Should Brands Fetch Video Production In-House?
For those creating content on a more regular basis, the inevitable question that arises is: “Shouldn’t we be doing some of this video content in-house? Certainly, there will be cost savings and why not use the latest iPhone that we already own?
If you are considering doing the video content production process in-house, there are a few points to think through before you take the leap.
What do you actually mean by doing video content in-house?
To put it simply, in-housing your video content production is like in-housing any other aspect of your brand’s services. It involves the allocation of responsibility for delivering that service to an internal team. The team is made up of permanent or semi-permanent staff rather than an external third party.
Why isn’t everyone creating their video content in-house?
The largely specialist nature of a number of the roles linked with creating great films is one of the many tricky areas involved with the in-housing of video production services.
Whilst many team members consider themselves handy with a camera, there are a number of reasons why the video production piece should be handled by specialists.
It sounds expensive and it can be.
Hiring a specialist, of any sort, carries considerable cost implications. It is not only on a per person basis but also as you choose how much additional staff to take on and precisely what kind of roles to in-house. The roles can be Creative, Director, Producer, Cameraman, Sound, Lighting or Editor.
Also, you have to consider the equipment required for buying and hiring.
Crucial is the issue of data handling and storage. How are you managing the recording and processing of the digital content? And where will you store it, back it up and make certain it is easily accessible when you need it?
And how the content is going to reach your audience after you’ve finished?
Is there a thing called time efficiency to be gained by producing your content in-house?
Yes. Possibly, once you’ve set into a rhythm of producing content. However, in a speed Vs quality debate, if you provide a little more time and consideration to the entire process, it will generate a far better final product.
Two additional key points
Quality
When you are making video content, particularly for external purposes, anything you produce will directly reflect your brand.
Hence, quality must be the all-important factor. If your video content is not of a high-quality, then it can for sure reflect negatively on your brand.
It’s surely possible that with moderately minimal equipment, the right team and good preparation, you can produce good quality, in-house video content, for instance, interviews with team members. However, the content really should be more for internal staff usage released via the intranet and not released externally.
The pressure to use the in-house video facility you have created
The risk of spending time, money and effort on building an in-house video facility is that you get the pressure to feel you have to use it.
The potential side-effects of this are:
- Your video content may tend to start looking the same since the creative direction will always come from the same pool of heads.
- And there is the risk of creating content for content’s sake. The possible outcome may be that quality will take second place to quantity.
The takeaway
There is a place for in-housing your video content production. Starbucks, Unilever and BMW have invested heavily to bring the process in-house.
It’s vital to think cautiously about your commitment to video before taking the leap. What do you think you’ll want to film over a marketing year? Which audience will you target and with what purpose? Is the content best suitable for an in-house team?
Purposeful Films Recommendation:
The best suggestion would be to divide your video content into 2 groups: the larger promotional, less frequent, mass audience, higher budget content that needs to be perfect which can be outsourced. And the other one being the quick ready, more frequent, interview-style content for release on social media or for internal purposes which can be created in-house.
We hope this helps.
