads to greater engagement and video sharing. A study by Quintly showed that videos posted natively to Facebook received 530% more comments than those linked to on YouTube!

Uploading To YouTube

So with all the advantages of Facebook video, is there any point in posting to YouTube anymore? Yes! For starters, you’re reaching a whole other audience outside the bounds of Facebook news feeds.

YouTube is considered the second largest online search engine, processing billions of searches per month, so it makes sense to have your video content there.

The YouTube platform may lack the immediacy of the Facebook news feeds, but conversely it tends to outperform Facebook as a long-term home for videos. On YouTube, videos can be discovered more easily long after their original posting.

It’s also easier to share direct links to YouTube videos, which is harder with Facebook videos once they become less active and end up buried under the non-stop stream of status updates and shared news articles.

Optimising For Different Platforms

While it’s important to post to both platforms, it should always be considered how your video content might be optimised for each one. For example, a video posted to Facebook is more likely to be consumed on-the-move on a mobile device, without audio being switched on.

This makes on-screen captions and titles ultra-important. However with YouTube videos, there’s often scope for videos to be a bit longer, since people are less distracted by the surrounding news feed.

We will cover optimising videos for different platforms more in future blogs, but in the meantime please keep posting your videos to both YouTube and Facebook (natively)!

If you would like to discuss how Dead Ready Productions could help you to further enjoy the benefits of video for your business, please get in touch via the button below or by calling +44 (0)208 339 6139.

How Long Should Your Video Script Be?

How many words should the script for your video contain?

This vlog gives you a good rule of thumb, and a few tips about how it can vary depending on the type of video you’re making.

Check out the transcript below.

We all know that keeping audiences engaged with your video will lead to more views, interactions and conversions; so making sure your video is no longer than it needs to be is really important. So today I’m going to talk to you about how to make sure the script for your video is the right length.

Setting the duration of your short form video is a job in itself as it will depend on the sort of content you’re providing your audience, but assuming you’ve made that decision, how do you make sure that you write a script that matches? As ever, the answer varies, but there is a good rule of thumb: 150 words equals 1 minute of screen time.

If you’re creating an explainer video that features narrated graphics to demonstrate a product or a system for example, this metric works really well. It works less well when you start to add in the unpredictable – for example sound bites from interviews that you’re yet to shoot, or music-driven montage sequences, but it is a good place to start.

Some videos are inherently faster than others. A piece-to-camera like this is generally delivered quite quickly, with fewer pauses in delivery, allowing for a higher word count. At the other end of the scale, a purely typographic video will have to have half as many words, around about 70-80 a minute as you need to allow people enough time to read your messaging.

Of course, you’ll find plenty of videos that have a far faster or far slower word count, but if you’re not trying to do something dramatically fast or slow, this is a good place to start.

I’m on about 300 words, so if I’m right, this video will be about 1 minute 20 seconds.

Event Filming: Planning Your Video Production For Maximum Effectiveness

When organising videography for your event, it can be difficult to work out ahead of time exactly what you want to film, and what type of video you want to create.

Often people end up choosing a supplier, let them get on with the job on the day and then, once the dust has settled and there’s more time to think about it, figure out what exactly to do with the video footage.

While this may give you the results you’re looking for, you can ensure your video delivers above and beyond by taking into account a few key considerations beforehand.

Know your objective

It sounds obvious, but knowing exactly what you want to achieve by filming your event is hugely important, and yet often overlooked. Are you looking to record the event for an audience unable to attend on the day?

Provide a recap for those who were in attendance? Or are you looking to create a promotional video to boost sales and marketing for your next event? Just three examples, but all benefitting from a different filming approach.

Develop a filming schedule

Try to avoid ‘winging it’ on the day and deciding what to film while the event is actually in progress. Working with your video supplier to develop a filming timetable beforehand that corresponds to your event programme will help you to make sure that you’re getting all you need, and can highlight any logistical issues – particularly when multiple cameras are involved and more than one type of video is being created.

It’s not unusual for requirements to change on the day and the crew will need to be flexible, but a schedule provides an important starting point.

Consider combining videography with photography

One of the challenges of running an event is having to deal with many different suppliers. Using the same team for both video filming and for stills photography can help with this, saving you time when it comes to briefing people on what you need, and generally simplifying the process. Of course, you need to be absolutely sure that the team you’re working with has the capability to deliver on both fronts.

Decide how you’ll use and distribute the video

Many don’t think about this until the video has been created, but it’s worth considering – will it go on your webpage, social media channels, how will you notify people when the video is ready? Knowing the answers to these questions beforehand can influence the filming approach taken by the crew, and will lower the risk of hold-ups and delays in post-production since the distribution strategy has already been agreed.

Review previous experiences

If you’ve worked with video production teams at events before, make the most of this and think about what worked, and what you would like to do differently. Focus less on the process but more on the outcome of the video – did it achieve what you wanted it to and why/why not? Refining the process is an important part of ensuring that each video surpasses the one before.

Having provided video and photography services for a huge range of events both across the UK and internationally, we’re no strangers to working with a brief that’s less than fully developed. However, by considering the above you can help to ensure that your event video has the best chance of reaping all the rewards that video can offer.

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.

Event Filming – How Much Does It Cost?

“I want to film an event coming up in a couple weeks time. How much would it cost to produce a video of the event – can you give me an approximate price?”

It’s fairly often that we receive an enquiry similar to the above. Of course, every event video is unique and deserves a specific, tailored approach. Simply put, providing a set price and rigid filming and editing methodology can lead to you failing to get what you need, and paying for something you don’t.

However, as a client you’re often looking for some kind of rough price just to get the ball rolling and to help you factor video production into your marketing plans. Maybe you don’t have all the information you need or maybe you’re just not ready to have a detailed discussion yet – what then?

Event videos can vary widely in cost but as a rough guide tend to start at around £800 and go up from there depending on complexity and time involved. Here’s a few quick questions that can help you to quickly get a ballpark cost for your event video:

1. When/where is the event?

The first variable to determine, and usually the easiest to answer, is when and where the event is taking place. Price is dependent on number of days/nights filming required, whether it’s during the week or at a weekend, and accessibility of the location.

2. What exactly do you need to film?

This will depend on the type of event involved. Conferences have different requirements to awards ceremonies, which in turn are different to trade shows and launch events.

The main purpose of this question is to determine what size of crew and what equipment is needed for the shoot. Sometimes you may require speeches/presentations to be filmed, sometimes you’ll need interviews, other times just general footage of the event as it happens. Are there things that need to be filmed that are happening concurrently?

3. What video deliverables do you require?

Usually our clients are looking for short 2-3 minute footage-based promotional videos, deliverable via the web. But if you require more than one video, or longer videos, or anything involving more complex motion graphics, then price is affected.

4. Do you have specific budget restrictions?

Given the multitude of possibilities, sometimes it’s easier to start with a fixed budget and then discuss the best ways to achieve your goals.

Once you have some idea regarding the above, then it’s possible to put forward some options and give you an idea of the costs that are likely to be involved.

Please accept marketing-cookies to watch this video.

Conference Filming: Edited Video vs Live Webcasting

Many of the conferences we film pride themselves on providing trendsetting, up to the minute information, through groundbreaking keynote speeches and presentations.

This content is most valuable at the very moment it’s being delivered, and so often a key requirement for our clients is that video from their events can be posted online and made available for viewing by an outside audience as quickly as possible.

Of course, if immediacy of video delivery is your top priority, nothing can beat live webcasting. In recent months we’ve had a growing number of requests for this approach, whereby presentations are broadcast online as they take place, and can be viewed either by users who have signed up to watch, or a completely unrestricted audience.

While many of our clients are interested in live webcasting, many are unsure how to decide whether to use it instead of traditional edited content.

As is often the case with video production, there’s no right or wrong answer, but here’s a few things to consider that will help you decide which route to go down:

1. Cost

In either case prices can vary siginificantly, but generally speaking live webcasting costs tend to rise more steeply as production values increase.

A single-camera, low-resolution webcast works out relatively cheaply, but as soon as you bring in multiple cameras and HD broadcasting, the additional equipment and personnel required mean the price can rise considerably.

For more complex projects, edited video is usually more cost-effective.

2. Venue Connectivity

If you’re planning a live webcast, you’ll need to make sure the venue where your event is taking place has a strong internet connection, with a very high upload speed. If you plan to broadcast in high definition, this requirement becomes even greater.

A wired connection is preferable to wifi, and it needs to be reliable – a single dropout will effectively ruin your webcast.

3. Your Audience

If your conference caters to a niche audience – is it worth providing a live webcast when the people who would be most interested are already there? An edited video on the other hand enables that audience to re-visit the presentations after the conference has happened.

In addition, it’s worth considering whether providing a live webcast may even discourage people from spending money on attending the event at all.

4. Your Speakers

It’s important to ensure that speakers at the event are comfortable being filmed in any case, but some may feel differently about live webcasting given that there’s no opportunity for them to vet what is broadcast to the world – it’s worth checking with your speakers beforehand to ensure they’re happy with you going down this route.

5. Quality/Style of Video

Although it’s possible to stream a live webcast using multiple high definition cameras, and with added graphics and effects, it cannot match the flexibility afforded by editing after the event. Furthermore, it’s more difficult and costly to achieve the same level of quality.

6. Duration

With a live webcast, you’re broadcasting the entirety of someone’s presentation – and so you’re largely in their hands when it comes to retaining audience engagement and interest.

If they’re a polished speaker then that’s great, but if they make mistakes or go off-track, there’s no opportunity to remove that from the video.

With edited video, you can also condense the presentation down to only the most interesting content and ensure the video is only as long as it needs to be.

7. Urgency

While live webcasting cannot be beaten for speed, how important is it to you to provide footage as it happens? A lot of people don’t realise just how quickly video can be edited after the event as well – there’s no reason why footage filmed in the morning can’t be online and viewable by the afternoon.

As with any type of video production it’s crucially important to consider your budget, your audience, technical requirements and what you’re actually trying to achieve – it sounds simple but it’s worth taking the time to really make sure you’ve thought these through before deciding what route to go down.