Navigating Video Production: A Guide to the Three Main Approaches

How do we approach making marketing videos? (3 ways)

For marketing teams, the phrase "let's make a video" can mean a variety of things, from a quick social media post to a major brand campaign. To bring clarity and strategy to your video marketing efforts, it's essential to understand the three primary approaches to video production.

"Without clarity as to what we mean, we're comparing apples to camera crews, which doesn't make any sense."

Content Creator Approach:

This approach is characterized by a solo setup, often using an iPhone, and focuses on user-generated content style. It is fast, economical, and the output feels raw, relatable, and authentic. The process is fast and minimal, with little professional equipment. The goal is high-volume output with low effort.

Videographer:

This is a middle-ground approach involving a one-to-two-person team with professional cameras and lighting. It produces content that is more polished than the content creator style but lacks the overhead of a full crew. The workflow is still nimble, but there is a focus on maximizing the investment during the production phase with professional gear. This approach is often used for promotional content, testimonials, and some evergreen assets.

Full Production:

This is considered the "gold standard" and is what most people think of when they hear "video production". It involves a rigid, intense workflow with extensive pre-production, planning, and scripting. A full crew with specialized roles, such as directors, camera operators, and dedicated post-production specialists, is involved. The goal is to produce a highly polished, scalable, and durable flagship video that can be repurposed into many different assets.

That should give us an idea, in brief, of how these approaches "look", but there's a lot more to it than that. To know which approach is right, we need to compare the key differences between them in the following areas: workflow, output, longevity, scalability, and (what most of us are really curious about) budget.

Workflow

The actual process and steps involved in creating a video.

• Content Creator: The workflow is very fast, nimble, and minimal, often a solo setup. It involves a quick idea, scripting notes, filming on an iPhone, and fast editing.

• Videographer: This approach uses professional gear, such as cameras, basic lighting, and better audio equipment. There is some pre-production, but the main goal is to maximize the investment during the shooting phase.

• Full Production: Every part of the process has a rigid and intense workflow, from pre-production through post-production. This is done to achieve the exact desired output. This approach involves a large team with specialized roles, including a producer, director, camera operators, lighting crew, and dedicated post-production specialists.

"...when you delegate one role to one person or a few roles to one person (as opposed to one person wearing a bunch of hats) the overall output is better."

Output

The deliverables that can be expected and where they perform best.

• Content Creator: The output is great for social media due to fast turnaround times. This content is best for material that doesn't need to last forever.

• Videographer: The output is typically promotional content, testimonials, or evergreen assets. This approach can produce a couple of main assets and a few social clips pulled from them.

"A videography approach is not a way to get full production results on a budget. And if you have this very high and mighty vision that calls for a full production investment and we're trying to save by approaching it like a videographer, you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot."

• Full Production: This approach creates high-end, cinematic, and emotionally impactful content. It's now common to plan for multiple deliverables, including a flagship video, social media variants, and behind-the-scenes content.

Longevity

How long the content remains relevant.

• Content Creator: The expected shelf life is short, often a few days to a week, because the content is fast-moving and often trend-driven.

• Videographer: This approach is used for content with more longevity, such as evergreen assets for an ad campaign or a company website. A testimonial video, for example, can live on a website and generate ROI for a long time.

• Full Production: This content is theoretically the longest-lasting and should be good "forever". Its shelf life is only limited by changes in business dynamics, products, or messaging.

Scalability

How much output can be generated from the input and how reusable the content is.

• Content Creator: This style is on the low end of reusability. The strategy is to have a high volume of content by making every part of the process as low-effort as possible.

• Videographer: This approach is flexible for smaller businesses and budgets, as content can be used on social media as well as in other places with more longevity.

• Full Production: This has become the most scalable approach. A flagship concept can be reverse-engineered into any imaginable form of content, including social snippets and photography.

Budget

How much will this cost... or a better question: "what is the value?"

"The only reason that videos are being used to market is because they're assets that have an increase in the revenue of businesses."

• Content Creator: This is the lowest-cost option, with a budget typically in the range of a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars.

• Videographer: This is a mid-range budget, usually from a couple thousand to seven to ten thousand dollars. It balances higher quality with avoiding the overhead costs of a full crew.

• Full Production: This has the highest upfront investment. The investment is for "months or even years of multi-platform assets" and the expertise of professionals to ensure the video aligns with campaign goals.

Summary

All three video production styles are useful to a business and can increase revenue if deployed correctly. The Content Creator approach is excellent for consistent, high-volume output at a low cost, while the Videographer model is ideal for creating higher-quality assets with more longevity. The Full Production approach, though the highest investment, is best for creating a flagship piece of content that elevates a brand and provides highly scalable assets.

By knowing the strengths of each, a business can choose the right approach for its specific goals and budget.

If you have any thoughts or questions about any of these approaches or how we could help you implement them effectively into your marketing strategies, we'd love to hear from you.