Momentum: Maintaining, Motion, and Marketing
Here’s another perspective on the “moving into video” trend that I first blogged about back in July.
Both videographers and photographers are now actively
pitching their clients on their new DSLR-HD
capabilities. They’re sending out marketing messages
inviting their clients to see them as a “one-stop
shopping” solution when it comes to digital content.
But how do you take on a video project when you’re not
an experienced video producer?
If you deliver a product that is any less professional
than your mainstay service offering you’re cutting your
own throat.
If you create a digital video that takes hours of post
production to clean up, you weaken your client
relationship, e.g. just like the videographer who “does
not know what they don’t know” could screw up when it
comes the file prep of a still image.
Most photographers fully understand the issues involved
in image prep for usage on a billboard vs. in print.
But that same photographer might “not know what they
don’t know” when it comes to post-production issues
related to creating motion content destined for broadcast
vs. smart-phone video.
The ground under the foundation of your business
relationship, starts to shift. Your relationship was
built on the implicit assumption that as a professional
photographer you can always meet your client’s needs.
Delivery doubt creeps in. If a client asks you to shoot
video “while you’re at it…” it may be wiser to turn
the offer down. Better to refer them to a trusted video
producer and manage that relationship on behalf of your
client, if you can. From the client’s perspective you’d
still be a great problem-solver.
Maintaining your client relationships while building
your motion skill set requires a big commitment. To get
far enough beyond the learning curve to start safely
marketing video production services to your existing
client base, you’re going to need a strategy for moving
into new media.
As it’s been said before in many of the forums,
producing a behind-the-scenes (BTS) video is one of the
best ways to start and stay close to your client.
First, create a BTS telling your business story. Build
tech proficiency by taking apart videos that inspire
you. Do a shot-by-shot analysis. Look at the mix of
camera angles, lighting, lensing, audio and music cues
that move the story along, the pacing of the edits, and
finally, how does the story start, build, and end? Do
you have the necessary story-boarding skills?
Once confident in that arena, move to creating a BTS of
one of your client’s projects. It’s the next logical
step. And it keeps you close to your client.
For video BTS inspiration: check out
http://fstoppers.com or search Google or vimeo.com for
“BTS video photoshoot”. If you’re at the beginning and
confused about what gear to get, here’s a good
buyer’s guide.