When it comes to creating a video, whether it is for VNR release or distribution across the corporate sales channels, there is a good chance this work will be outsourced to a
production company. While outsiders are behind the camera, how can a PR professional still remain in charge of the production?
According to Jim Donohue, co-founder and director of the New York-based video production company SLING Spectrum LLC, there are several areas where control can be
maintained without being intrusive.
Checking out previous work. "Before hiring a video production company, it's best to examine their body of work," says Donohue. "Production houses that rely on the
reputation of their big name clientele might not provide the best, or even affordable services to potential clients. Most production houses have a 'reel' or informative commercial
of their own to better represent themselves to those interested in hiring their services."
Understanding the budget. Once a video production company is hired, the next step is making sure there is no confusion on the budget for this project. For PR
professionals, it is especially important to know what goes into the financing of a video production.
"Understanding a production house's creative process might assuage budget concerns," continues Donohue. "Video and film production is defined mostly by time and are measured in
'seconds and minutes.' The efforts to create these seconds and minutes are often weeks or even months in the making. Also, a small production team can number 10, 20 or more
people who are specialists in the jobs they perform: Cameramen or videographers, production teams are comprised of individuals with specific skills (lighting, sound technicians,
editors, even special effects people). If professional actors are used in a production, Screen Actors Guild union fee requirements can increase a budget by several hundred
percent."
Who's the boss? For the PR professional who cannot exorcise their control freak tendencies, Donohue has this advice: Take your hands off the steering wheel and let
the video professionals do the driving.
"The advantage to outsourcing video production is not having the creative process limited by in-house bias," he says. "An 'outside' director would, for the most part, not be
affected by office politics, pressure and favoritism in producing the 'right' message. Professional video production houses and producers have the ability to see the whole from
the outside and can better visually represent a more complete message of an industry or business for their clients."
The online platform. When the production company returns its production to you, don't just ask for a DVD. Ask for a digitized video file, so the production can be
incorporated into corporate Web sites and intranets.
"For the most part, any video can be converted to a digital medium," says Donohue. "The length or size of the digitized video file might be a concern, for the larger it is the
longer it might take a viewer to download. For this reason certain compression techniques are used by Web site designers to make a video more accessible to the Net audience."
Contact: Jim Donohue, [email protected].