How much does it cost? That’s what most of us out there selling our products/services get asked. In a lot of cases, it’s a tough question to answer.

Video pricing… like other things… usually results in the answer you don’t want to hear as a customer.

It depends.

Every project is different. Price depends on how many days it’ll take to shoot. How many days it’ll take to create the story. How many days it’ll take to edit. There are certainly other variables, but you get the point.

We produce videos that range from $500 to $20,000. The clients who usually end up the happiest with pricing tend to give us a budget instead of asking for a proposal and getting sticker shock.

If you tell us you have a $3,000 budget, we’ll tell you what we can do for $3,000. It’s that simple, and it saves time and energy for both us and the client.

–Tony Gnau

Want to know the best way to get good at video? Watch a lot of videos. Preferably good ones.

When I was a young TV news reporter, I used to watch as many great stories as I could. The kinds of stories I wanted to report.

In those days, my friends and I would exchange video tapes featuring award-winning stories from the National Press Photographers Association. What a difference a decade makes. Now all you need to do is click on YouTube of Vimeo.

Start noting the videos you like and re-watch them from time-to-time with a critical eye. Dissect them. Look at the shooting style, how they use music and natural sound, the way they’re edited. Think about how those same techniques could improve your storytelling.

The more you evaluate, the better you’re own videos will become.

–Tony Gnau

Bloggers have long understood the power of the written word, but many have also begun to embrace video. Many, however, have not put the same amount of pride into their videos as they have their skillfully written blogs.

They need to start.

Look, if you’re not a bigtime blogger, please continue to look into your computer’s camera and deliver your vlog that way. On the other hand, if you are a bigtime blogger, you need to step-up your production value.

I’m not talking about a lot of bells and whistles. Simply working on your framing, lighting and editing will go a long way to improving the professionalism of your vlog.

We’ve been doing this for superstar PR blogger Gini Dietrich. She’s awesome, her message is compelling, and now she has a professional-looking vlog to match her top-rated blog.

A little effort goes a long way to adding to your credibility.

–Tony Gnau

Here’s another reason why hiring a video pro is better than trying to produce something yourself.

Time.

A video pro will typically complete a project in less time than it will take you to do it. Not to mention, you’ll be able to work on other things while they create your video.

Are you a professional videographer? The time it takes you to figure out what to shoot, how to shoot it, and how much to shoot can be done a lot quicker by someone who’s made it their profession.

Are you a video editing expert? Between importing the raw video into the computer, manipulating it inside the editor, and piecing together a story… you could be editing that video for days. On the other hand, someone who does it everyday knows tricks of the trade to complete the final video in no time.

I get it… you’re on a shoe-string budget. If you don’t have the money to spend, do it yourself. But if you’re trying to figure out how to allocate a marketing budget, don’t leave out video production.

If time is money, you’ll actually come out ahead.

–Tony Gnau

May I take a moment to write about microphones?

Amateur videos are easy to pick out for an array of reasons, but one of the easiest ways to spot one is bad audio. How do you know if your audio is bad? The number one way is if you’re using the built-in microphone on your camera.

You might be thinking… I don’t know… sounds pretty good to me.

No. It doesn’t. Investing just a  little money in a good quality microphone will improve your videos big time.

–Tony Gnau

The internet has changed forever the way we research our competition. All you have to do is swing by their website to see what they’re up to, how they present themselves, et cetera.

One of the things I did when starting T60 was research how much my competitors  were charging. It was maddening. Most don’t list prices. I understand why. Every project is unique, but from a customer’s perspective it’s really irritating.

So… I made sure to give some sort of price list at the T60 website. It was a simply way to differentiate us from everyone else, and I hope it leaves people with a good first impression.

Here’s my project for you. Check out your competitors’ videos. Do they have just one or have they produced a bunch? Do they look professionally done or do they look like they did them on the cheap?

Video is a way you can set your company apart from the competition. Whatever they’re doing video-wise, you have the ability to one-up them.

If a customer is researching you and your competition online, they’ll likely watch each company’s videos. Make their first impression of you better than your competition.

–Tony Gnau

I get it. I really do. If you’re working at a small business and you don’t have the money to commit to a professionally produced video, I understand.

What I don’t get is when a major corporation puts a video out on the cheap. I just watched one by Subaru. I looks like an amateur production, but it’s a good teaching tool.

I love Subaru vehicles. My wife and I were recently talking about what we’d consider for our next car and I mentioned the Subaru Outback. So… I went to YouTube to check out some video and came across this one on the company’s channel… Subaru and United by Blue’s Cooper River Cleanup.

I love that Subaru is giving back. I love that they decided to put out a video about it. The problem is the video just isn’t compelling.

Pay attention to the way it’s shot. I counted one… that’s one… tight shot. Videos need a mix of wide, medium, and tight shots. That mix stimulates the eye. Virtually every shot here is a medium shot.

The same could be said for the interview shots. Everyone is framed up on a medium shot right in the center of the picture. There’s no visual interest in that sort of framing.

These are basic shooting mistakes. I would have loved to have seen this story in the hands of a video pro.

–Tony Gnau

Here’s one of the big problems that plague clients and their video producers… competing visions.

The client envisions the video going one way, the producer sees it in different light, and they end up getting on each other’s nerves. Who’s right? Neither.

See… it’s not about you. It’s about the audience.

Video is a tough thing because it’s art that serves a business purpose. In other words, it’s a completely subjective medium that’s carrying a corporate message. The client wants to control that message, the video producer is usually more interested in the story that’s delivering the content.

The trick is for neither party to get so wrapped-up in what they’re doing that they lose sight of the most important piece of the equation. The audience should dictate which direction the video goes… not the client… not the producer.

Whenever there’s competing visions, someone better step-up and ask what’s most important to the audience. They’re the ones you need to consider. After all, it’s their video… not yours.

–Tony Gnau

Just because you have an HD camera, doesn’t mean you can shoot good looking video. Actually, high-definition will actually shine a light on many of the things you’re doing wrong.

One of the biggest mistakes most amateurs make is not lighting interview subjects. I’ve seen a few videos like this lately, so I thought it warrants a blog post.

If you’re in a room with overhead fluorescent lights… you need to break out your light kit.

If you don’t have a light kit, get creative. Find window and use the natural light. Find a room with a lamp and figure out a way to use that.

I’m not here to post a lighting tutorial. Jump on Google and you’ll find plenty of them there. This message is simply an educator and motivator.

Don’t be lazy. Those overhead lights are terrible. Bad lighting… ugly video… no matter what kind of camera you use.

–Tony Gnau

I did something last week that a lot of people might think is a bit crazy. While bidding on a project, I also recommended a competitor.

The project in question is not the typical video we produce, as a matter of fact I wasn’t sure it was even something we wanted to do. After talking about it a bit, we decided it would be fun so we gave the client a quote.

She thanked us and basically told us she’s shopping around and would let us know. Once I found that out, I recommended she get in touch with a competitor I e-met through a business acquaintance.

The reason is simple. I want her to find the right person for the project. If that’s T60, great! If it’s someone else, that’s fine too. We just want to be a service.

The person we recommended specializes in the type of video the client would like to do. We might not get this particular job, but if we can still provide a service, i.e. a good recommendation, then I’m confident we’ll here from this client again.

Sometimes things that are bad for the bottom line in the short-term end up being a boom in the long run.

–Tony Gnau