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I know, you thought I was going to talk about Scar’s famous song from the Lion King, but sadly no. However, if you want to imagine this article being read by Jeremy Irons, then go right ahead! All joking aside, preparation is the key to any successful ___(fill in the blank)____. Just ask any Boy Scout! It could be a speech or a presentation. It could be a football or soccer game. It could even be your next trip to Disney (which is something I’m preparing for now) and no, no more Lion King references. But because we create video content, we’ll stick with what we know….preparing for a video shoot.
The late, great Zig Ziglar talks about the importance of preparation and said he had done hundreds of motivational talks, but spent 6 hours the day before preparing for the one he was currently giving (at the time). He went on to say, “I believe it would be arrogant for me to think I could just stand up and give one of my talks spontaneously, regardless of how many times I’ve done it before. Not to prepare would be arrogant, and that’s when Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson.” For the younger generation, that’s exactly what happened.
I know it would be easy for me and the team here at AIS to just say we can “throw together” a production quickly because we did it the week before. But, that would be arrogant - and I’m hoping that never creeps into our DNA around here. You see, we’re in the business to give you what you want through the vehicle of video. What I mean is, you may have a brand that brings out a certain kind of emotion when people think of it and need a video to express that. Or maybe you’re just starting a new business and still trying to figure out how to speak to your audience with the right kind of emotion. I believe that a good video marketing & production company should be able help you figure these things out and build the right kind of content that evokes the right emotion. Now, I realize not everyone in video does the same things well. Some video creators lean towards the technical side of things, and some lean on the story telling side of things, but in either case they need to prepare for the shoot and make that experience efficient and unique.
Our process will always start with discovery. Getting to know you, your services and or your product. As well as who you’re trying to attract, and what your overall goal is with the video(s). Our part is to get you from Point A to Point…well…Z. And that takes preparation. We’re going to help you develop the script and make sure that either you or the talent is prepared for the shoot. We prep our crew to make sure everyone knows who’s job is what and where to be. We prep the equipment the day before to make sure everything is running properly. We prep and prep. And we believe if the foundation or “pre-production” is strong, then production day will be smooth sailing.
So whether you’re a video producer or someone seeking to work with a video content creator, remember the key to any successful production shoot is preparation, preparation, preparation.