Corporate video production in Singapore is never an easy task. Brand videos are often held up to high standards and subject to detailed scrutiny, requiring one to have professional skills to pull it off successfully. Have you been wondering what it really takes to produce corporate videos in Singapore? Well, you can find everything you need to know about video production in this article.
Create Your Grand Plan
Video shoots often involve numerous people, props, places and equipment. A video director needs to be able to keep tabs on everything that goes on in an entire video, including the off-stage crew. Commercial video production can quickly get hectic, even for a very short video. Moreover, planning is of utmost importance to make sure that you do not forget anything or leave any work to the last minute. With a master plan, you will easily have an overview of how the project is going along and what else you still need to do. Be sure to take into account the timeframe for each task and allocate appropriate deadlines.
A good way to start drafting your master plan is to identify what exactly needs to be done. How long of a video are you planning to make, and what do you need for filming it? Does it require special venues that have to be booked in advance? Make a list of what everyone is doing, and which task each department is working on. This helps to minimise confusion and overlooked portions later on.
Book Your Calendar
Along with the master plan, you will also want to identify the critical path – the longest sequence of tasks leading to project completion. This will likely be the minimum amount of time you will need for the entire project, from the start of pre-production to the end of post-production. It is vital to know what kind of timeframe you are working with here, because if just one task in the critical path is delayed, completion of the entire project will also be delayed. Plan early and ensure that everyone is aware of when each task is due, so that whoever is in charge of the next task can start work as soon as possible. Communication between each team is key.
As the project director, it is good practice to keep a calendar of all the due dates for each task across all teams. Work closely with the teams to determine a suitable timeframe for their jobs. By the time production begins, each filming session should be marked on your calendar. If your video requires special settings such as rainy days or full moons, be sure to account for the possibility of things not turning out your way, and have a backup plan ready just in case you are unable to get the right setting by a certain date.
Make a Shot List
A shot list is a must for any video, be it a full-length movie or a 30-second commercial. Organising a shot list makes it easy for you to get straight to the filming when production rolls around, saving everyone’s time and the costs of production. It also prevents you from finding yourself in every producer’s nightmare: when your team calls you during post-production to say that one shot was forgotten during the filming. Calling all the cast and production crew back just for that one scene is definitely not worth the hassle. The best would be to avoid such a situation altogether by triple-checking your shot list while still in the pre-production stage.
Once you have identified a list of all the shots you need to film, group them up for a more efficient production experience instead of filming them chronologically. For instance, split the shots into day scenes and night scenes, indoors and outdoors, and also according to location. If you are renting a special venue, prop or even an actor who can only be there for a limited time, you may want to group any shots that require those into one category, so that they can be filmed all at once without the need to set everything up a second time.
Manage the Cast and Crew
The cast and crew are the bread and butter of any commercial video production. Video production is a challenging task that you probably won’t be doing all by yourself. Collaborating with professionals can add the extra finishing touches to a great video concept.
As previously mentioned, communication with each person involved in the project is of utmost importance. As the director, you should be the one to facilitate communication between groups and check in each one to see how their progress is. Put up your master schedule somewhere that is visible to all. If there are any delays in the process, be sure that every team depending on the delayed task is notified.
When it’s time for production, create call sheets so that your crew knows exactly when and where they need to show up, and what they have to bring. Most call sheets will have different call times for different crew – for instance, you may only have to call in a certain cast member later on in the day when it’s their turn to act.
Looking for a Commercial Video Solution?
It’s totally normal to feel that this is all too daunting a task. Although there are definitely benefits to producing your own video, you can never go wrong with hiring a corporate video production company in Singapore instead. We’re proud to offer you our tried and tested corporate video production services, fully ensuring that you won’t have to break a sweat to get your company’s very own professional brand video. Contact us today for a free quote!