[W]e’re excited to be part of your business success! We hope you’ll make the smart choice to come to us to get your video (or videos!) ready for you to publish in the digital marketing space. Our goal is to make this an enjoyable, if not downright fun, experience. Here you’ll find helpful tips and details about planning your script, tips for making your video the best it can be, what to expect the day of your shoot, other options, and the fine print.
As a savvy business owner, you’ll want to know the impact getting a YouTube video made will have on your bottom line. Our competitive, affordable video business will add credibility to your online presence. We won’t make you dig for this info, so here’s our basic pricing:
Up to three minutes in length: $2500 each
With the purchase of website, blog or social media platform design: Two for $1050. Yes, two. We pamper our website clients with affordable digital marketing services to help get their products and services noticed online.
Video Production Services – The Details
We want you to be fully satisfied with your video, so please read on to learn more about the in-studio experience.
Videos take approximately three to four weeks delivery AFTER the scheduled on-camera shoot. This may change, and deliver sooner, but we will keep you informed.
Your scheduled studio time is one hour, and it’s all for you. We will arrive early to set up. For you, please come a few minutes early, dressed and groomed to be on camera, with your practiced and timed one to the two-minute script, and props or book in hand. If you want to use our teleprompter, email us your script in an email or Word document at least two days in advance of your appointment, and we will load this for you to read during your shoot.
You are responsible for the content of your script. If you are not using a teleprompter, consider committing your script to memory so that you don’t have to look down at your notes. We’ve had clients and partners who can speak extemporaneously with confidence, but many aren’t quite so gifted, and that’s ok. Give yourself plenty of time between writing your script and the day of the shoot. Contact us for hourly rates for script writing services.
Visit our YouTube Channel to see just a small sample of some of the videos we have done for ourselves.
Preparing Your Script
Think about your message and your audience. What do you want your video to accomplish:
- promote a product or line of products
- create brand awareness for a product or line of products
- introduce yourself as proprietor and your personal message
- introduce your company to the community and provide incentive
- announce an event, such as a book launch party, grand opening, or new website or social media launch
- announce a change of address, new management, other news
- provide a simple three-step demo – cooking, technical, craft, other
- discuss the topic and title of your book
- do a reading of your book or publication
- talk about award wins or honors received
- encourage audience/fan engagement with your social media platform
- provide a Public Service Announcement
- provide one or two tips within your industry, channel or category (one per 30-second video is best)
- give detailed specs on technical equipment
- accompany a blog post or press release
Unless you are promoting for a particular shopping season, be mindful of your video content becoming obsolete after only a short period of time.
Considerations Prior to Your Scheduled Shoot
Will you have a product or products to have in the video with you for the shoot? Authors, we recommend bringing your paperback AND hardbound books, and a stand. We recommend one series or title per video.
Let us know if your prop needs to stand on the floor. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate props larger than three feet high by three feet wide. We PREFER to plan for props in advance, so we can get you in and out seamlessly.
Would you like to sit at a desk, sit in a chair or stand? (Standing shots are mostly waist up.)
What industry are you talking about in your video? This helps us choose the right music bed and background, font and colors. We will make recommendations if you need them.
Before You Leave Your Home or Office
Do not wear anything green or that has green in the pattern – including jewelry, hairpieces, or props. If your book cover happens to have a lot of green, please let us know in advance. Preferably, avoid wearing bold patterns such as stripes or large floral print. Bring a toiletry bag for touchups – comb, hairspray, makeup. change of clothes in case of emergency.The lights are bright and hot – bring a handkerchief or hand towel. Wear comfortable shoes – you may be on your feet for most of an hour, and your shoes probably won’t be in the shot.
When We Arrive
- If you’ve sent your script in advance, we will begin setting up the teleprompter.
- We’ll ask you to practice reading either standing or seated in front of the screen.
- Next, we will have you remain in front of the screen while we adjust lighting and props.
- Tape is marked for where you need to stand; we ask that you remain with toes on the tape at all times and not shift your weight or move.
- We may make suggestions about your posture, head tilt, movements, etc.
- Finally, we will answer any questions you might have at this time.
Attaching the Microphone
We use a wireless microphone for optimum recording. We will “mic” you – attach the wireless microphone to your collar or shirt. Where clothing doesn’t permit, you may need to hold the mic. The mic wire snakes down the back of the shirt and the remote unit usually sit in the back pocket. If you don’t have pockets, we clip it on to your person usually out of sight of the camera. Try not to touch your chest or flip your hair so that it might cause static on the mic. This usually takes your assistance to help guide the mic wire and to place the remote unit. We will offer our help and guidance if you prefer that we not touch you, but PLEASE let us know in advance.
The Screen Test
Smiling, laughing, some air punches and singing “Do you want to take my picture?” by the band Filter can all help raise your heart rate and your energy level – helping to make your video turn out the best it can be. A rousing game of patty cake is encouraged for some of our clients who are particularly anxious about being on camera.
- Next, we will start making on-camera test shots to check sound, and to ensure that you are far enough away from the green screen, as being too close can affect the outcome of video in production.
- A hand-signal countdown will be given when we are rolling.
- If you’re doing a three-step demo, we will have you run through it on camera.
- We will do several “takes” on camera.
Screen Test Review
Once we have adjusted and viewed on camera, we will ask you to take a break while we review the captured video. This may take up to 15 minutes, but usually less. Why do we do this?
- ensure we aren’t getting green screen “feedback”
- make sure that the mic is placed so that we get optimal sound
- other pre-video checks
This helps prevent from having to come back later time to re-do the video because there was a problem on the set.
Post-Production
We will choose three or four of the best takes and upload these to our private YouTube channel. From here, you will review and choose the one you like best. With the one that you choose, we will move into post-production. We will send you an email after the studio shoot with the YouTube link as well as request the following information from you:
1) Please give us your name and/or title as you’d like it to appear in the caption box.
2) Tell us your company name as you’d like it to appear in the video, for example, Copyright 2017 Your Company Name Here, Inc.
3) Opening and closing frame can include one or two business logos. We will create your open/close frames in Adobe Creative Suite, and these are yours to keep. Please send high-res logo art files to fcampos@dfwwebsitedesigners.com (Unless you’re a client who has ordered a website or social media package from us also, then we will probably already have your logo art on file.)
4) Any other credits you’d like to have appeared in type in one of your closing frames of the video?
Please keep an eye out for this email, as we need this information promptly so we can deliver your video within four to five weeks of shoot.
You’ll get to review the first edit and request changes within a certain timeframe, to be determined on a per-client basis. After you send back changes or approval, your video will go into final edit.
Videos are edited and provided in High Definition raw file on DVD/CD. If desired, we will also upload to your existing YouTube account and provide you with the link.
Videos take three to six weeks to finish scheduling to post-production.
Video Production Services – Other Options
Interview – If you would like to be interviewed on camera for your site, blog or press release, we offer the service with an experienced TV host, actress and performance artist Ingrid Schaffenburg. She can do a seated or stand interview up to three minutes long with your pre-written script. If you have your own interviewer, that is an option also with an upcharge of $55, but the cost goes up for the length of video too. Call for pricing and further details.
Additional participants – For two or three people on set, the cost is $55 per person, maximum four people in a single video.
If you have photographs or video clips you want us to insert into your video, you need to guarantee that you have rights to the content and the additional fee is $295.
Rush jobs – A rush job is 72 hours delivery after the shoot and has a $1500 upcharge. Certain restrictions apply – we will have needed all requested information from you within 12 hours of finishing shoot for this rush to be successfully delivered to you in this timeframe.
Multiple video series in a single shoot – We will drop the price per video if you choose to do two or more DIFFERENT scripts in the SAME hour-long studio appointment. Please call us for details and pricing – we’d love to give you a price break on a video library for you. Pricing determined on case-by-case basis, and we will provide a quote. Needs to be negotiated PRIOR to the scheduled shoot.
The information above subject to change without notice. For complete pricing, please call or email.