Help needed in creating a Corporate Video
 

Hi all,

I have been shooting and editing videos for the past couple of years, which was mostly videos of friends and family. It did however help me to gain some experience in shooting and editing.

In the past year a friend and myself have decided to try and make a business (on the sidelines) out of it, and since then we have done quite a few wedding videos. In the process I have learned quite a lot from creating these wedding videos. I have also learned a lot from this and other forums on the internet.

For my proper day job I am working in the IT industry. One of my clients has learned that I do video's on the sideline and has approached me to create an internal marketing video of their department which is to be distributed to other departments in the organization.

Because this is a large organization they will probably need to get a couple of quotations from other production companies. This is where I am getting a little bit stuck. I need help in understanding what the process is which one need to follow when doing corporate videos. More specifically:
* What detail should the quotation include?
* What details should a contract include?
* What is the typical process when producing a corporate video, eg. quotation, script, story board etc? Should the story board be done before a quotation can be given?
* How does one go about writing a script?
* How does one go about developing the story board and understanding what needs to go into the video?
* And loads more questions......

Where can I find proper information (websites, articles, books, etc.) which can describe the entire process of creating a corporate video?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Jerrie Pelser

There are a number of books on shooting video and pre production. I am unaware of a book about Marketing corporate videos, but my approach is to tell someone what I would expect to hear.

In other words.

Pre production meeting.
Here is where you meet the client, give them your demo reel (If they haven't already contacted you after seeing it). Leave them with some hard copy photos of you at work with your gear. (A slick brochure is nice)You might have a rough idea or outline or two to pitch, but WAIT till you hear their thoughts. Gather the information you need. How long is it supposed to be? What is the delivery format? Who is the intended audience? What is the "life-span" of the video projected to be? (In other words, is it supposed to be evergreen). What is the delivery date and shooting window? DO they have a particular budget they must adhere too? DO they have a concept they want incorporated?

You might do this face to face, or over the phone

Second meeting. Here is where you pitch a harder concept. You have incorporated all the information you have to date. Rough outline or rough draft of the script with storyboards is presented. Production schedule is included. In this schedule is pre-production, production and post production schedules. Include the budget submission. It's best to have some built in options at this point, that will give them the freedom to negotiate a better deal. By options I mean price breaks on various formats. Film, Beta or Mini DV budgets for instance. Long script or short script formats... Utilizing a crane for that exterior shot... whatever. If they balk at a particular budget, "I can work with you on this" is the approach to take. Beacuse you have done REALISTIC BUDGETING you have the ability to cut and shift costs. But you have to know what your bottom line is... you can't just pull it out of air. The payment terms are also presented in this meeting. Work whats best for you. Part up front, part on completion of shooting, and rest on delivery is a good structure.

Third.... wait for the call. Here is where they say. "We really liked your concept, but can we add such and such, " Or "We don't need the crane and the extra charge for the voice over, my niece is an actress and she will do the on-screen work." (DOn't laugh, it happens more often than you think.

Fourth, start bidding on another job while waiting to hear from this one.

Fifth, answer the phone and go to work.

Richard,

Thank you very much. This already helps me quite a lot. I understand that each job will be different, but do you have a typical outline or sample of a concept document that will be presented to a client?

Thank you
Jerrie