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Home: Video University Forums: Marketing & Business:
Corporate Video questions...(long)

Rene Defayette
Novice

Jul 19, 2004, 11:58 AM

Post #1 of 6 (1664 views)
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Corporate Video questions...(long)	Can't Post

I've been approached by my insurance/investor guy to provide him and his company with a demo video outlining the persons in his company, their specialties, the services they offer etc. I'm thinking it will be approximately a 5 minute video.

Here are my questions...

1. He would like a "screen shot" view of a computer screen showing people how to navigate their web site to access their own accounts. Is there a way to get great video of this other than shooting the screen over one's shoulders?

2. I'm thinking of doing the pricing in segments, breaking down each segment like an "option" so, if he chooses not to go a particular route at this time, he can opt not to. What would you charge for such a demo? There will be time to write out the dialogue script as well within the project which I think we should be charging for too.

3. This one's the biggy! He would like a compressed, high quality version of this 5 minute demo that he can email to clients and potential clients. Now, the businessman in me tells me, the exposure and promotional use he will get from this is HUGE (think about his savings over print media?) and for this, I believe he should be paying a premium. I feel it's almost like "broadcast rights". How does everyone out there feel about this and do they have any ideas on what sort of a premium I should be charging for this?

Keep in mind that they are connected to a very large, international organization, however, each office is run independantly so I'm sure budget is going to be a factor here. I don't want to lose the business by pricing ourselves out of the gig, but I don't want to be doing it so cheap we insult ourselves if you know what I mean.

If there are any other issues that I should be aware/concerned of, please feel free to inform me of them!

Thanks to all in advance for your advice and help!

ren.

videobear
Veteran

Jul 19, 2004, 3:01 PM

Post #2 of 6 (1654 views)
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Re: [Rene Defayette] Corporate Video questions...(long) [In reply to]	Can't Post

1. I think a video that both "introduces the people in the company" and also "shows how to navigate the website" is going to exceed five minutes by a goodly margin. I'd guess fifteen to thirty seconds for each "introduction" and ten to fifteen minutes for the website intro.

2. Even if it's only five minutes, it's probably going to be too big to email to clients. However, it could be a streaming video file, or two files (About Us and How To Use This Site) placed on the company website.

3. There are software utilities (such as Lotus Screen Cam, bundled in SmartSuite) that record screen actions. If you are shooting the screen, use an LCD monitor instead of a CRT, to eliminate strobing between the screen refresh cycle and your shutter.

3. If you do a corporate piece, you should absolutely have a written contract. In it, be sure to specify who gets what rights. If you are an independent contractor, in the absence of the contract saying different, you own the copyright to the finished work. If you are an employee, or your contract specifies you're doing a "work for hire", the client owns the rights.

4. I wouldn't charge extra just because the piece is being "broadcast", or in this case "webcast". However, I'd charge for script development, meetings with the client, production, post, and compression for the Web. This short piece could net you a very nice piece of change.

Regards,
Doug Graham
Panda Productions

Rene Defayette
Novice

Jul 19, 2004, 6:38 PM

Post #3 of 6 (1640 views)
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Re: [videobear] Corporate Video questions...(long) [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for the feeback Doug!
ren.

CJBianco
User

Jul 20, 2004, 4:31 PM

Post #4 of 6 (1597 views)
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Re: [Rene Defayette] Corporate Video questions...(long) [In reply to]	Can't Post

"There will be time to write out the dialogue script as well within the project which I think we should be charging for too."

Definitely charge for the script. As a professional (day job) corporate scriptwriter, I can't stress enough the importance of the script. Your client should expect to be paying about 10% of his budget to script alone.

"He would like a compressed, high quality version of this 5 minute demo that he can email to clients and potential clients. Now, the businessman in me tells me, the exposure and promotional use he will get from this is HUGE (think about his savings over print media?) and for this, I believe he should be paying a premium. I feel it's almost like "broadcast rights". How does everyone out there feel about this and do they have any ideas on what sort of a premium I should be charging for this?"

I work very closely with several large (Forbes/Fortune) companies and their production houses, and they sometimes create videos strictly for web use. They never pay more for this. In fact, they pay less, because they aren't charged for supplies/time involved in DVD/VCD/VHS duplication. Now if you are doing both DVD duplication AND web, and have to spend extra time recompressing/preparing the video specifically for the web, then yes. Charge per hour spent on the extra recompressing/preparing. IMHO.

Chris =)

Sony PD150, Sony PDX10, Sennheiser ME66/67, AKG PR81, Bogen 3246/501, Bogen 755B/700RC2, Promax Steady Tracker, Varizoom VZ-Rock, Various Custimizations, FCPHD, DVDSP2, Toast Titanium 6, Swingers DVD (Widescreen)

kevin
User

Jul 20, 2004, 4:53 PM

Post #5 of 6 (1595 views)
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Re: [Rene Defayette] Corporate Video questions...(long) [In reply to]	Can't Post

If you are going to be rolling and cutting between camera and screen capture then I'd add one more thing to what Doug has suggested. Make sure that the screen capture software you decide to use allows for an audio voice over while capturing your screen output. That way you can plug a mic into the sound card and sync up your computer screen video with the camera video by using a clicker or some other sound.

Kevin

hlanden
The Dean / Moderator

Jul 20, 2004, 5:13 PM

Post #6 of 6 (1590 views)
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Re: [kevin] Corporate Video questions...(long) [In reply to]	Can't Post

Be sure to charge for all your time and make sure the client understands this by having him or her sign a letter of agreement. See my Letters of Agreement for Ambitious Producers at
http://videouniversity.com/contofer.htm

A good contract can prevent problems, make you more money and protect both you and your client.
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