Video Production Services Don’t Have to Cost a Fortune: Here’s How We Do It!
The year was 1984. I was a film undergraduate at Cal State San Francisco, and I just got the disappointing news that Film students would not be able to really touch any equipment or make actual films until senior year. That wasn’t my biggest disappointment that year because David Lynch’s DUNE had yet to be released, but it was a big letdown.
As I examined my options, I found out that Cal State Hayward had just built a state-of-the-art video production building with a need for more students in the Mass Communications major. I switched schools and majors and found the right balance creatively in the form of video production services. Video had what I liked about visual storytelling, but with the additional bonus of speed, as video does not require waiting for film to be developed. From an environment that would’ve delayed me from creating for years, I had entered one that allowed me to jump right into creating content and immediately edit it. And the cost was a small fraction of the expense of film.
This became a fundamental concept for me.
You see, most people back then saw both film and video production in the Bay Area as endeavors that were both slow AND costly. While that was the actual case for film, it certainly was not the case for video. The following 25 years of video production gave me the opportunity to prove to countless clients that quality video production doesn’t need to break the bank or take forever.
At our current offices in Alameda, we have brought this concept front and center with our green screen mini-set. As you might have guessed, it’s a small green screen set with pre-set lights and professional microphones, paired with a 4K camera and a teleprompter.
It’s perfect for what we call “stand ups”, where a spokesperson is onscreen. The green screen lets us move the “stand up” performer around, change backgrounds, even the size of the person onscreen. The 4K camera lets us punch in from a wide shot to a close up from the same footage, and the teleprompter lets the onscreen talent perform flawlessly, even if they’re not professionals.
Our green screen, perfectly lit, with great audio. Our client, Auerbach International!
A note on teleprompters: they are fantastic. It allows you to concentrate on your performance, rather than remembering what to say. It also saves a bunch of money in the edit, as the editor doesn’t have to find and piece together pieces of content.
Cut the performer out, move him anywhere on the screen!
This set is also great for social media content because it takes care of what a lot of self-posters have trouble with: lighting and audio. The teleprompter is great in this context, as it allows you to quickly and flawlessly knock out dozens of short social media blasts.
This client recorded 42 different social media blasts in 2.5 hours!
The edit bay is right next to the mini-set, so to get to work on your ad or social media blast is as quick as pulling media from the camera and walking into the next room, where an editor has access to what you just shot, plus licensed music, stock footage and graphics. Plus, of course, any photos or footage you might bring to the edit. In many cases, you can walk out of our offices with a finished video in a matter of hours.
Our pictured client, Philip Auerbach, spread out his editing costs over many months, only producing a handful of the 42 videos at a time. That keeps costs down!
Here is a link to a month’s worth of his social media videos:
Auerbach Social Media Set Number 5
So, if your first thoughts about getting some great looking video for your business is “I haven’t got the time or the money”, you might be happy to find out you’re wrong about what video production services actually cost.
