In this guest piece, Daniel Littlepage (pictured below), 90 Seconds’ managing director for Australia and New Zealand, shares his top tips on how to produce high-quality video content without the hefty price tag.

Until recently, producing video content was a time-consuming and a costly process. In the past, the only way to produce content was through a creative agency or production house. Equipment was hugely expensive and hard to use, and edit suites were multi-million dollar facilities within expensive post-production facilities. But, with the impact of new technologies and cloud content tools and platforms, this has all changed.

Marketers can now connect directly with video creative professionals, including videographers, directors, editors, producers, animators, drone operators, and photographers, which has meant that many savvy brands are rethinking their overall video content budget and content strategies. The following three tips will help ensure a high-quality video outcome without the high price tag or budget blowouts.

1. Demand a fixed and transparent quote for every shoot

When engaging a video team, make sure you request an itemised list of exactly how much everything will cost to avoid a stack of add-ons, such as catering or unnecessary bodies on set. Video is a highly scalable medium, so this means that production can work with whatever your budget may be. The complexity of a shoot should be tailored to your budget, so being upfront with your video team about cost expectations will help to ensure your project isn’t over scoped.

2. Take responsibility for providing a solid brief

Time is money, so when it comes to shooting video, it’s important that you take responsibility for providing your video production company with a detailed brief. The more input you provide upfront into your expectations and the objectives, the better. Providing examples of similar content you like will help guide output, as your video partner will be able to manage your expectations versus budget based on these examples. Project creep also happens when briefs change once production has begun. Make sure you are completely happy with the creative and concept before you start shooting. It’s impossible to get the best outcome if you’re trying to fix things post-shoot. And make sure there isn’t anyone doing any extra babysitting of the video content agency and shadowing their every move, as it will cost you double in project management fees.

3. Be realistic about quality and channels 

It’s important to be realistic about the quality of video you really need to produce for your target audience. A video doesn’t need to be TVC quality with a TVC price tag if it’s going to sit on a corporate website or be used in a social media campaign. Be careful you are not being overcharged for higher production value than you really need. Think about the life span of the video, as you may want to invest a little more if you are going to use the video in a multichannel environment.

Using a video creation platform enables you to access great talent at better rates (many of whom also work for the big video production and advertising agencies) and helps you manage the overall production process. These types of platforms provide workflow efficiencies to help make life easier when producing content at scale, and also save valuable time and money. Keep in the mind the tips above and you’ll be producing excellent video content for a fraction of the cost and with minimum fuss.