Lessons from the front lines of corporate video scripting services We’ve been creating a ton of videos for our clients recently. And when we say “we,” we mean a team. As providers of corporate video script writing services, we’ll gather the client input and pen the script itself. Then we’ll work with/direct a number of other people, including internal resources at our clients who know how to edit video, external/freelance video editors, animators, and, as you might expect from the title of this article, voiceover artists. In fact, it’s hard to think of a video we’ve done in the last year that hasn’t utilized a professional voiceover. With all this practice, comes experience, and lessons learned we can pass along to you. Steps for creating a corporate video Unfortunately since the pandemic, we haven’t been sending out camera crews to do shoots. (Although we look forward to the day in the not-too-distant future when we can hopefully resume that practice, a lot.) This means that on-camera talking heads are limited, pragmatically, to captured Zoom call footage or other webcam input. It’s not the highest-quality video. Stock footage, on the other hand, is. So we’re using lots of stock footage to elevate the production value of the videos we help produce. That will be combined, typically, with on-screen demos of our clients’ latest offerings. There will be titles and motion graphics and animation and music, but the real thing holding it together is that voiceover. So let’s dive into what makes a good one, how you can get one, and, best of all, how you can basically get more than your money’s worth from your next one. How to script a corporate video The voiceover is really the “backbone” of your script. It’s what ties all the visuals together. The music helps to set the tone and pick up the pace. Quick note, quite literally: We’ve found, thanks to our clients’ diligent research into YouTube metrics, that most viewers will stop viewing a corporate video right around the two-minute mark. So that’s been our guideline for scripting limits. Here’s another convention we’ve discovered. Many of the two-minute corporate marketing videos we help to create follow a basic three-act structure:
All of this affects the voiceover, including the way you script it, the announcer you hire, the way you direct it, and the way they read it. This is a gross oversimplification, but it goes something like this:
Casting, booking, directing We’ve been using tons of talent from Fivver lately. We’ve been getting great talent at great prices. Not easily, mind you. You really need to listen to the demos and read the reviews and scour all the fine-print for what-they-charge-for-which. But once you assemble a stable of good talent, you’re off to the races. Some quick tips:
How to save money on video voiceovers and production We’re often getting two-minute Fivver reads for under $100, so we’re hardly complaining. That said, reworks require time and money. And here’s the important thing to bear in mind: It’s easier to cut than to add. That should be your mantra. If that video needs to time out at two minutes, but the script feels like it might come in at 2:15, record it as-is. Because, with any good, professional voiceover, it’s pretty easy to edit out, in video, passages that you no longer need. This is fast and easy and gives you a safety net. We’ll often create a “red ink” version of a script, for our editor, after the V.O. is recorded, with cut-able passages called out in color, like this: Now we’ll enter the account number—the one we got from the spreadsheet we just created. See (or rather, “hear”) the natural pause at the em-dash? That’s an easy and “invisble” break. So we’ll simply rely on the editor’s discretion to bring the project in on-time, letting them choose the “red-ink passages” they need to cut. And if you want a separate, longer version? It’s already in the can. And paid for. Get help with corporate video scripting and production We know about this stuff because we help our clients with it all the time. And they’re making a lot of money off of these videos. Everyone wins. You can, too. Contact us today to learn more and get started!
1 Comment
3/24/2022 04:22:19 am
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