Today’s technology has given everyone access to the equipment and resources to produce videos.

Even the smallest company has the potential to create a decent production. Whether you are planning on producing on your own or hiring a production company, here are five tips to keep in mind while developing your project.

1. Don’t compromise on quality. Quality not only deals with production, but with story and content. How intentional are you being with your video? If you’re producing on your own, are you seeking out professional advice and evaluating your skills and resources critically. If you don’t have the time, hiring professionals is a valuable investment. Don’t compromise. A bad video can do more damage than no video at all.
2. Break stereotypes. Think carefully about how others perceive your organization. Use your video as an opportunity to break those stereotypes. Be creative.
3. Watch out for using copyrighted music. Depending on what you’re using your video for, there will be various royalty fees for copyrighted music. I recommend purchasing royalty free music for your project, as it is just less hassle. Shockwave Sound and Digital Juice are two great resources for purchasing royalty free content.
4. Shorter is better. Strip your message down to its bare essence and keep your video short and sweet. Don’t try to be Peter Jackson. Keep the videos short or people will not finish watching it (or if your audience is captive, they’ll just mentally check out). Short is good.
5. Take risks. Don’t be afraid to try something original. The best ideas and breakthroughs happen when you step out on a limb and try something new.

The Copy is a three minute satire that was created for an online film contest at iStockphoto.com in 2007. It was the first short film produced by AF Creative. The following is a behind the scenes look, from script to screen…or eh, internet.

“If you watch it, seven days later…”

The theme for the contest was the future of technology. Obviously paying homage to the 2002 film, The Ring, starring Naomi Watts, The Copy gives a slightly different scenario over what happens when you watch a forbidden video. The script was written a few weeks prior to the shoot, and everything was produced and shot over the course of two weekends.

Weekend One: Test Shots and Pre-visualization

The first Saturday, we met on location, did some test shots and filmed a pre-visualization…

Storyboarding and Direction

After meeting on location, we storyboarded the film using freeze frames from the pre-visualization…

Since our office location was only available half of the day, the entire shot order had to be streamlined as efficiently as possilbe…

The actual Copy…

While Justin Rossbacher and myself were storyboarding and planning for principle photography, Won Novalis was working on the DVD video that Brandon’s character would watch. You can watch the stand-alone piece here.

Weekend Two: Principle Photography

The Results

Though we didn’t win the grand prize, it was a good run. The Copy won the popular vote and made it to the final twelve selections in the comedy category. If you haven’t seen The Copy yet, you can watch it here.

Photographs by Jill Nance

Credits:

Starring Brandon Neal and Justin Snyder. Directed by Justin Rossbacher. Written and Produced by Justin Snyder. Cinematography and editing: Won Novalis. Assistant Directors: Darci Adams and Young Novalis. Co-producer: Dan Portnoy.

Awards:

The Copy was a finalist and winner of the popular vote in the iStockPhoto Future Now Video Contest.