Rent-A-Producer
Video is irrefutably one of the most compelling communication media. It works particularly well in channels, but it quickly becomes expensive in bulk. Therefore hire a part time producer to minimise costs and retain the essential skills.
Here is the problem confronting a lots of organisations. Everybody knows that video is possibly the most powerful of all communication media. Testimony to this lies in the deluge of video swamping almost every aspect of life. Nobody spends much time randomly seeking out things to watch; we tend to rely on two main approaches. Consensus. If lots of people share a video then it will be more easily found. The other way is to follow channels. Channels publish content that have some consistency. The audience gets to know the sort of stuff that a broadcaster puts out and this narrows the filter. Finding something agreeable to watch on Netflix can take a lot longer, unless the recommendation system works for you.
A channel requires regular and frequent addition of fresh material. Brands are slowly doing this. If you are interested in extreme sports then Red Bull TV is the place to go. But this is only practical for the biggest brands.
Video works well when it's well constructed and gets seen by the target audience. For it to work you need experienced writers and directors etc. To get it seen, you either need a large following or you need a channel. So here is the problem for smaller brands, video that engages and compels is generally expensive to make. One recent solution has been to conflate roles and to run on minimum crews. This is fine for the simplest promos, but even then those involved have to be experienced. It just doesn't work for more complex work, the sort that engages and compels audiences. So if you don't have a full war chest then that's you out of the game. Or is it?
What really makes video expensive? Like anything, good productions require skilled people. They need somewhere to work and they need top keep a roof over their head and bread on the table. Brands don't want to set up a production company as a business unit because they don't have full time work for it. Hiring a production company on demand is cheaper, but still expensive as the price of work has to cover all their infrastructure and cost of doing business as well as profit. So we're back to expensive video again.
However...
When someone has been in the film and video business, particularly TV, for a long time, then they get to know all the various tasks and how they work together, a lot of good people, in fact the entire end to end production process. And one of the jobs where this must happen effectively is that of producer. They bring another benefit too, the high standards that were a feature of the environment in which they took their first steps.
First and foremost a producer is a project manager. Their main skill is being able to pull together and manage the resources needed for a production both effectively and efficiently. They get to know a lot about all the various roles needed to make a film. As time goes by they build a wealth of craft and other contacts upon whom they can depend.
So, there are a couple of forces in play. A pressure on almost every organisation to produce films, and a pressure to reduce costs in order to maximise content in a channel. A new phenomenon is emerging. Brands are beginning to discover that they only need employ one central role: a producer. And even then they only need to do so part time. Everything else follows from there.
What to do? If you are a producer look at the ads on LinkedIn amongst other places. Advertisements for experienced producers in part-time roles are slowly increasing. If you are an organisation then look for experienced producers who may have retired and become bored. They are not so hard to find. In the UK, amongst the membership of the Royal Television Society and other organisations there are retired employees. Many of these people miss the buzz of productions. People who have all the skills to ensure that any video has the best chance of achieving its objective.
Brands are clearly beginning to take this approach. It helps any organisation maximise effective output at minimum cost.
Here is the problem confronting a lots of organisations. Everybody knows that video is possibly the most powerful of all communication media. Testimony to this lies in the deluge of video swamping almost every aspect of life. Nobody spends much time randomly seeking out things to watch; we tend to rely on two main approaches. Consensus. If lots of people share a video then it will be more easily found. The other way is to follow channels. Channels publish content that have some consistency. The audience gets to know the sort of stuff that a broadcaster puts out and this narrows the filter. Finding something agreeable to watch on Netflix can take a lot longer, unless the recommendation system works for you.
A channel requires regular and frequent addition of fresh material. Brands are slowly doing this. If you are interested in extreme sports then Red Bull TV is the place to go. But this is only practical for the biggest brands.
Video works well when it's well constructed and gets seen by the target audience. For it to work you need experienced writers and directors etc. To get it seen, you either need a large following or you need a channel. So here is the problem for smaller brands, video that engages and compels is generally expensive to make. One recent solution has been to conflate roles and to run on minimum crews. This is fine for the simplest promos, but even then those involved have to be experienced. It just doesn't work for more complex work, the sort that engages and compels audiences. So if you don't have a full war chest then that's you out of the game. Or is it?
What really makes video expensive? Like anything, good productions require skilled people. They need somewhere to work and they need top keep a roof over their head and bread on the table. Brands don't want to set up a production company as a business unit because they don't have full time work for it. Hiring a production company on demand is cheaper, but still expensive as the price of work has to cover all their infrastructure and cost of doing business as well as profit. So we're back to expensive video again.
However...
When someone has been in the film and video business, particularly TV, for a long time, then they get to know all the various tasks and how they work together, a lot of good people, in fact the entire end to end production process. And one of the jobs where this must happen effectively is that of producer. They bring another benefit too, the high standards that were a feature of the environment in which they took their first steps.
First and foremost a producer is a project manager. Their main skill is being able to pull together and manage the resources needed for a production both effectively and efficiently. They get to know a lot about all the various roles needed to make a film. As time goes by they build a wealth of craft and other contacts upon whom they can depend.
So, there are a couple of forces in play. A pressure on almost every organisation to produce films, and a pressure to reduce costs in order to maximise content in a channel. A new phenomenon is emerging. Brands are beginning to discover that they only need employ one central role: a producer. And even then they only need to do so part time. Everything else follows from there.
What to do? If you are a producer look at the ads on LinkedIn amongst other places. Advertisements for experienced producers in part-time roles are slowly increasing. If you are an organisation then look for experienced producers who may have retired and become bored. They are not so hard to find. In the UK, amongst the membership of the Royal Television Society and other organisations there are retired employees. Many of these people miss the buzz of productions. People who have all the skills to ensure that any video has the best chance of achieving its objective.
Brands are clearly beginning to take this approach. It helps any organisation maximise effective output at minimum cost.
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