Video production doesn’t need to break the bank.

There are loads of ways in which you can save money on your video projects.

I’m Paul Sherwood, one of the founders at Seven Video, and I’m here to tell you all about them. This video is all about sharing our insights to help you save some money.

So what if we told you that the key to cutting video production costs by over 50% starts from within your very own walls?

Well, it does. The first thing you want to be doing if you are really serious about creating regular video content is to get some form of internal video resource. So whether that’s an in-house videographer or training somebody up in your team to shoot videos, having some form of internal video resource will help save a lot of money in the long run. The majority of our clients these days now have some form of internal video capability who we tend to work alongside.

Generally speaking, we’ll pick up the edit as it’s not only the most time consuming part of a project, but also the most important. For example, if something’s filmed really well but edited poorly, the final video ends up looking a bit rubbish. However, something could be filmed terribly, but if it’s edited really well, the final video comes out looking a hell of a lot better.

So I thoroughly recommend outsourcing the editing part of the project for that reason. That gives you more time to focus on your day job while still being able to create regular top quality video content.

In-person events can be an absolute gold mine when it comes to creating a suite of video content.

We’ve all seen the huge rise in video calls over the last few years, which has resulted in people meeting and getting together much less so that’s why we’re seeing such a huge influx in attendance at events and in particular industry specific events.

You really need to be making the most of the opportunity that they present by having a large chunk of your clients and your partners in one room.

So for example, if you are putting on a partner event, it presents a great chance to capture four or five video testimonials from your clients, and these in our experience, are the highest converting videos that you can produce and are a great tool for your sales team. Instead of visiting each client’s premises and shooting separate case studies, you can capture them all in one day at the event, saving you a hell of a lot of money in the long run.

Also, even if you’re just attending or exhibiting at an event and you know that some of your clients are going to be there, then the same applies. If you can take a camera or hire a crew to capture various video testimonials throughout the day, it’ll not only save you money in the long run, but will also deliver a greater on investment for that event whilst providing you with more content to push out over the coming months.

Be as clear as you can when it comes to budgets.

When you are going out to video agencies, it’s really important to be upfront not only in terms of the budget that you have available, but also in terms of ideally how much you’d like to spend.

More often than not, these can be two very different amounts. With any video project, there’s always so many different ways in which you can tackle them, and the budget is typically the most important way of working out how best to approach it.

Even with smaller budgets, there’s always a way to reduce production costs, whether that’s filming interviews remotely using smaller crews on site or allowing less time in the edit.

There’s always a way to do it, but without knowing where the project needs to be, it’s really difficult for your video agency to provide you with the best option for your project.

If you want to reduce the price of your video projects by 50%, and they either include interview content or somebody speaking to the camera, you need to be aware of remote filming.

It provides a fantastic opportunity to reduce your production costs significantly.

In short, remote filming is a way of shooting video content without physically being on location.

So how is that possible?

Well, there’s loads of great online recording studios out there that can capture top quality video.

Our favourite here at seven is Riverside fm, which produces a much better quality image than using platforms such as Teams or Zoom. It can be used to capture any interview anywhere in the world. Case studies are a great example of how you can use remote filming to make savings for any case study.

The most important aspect is what your client says, not how they look.

So if you went down this route, it not only helps to reduce your costs, but it can also help them to look more authentic than some of the more polished versions.

They also provide a great way of capturing interviews from your clients or staff anywhere in the world, and therefore reducing any travel costs and significantly reducing your carbon footprint along the way.

Are spontaneous video shoots draining your budget?

Well, the answer is quite possibly. The next tip is all about effective planning.

Now, I know it sounds like a really obvious one, but it can have the biggest impact.

We see it time and time again where we’ll go to site to film something for one department, then have to go back a couple of weeks later to shoot something for another, both of which could have probably been done on the same day if they’d have been planned properly.

So it’s really important to be speaking across different departments to ensure that you’re getting the most value for money on your video projects.

Another benefit to these discussions is that a video that’s already been created could be repurposed for a different audience, industry or department saving you the cost of creating a new video.

So it’s really important to be speaking internally so you’re not doubling up on costs as production costs can rack up if they’re not properly planned. It’s also worth thinking about what you need at the end of the project. So do you need the videos in different formats for social media or do they need subtitling or will you need access to the raw video files at the end?

If you make your video agency aware of this at the start of the project, it tends to work out much cheaper if it’s agreed up front as opposed to asking after the fact when it involves a lot more work.

Repurposing and resharing content is hardly revolutionary, but it can have a huge impact when it comes to keeping your cost down and getting the most value out of your video project. A single video can provide lots of different content and an opportunity to create multiple videos. It’s much easier to do this during the pre-production and planning stages as opposed to after the fact. So think with the end in mind if there are three key messages in the video that you are creating. Can these be created into shorter versions focused on specific points? There’s loads of AI software out there today that can now turn longer form content into lots of shorter form videos in a matter of minutes. So video agencies can now do this at a fraction of the cost for you to make sure you’re asking them about it. Repurposing video content is much more than just creating shorter videos from longer ones, though you can repurpose the same video by changing the text or graphics that are overlaid to create new videos for different industries, different audiences and different markets. Also, don’t be afraid to share the videos. You are creating multiple times across multiple platforms. Your audience doesn’t see your videos as much as you think they do, so make sure you’re getting as many eyes as possible on your content.

Working on a retainer basis with your video agency will help you to keep costs down in the long run.

Now, if you’re serious about creating a lot of videos over the next few months, I’d certainly recommend exploring retainers with your video agency.

The benefits you’ll likely see are that your videos will get turned around quicker, the quality will improve, and you’ll be paying less on a monthly basis.

From our experience, we can provide much greater value for money to our clients. When working on a retainer basis.

Your video agency will get to understand you, what works and what doesn’t, and then be able to turn your videos around quicker and ultimately provide more value.

Now, these wouldn’t be suitable if you only have a couple of projects in mind over the next year, but if video plays a big part of your marketing plan, it’s certainly worth having that conversation.

If you work in the channel or sell other company’s products, it’s really important to ask them to contribute to the videos that you are creating.

For example, when creating a case study, it can be structured in such a way that it promotes both your vendor’s product as well as promoting the service that your company has provided.

It’s win-win for both parties, so it’s really important to be asking them for some money towards it as ultimately you are promoting their product.

It’s also important to be speaking with your vendors to understand what videos they’ve already got as you don’t want to be creating something that already exists.

So if they have any suitable videos and access to the raw video files, those videos can easily be repurposed for your business and your potential customers at a fraction of the cost.

So get speaking to them and see where you can make some savings.

Life is all about compromise, right?

And it’s no different than working on video projects.

You need to understand where you can compromise.

Generally speaking, it’s pretty difficult to get everything you want.

So for example, you’re not going to get a top quality video turned around in a couple of days at a really cheap price point. It’s just not possible. There has to be a compromise.

So you really need to think about your video project and understand which aspects are non-negotiables and which ones are nice to haves. So for example, if your non-negotiables are the budget and a quick turnaround, there may need to be some compromise on the quality.

The same applies to a top quality video and a quick turnaround. If they are the non-negotiables, then it’s likely you’re going to have to pay a little more to achieve that.

So have a proper think about what’s more important to you and you’ll end up getting a much better deal as a result.

Expand your video capabilities by partnering with video agencies that specialise in different areas.

Everyone specialises in something different, so make sure you’ve got complimentary partners that can deliver everything you need.

So you may use your in-house videographer to create regular social media content and then partner with an agency to create higher end content that sits on your website.

Having different options provides a much greater opportunity to not only save money, but to continue delivering top quality videos suitable for different platforms.

So speak to different agencies, understand what they specialise in, and pick the right ones that are going to be able to give you what you need.