Risks in Video Production and How to Mitigate Them

 

Video marketing is an effective way to draw eyes onto your products and engage your audience. This much is clear. But in a sea of other brands with similar products and services, it is still challenging to stand out. It’s easy to think that brands should take more risks with their ad designs to break boundaries and grab attention.

 

But aside from any risks you take with your marketing ideas, there are risks to be considered in video production generally. If you’re taking a plunge into video production for your business, it’s good to know the risks and how to mitigate them.

 

Without further ado, that’s what we’ll tackle in this article!

PR Risks

 

When you start planning an extensive marketing campaign for your brand, it’s vital to do the necessary market research. This ensures your ad will be tonally and topically appropriate for your audience and deliver the intended message. You can probably think of a few advertisements that backfired and were very poorly received. 

 

Creating a compelling story requires a careful writing hand to design a script that evokes the right emotions.

 

Before you start with video marketing, refine your marketing strategy as a whole. Establish what values and personality traits you want to embody with your ads.

 

Equipment Issues

 

Another risk you can mitigate quickly by doing your research and expanding your budget is any equipment failures.

This doesn’t just refer to equipment breaking down. You should have a backup solution for this eventuality. But inadequate equipment may also simply lead to bad production value. A poorly shot video ad is unlikely to do your business any favours and looks unprofessional.

 

Renting professional equipment is critical. Keep in mind that in some instances, video production will also require expensive software and capable computers for rendering and secure storage of your video assets.

Risks During Production

 

Many businesses keep their budget at the forefront of their thinking. This leads them to work on their own instead of consulting with video production companies.

 

You can easily hire the right equipment for small, internal projects. But there are a few risks involved with the production process that might apply.

 

The risks you want to look out for are:

• The personal safety of your crew and actors. Sets have many cables, hot lights and other equipment lying around and occasionally sit in the dark. This means you need to manage health and safety risks during production carefully. Carry out a risk assessment and mark paths and dangers.
• Distractions during production. If you want to save time and money, you can’t afford distractions to interrupt your shoot constantly. Calculate likely distractions beforehand so you can prevent what is possible. Your business in the background might have to cease operations for a while to achieve a distraction-free environment.
• Keep in mind the risks of the environment, such as weather. They can pose a danger to your production and equipment. In the summer, your team will quickly get dehydrated, so provide plenty of water and sunscreen. In the winter, there is a risk of slipping on ice and general warmth to consider.
• If you’re filming out in public, there is a risk that personal belongings or equipment can go missing. When working near a crowd, always have some security available to watch over your stuff.

 

Risks in Publishing

 

There are processes and terms to observe whilst you shoot video ads. Once your video is published and exposed to a broad audience, you might draw the attention of the press and courts if you didn’t observe them.

 

Here are some of the risks to keep in mind from the start:

• Intellectual Property. Ensure your marketing department has sourced all music, footage and other content legally and with a commercial license. Otherwise, courts might take action, and you won’t like the attention you receive. You can store all IP paperwork in one system to have these at hand should issues arise.
• If possible, avoid “free” video and audio repositories. These often include other terms and conditions that make it difficult to share them with a broad audience. Many stock video libraries and music libraries have affordable subscriptions and are safer to use.
• If you’re recording strangers, secure their permission. If you’re recording in public areas belonging to a town, confirm the consent of authorities in that region, also. Educate yourself on consent requirements to stay compliant.

 

How to Mitigate these Risks

 

With a careful risk assessment ahead of time, you can complete small video production projects for your business. But if you want to create a campaign that will put your brand on the map in a bigger way, we recommend working with a production company.

 

They have access to the market research, crew, equipment, software, asset libraries, and experience to mitigate the risks above effectively.

 

High Stakes Films is a video production company based in London. We see our clients through from the initial brief to the final delivery of ground-breaking video campaigns so that you can be bold in your creativity without the risk. 

 

Get in touch today to talk about your project idea!