Audiovisual production is one of the terms that has been gaining strength in recent times until now. Not because it did not exist before, but because the benefits it brings to brands are increasingly discovered. If you are asking yourself, How can videos make my company grow, or What does an audiovisual production company do? Then we invite you to continue reading this post.
what is audiovisual production?
Every good audiovisual production company knows that audiovisual production is not only the recording and production of a video, it is much more. We can say that audiovisual production is nothing more than the art of transmitting everything we want to communicate through audiovisual tools, which do not have to be exclusively video.
According to Wikipedia itself, audiovisual production "is the production of content for audiovisual media, especially film, photography and television, regardless of the medium used (film, video, digital video) and genre (fiction, documentary, advertising, etc.)".
Therefore, if we join both definitions, we get the conclusion that audiovisual production is a way of communicating either for the media or for our own clients. Videos have nowadays a very important role in our society, it is a way of visualising what we want to inform about. Therefore, companies that are taking advantage of this repercussion and are using corporate videos or any other audiovisual production service, are increasing their number of sales.
But first, we must talk about the stages of audiovisual production, through which our idea becomes an advertising video that we can launch.
- pre-production: As its name suggests, pre-production is those ideas, tasks and projects that are carried out before producing our audiovisual piece. It is the first phase of audiovisual production and we could say that it is also the most important .
In this phase of audiovisual production we will need our team (or that of the audiovisual production company we work with) to take on the different roles to be developed. First of all, we will need a scriptwriter. The scriptwriter must prepare a first literary script (if we do not have one) that will help us to identify the technical, artistic and narrative needs. In addition, from the first moment, the promoter must have a financing plan specifying where the resources will come from (investors, grants, own sources...) and how they will be distributed.
In other words, the scriptwriter is a fundamental part of the audiovisual production company's team, because he or she will be in charge of developing the idea we have in mind, giving it a structure and a way of expressing it through the video that will later be seen on screen.
It will also be important, during pre-production, to draw up a production plan where the objectives are set by weeks (which will be adapted) and, obviously, other professional profiles will have to join the team, such as the director, producer, director of photography... From here, the approach will be agreed, the existing needs will be assessed and the technical script and storyboard will begin to be designed.
The technical script will be the document used by the audiovisual production company to define the piece and where the story is converted into concrete images, with technical information for each shot. On the other hand, the storyboard will be the illustrated script, a set of drawings or vignettes that allow the action to be previewed within those shots.
Una vez que hemos realizado estas funciones pasaremos a la siguiente etapa del trabajo, pero que todavía forma parte de la fase de preproducción. Llegados a este punto, en el que tenemos un guion y la idea desarrollada para llevarla a cabo, debemos plantearnos: “¿Con qué recursos la voy a llevar a cabo?”, “Tengo los medios suficientes o necesitaré alquilar un equipo de producción?” “¿Cuántos actores necesito?”. A partir de ese momento, se organizarán castings para encontrar actores, se seleccionará personal técnico y de soporte para los distintos equipos, se buscarán localizaciones de rodaje, se empezará a trabajar en la escenografía y el atrezo… En una productora audiovisual, cada departamento se responsabilizará de su parte, pero su coordinación recaerá sobre el equipo de producción. Este equipo también se encargará de proporcionar los recursos necesarios para que la producción audiovisual avance, así como de diseñar la estrategia de distribución de nuestra pieza audiov
In short, the pre-production phase allows us to prepare everything that will be necessary to start filming, that is to say, as much work as possible is advanced and everything is planned in detail, meticulously, so that later the filming plan can be fulfilled. Organisation will be key to achieving a quality audiovisual work.
- production or shooting: The time has come: we have the script, the actors, the resources, the means, the equipment... All that remains is to get down to work on our audiovisual project. This next stage is called production, but it is also commonly known as shooting, since it is the stage in which this act is carried out .
Undoubtedly, the shooting will be the most complicated part of the whole audiovisual production, so we recommend you to be patient: unforeseen events and inconveniences (imponderables) will arise that do not depend on the audiovisual production company, but we must know how to overcome them.
In addition, knowing how to anticipate problems or how to solve them quickly will help us to avoid having to invest more money than estimated in our project. The production time has already been established, and losing days of shooting due to unforeseen events will cost us more money than established.
For this reason, it is important to draw up a daily shooting order, a document that is filled out by the assistant director and where everything necessary for filming that day is compiled, whatever it may be, to avoid problems later on. Also essential is the script, a professional who is in charge of supervising and guaranteeing continuity, that nothing is out of place and that the established plan is followed.
- post-production: The last phase of any audiovisual production is post-production: when the filming is finished and we have to give shape to our piece .
Post-production allows us to review the quality of the recorded material and turn it into a fluid narrative where the different fragmented scenes make sense. This process is also commonly known as editing. Here the images are also adjusted (colour, light...) and the sound is treated (noise reduction...) to make the most of all its communicative capacity. Post-production also involves adding visual, sound or special effects if necessary and also incorporating the credits that compile the names of all the professionals and entities that have participated in the audiovisual production.
In short, if you have a 360 audiovisual production company, in this last technical phase any dissonant aspect will be adjusted without any problem to provide a definitive version of the work.
Post-production usually requires the participation of a group of highly specialised professionals, from editors to experts in colour and sound retouching. Depending on the purpose of our video, its length... we will need a greater or lesser number of staff.
Audiovisual production services
As we have mentioned during the explanation of audiovisual production: an audiovisual piece does not only have to be a video as we know it.
When we talk about using audiovisual production for our company, we refer to different ways of doing it. We can use the corporate video tool to sell ourselves to our audience, but we can also create video marketing campaigns to sell some of our products or services.
Moreover, an audiovisual piece does not have to be exclusively with actors or use real images; we can produce a motion graphics video to tell a story in an illustrated and animated way.
The possibilities provided by an audiovisual production company are very broad, so we are going to detail what each one of them consists of:
- Corporate video: Corporate videos are intended to sell or describe a company, without describing a particular product or service. In this way, the history of the company is described and narrated, what it consists of, what its mission is, what values it wants to transmit... Sometimes, corporate videos are also used to describe not only where the company is at the moment but where it intends to go: its future aspirations. When a company makes a corporate video, it is because it wants its viewers to understand the values of the brand and the general culture of the company, through which all its projects are guided.
Corporate videos are intended to explain the company to people who may not be familiar with it, who have never heard of it, etc. The idea behind corporate videos is to serve as an introduction for the user, and they can even be used as an introductory video for potential employees, as companies can also use corporate videos as a way of explaining the company's mission and vision to the wider communities.
For this very reason, corporate videos allow us to immerse ourselves in the company and make us want to learn more about their projects and services, especially if we have identified with their corporate vision. In this way, users will become potential customers.
- Motion graphics: Literally translated as "graphics in motion", motion graphics is also a tool that has been increasingly used by companies .
An audiovisual production company specialising in motion graphics is used to tell a story through animation. Its use has become increasingly popular, due to the fact that it is proving its ability to have an impact on people. In this way, the illustrations or cartoons used give the story a more dynamic and imaginative function, which generates a positive impact on the user, as well as a greater capacity to remember it. Are you not one of those who easily remember the cartoons of your childhood? Surely you are! That is why motion graphics not only seek to impact on the user's perception, but also on their memory so that the brand remains, persistently, in their memory. This way we achieve a greater impact.
The limits of motion graphics are as wide as those of design itself. The same goes for styles: you can achieve serious and elegant effects or fun and eye-catching ones to suit the message you want to convey as a brand.
With illustrated objects, characters and backgrounds, motion graphics move, interact and transform in a way that tells a story, giving designers a vehicle to let their imagination run wild and facilitate the use of visual metaphors that give the viewer a unique perspective on a particular company.
- Animated GIFs: Another thing that has been discovered with the rise of audiovisual pieces has been the use and impact of GIFs. Animated GIFs are a very useful tool that allows the company to impact the user in a shorter and more direct way, which has been recognised as having a very positive impact .
We are sure you know what a GIF is and that you have used more than one, especially on social networks such as Whatsapp, Facebook or Twitter, where users use them to interact with each other. Sometimes, GIFs are a fragment of a video, which has been enabled to weigh the same as an image, but is displayed as a short video. On other occasions, GIFs are nothing more than a succession of images that when joined together create a sequence, which is concentrated in a short but animated video.
Often these animations are taken from well-known film clips and TV programmes and include text superimposed on the animated image as a MEME. For this reason, the perception of their use may seem limited to the language of young people, entertainment or humour. But they can also be used by companies themselves to attract customers.
Animated GIFs are also part of the range of creations of an audiovisual 360 production company because they have the ability to create an emotional impact on the receiver: sending the right message through a GIF can motivate, inspire, remind or provoke a positive reaction. Another advantage they offer is visual retention, just like motion graphics. An animated GIF is sometimes easier to create than a video and can complement and improve understanding of a product or service, for example.
In addition, animated GIFs can be uploaded and displayed within an email in the same way as you do with a normal image. In the case you want to display a video in an email, given the size of the file, you have to enter a link for playback outside the email, either on YouTube or another external platform. If the recipient of the email does not click on the link, it will be lost. Therefore, in this way you ensure that the message you want to convey has reached the recipient and has been viewed.
- Video marketing campaigns: Video marketing is a very effective resource to attract the attention of users and your future potential customers, as well as to increase the engagement ofyour digital marketing campaign.
When we develop a marketing campaign to sell a product or service, we do not usually take into account the idea of including a video that helps us to complement it. However, not doing so is a mistake, since videos generate a greater impact on the user than a text that they have to read. For example, imagine you want to explain how a service you sell in your company works. Count on your audiovisual production company! If the user receives a dynamic video that explains it, they will feel that they are talking to the brand itself. On the contrary, if they have to read a long paragraph, in many occasions they will not do it or they will find the information more complex and diffuse.
In addition, within the video marketing category we can find many types of videos that will serve to communicate from our company:
- Demonstrative videos of products or services: They show the advantages of a product or service and its main characteristics and serve as audiovisual reinforcement to express the value proposition of the product and thus encourage sales .
- Training videos and video tutorials: These are explanatory videos that aim to explain some functionality of the company's services or products .
- Event videos: They show the company's presence at an event and summarise what happened at the event. They usually have a dynamic montage and background music to transmit the sensations experienced at the event to the attendees and interested parties.
- Advertising videos: These are the ones we know and see on television used by brands to sell their products and services. However, with the advent of new technologies, these videos can be distributed through many other channels: ads on social networks, YouTubevideos..
Advantages of hiring an audiovisual production company
Now you know the types of audiovisual productions that you can use for your company. However, you probably have some doubts: "Will it really be profitable to invest in resources and efforts? It is normal that you wonder about it. However, the data provided by the numerous studies that are being carried out nowadays could help you out. Without going any further, Wyzowl carried out some studies on video marketing that show the following data:
- 96% of people say they have watched an explanatory video to find out more about the product or service.
- 79% of people say a brand's video has convinced them to buy a software or application.
- 68% of people say they would prefer to learn about a new product or service by watching a short video. This makes video a more popular learning tool than text-based articles, infographics, presentations and pitches, e-books and manuals.
- 84% of marketers say that video has helped increase traffic to their website.
- 81% of marketers say video has helped generate leads.
In short, audiovisual production brings numerous benefits for our brand, but to do so while getting the most out of our ideas, we need an audiovisual production company.
Audiovisual production companies will be in charge of working with us on the concept that our company wants to tell. They will propose a budget and will be in charge of creating our story, just as we imagine it.
Having an audiovisual production company to make corporate videos is a fantastic solution for businesses. This type of content is one of the best ways to reach customers and guide them to make a purchase of a product or service.
In addition, working with an audiovisual production company to develop our marketing videos offers infinite advantages that will have a direct impact on our company's sales. If we invest in video marketing and audiovisual production, we are investing in the future of our company.
The advantages offered to our company by hiring an audiovisual production company are:
- A new way of marketing: As we have been telling in the previous examples, video marketing campaigns offer us a way to innovate. It is a more dynamic, attractive and fun marketing for the users who receive it .
It is a different way of showing your business to others, telling the story of the brand through animations or corporate videos will give us a different value as a company. In addition, and knowing the positive impact that videos have on the public, including videos in our company will give us a distinction among the competition. This will directly influence the way in which we will become leaders in our sector.
Also, through videos we can create personalised content for our buyer personas, we will direct our entire commercial strategy towards them, as established by the inbound marketing strategy. What more could you ask for?
- Telling our story: Another of the advantages of being assisted by an audiovisual production company, as we have mentioned above, is the possibility of telling the story of our company in the most attractive way. When the user receives this information in the form of video, we are impacting more on their attention on us. In addition, the possibility that they feel related to the culture of the company, they identify themselves, is greater. Therefore, we are gaining a greater likelihood that the lead becomes a user of our brand, then a potential customer and then a loyal customer.
- Easy for the audience: I'm sure you know many people, if you are not one of them, who say that they prefer to wait for a good book until the film comes out. It usually happens, many people prefer the visual format to the reading mode. This is why videos are revolutionising the marketing world .
Video marketing is much easier to internalise than reading a book. It is simply more enjoyable and allows the viewer to relax. People like them partly because they don't require too much effort, they can concentrate more easily and it allows them to see what they are being told about illustrated.
- Calls to action: Your media production company will tell you that an effective video marketing campaign should end with a powerful call to action. They should be used to prompt the viewer to visit the website for more information about the brand and product. If the message is executed correctly, it can generate a significant increase in conversion traffic to your website.
- Influences SEO positioning: SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a series of content optimisation strategies that aim to improve our position in search engines for certain search terms in order to increase traffic to our website .
Therefore, the strategies we use to position our website will be SEO techniques that will not only drive more traffic to our website, but also improve other features.
If we use videos on our website, our business will appear more in search engines than those that do not. It is more likely that your customers will find your website first, that is, above your competitors. This is a very important advantage since positioning ourselves in the first search results of search engines, especially Google (for being the most used in our country) will give us a very important prestige as a brand, above our competition. Internet consumption habits show that 75% of users only consult the first three search results, so appearing there offers us endless possibilities of visibility and, therefore, of business.
- appear on social networks: One of the best reasons to hire an audiovisual production company and produce a corporate video is that it can be shared on social networks. If it is convincing enough, it can lead to comments and discussions about your business. It works as an excellent free advertising campaign, your customers can share your video and encourage word-of-mouth marketing, which can be so beneficial for your brand .
This can be a great way to attract new customers to your brand. The more people who share your videos, the greater the reach of potential customers who see and interact with your business.
- creative awareness: What makes video production so special is that it combines images with audio, simulating a real-life experience. This format can help consumers feel like they have experienced a product, even if they have never bought it. In addition, they can include music to enhance mood and intensity.
- psychology of emotions: As we have mentioned throughout the post, videos generate a very positive impact on users, so influencing the psychology of emotions can help us. It is not about being intrusive with the user, but to ensure that the videos generate a positive experience, that they have a good concept of our brand and that our image remains in their memory .
what do you think of all these advantages? As you can see, there are many creative possibilities offered by working with an audiovisual production company, as well as the ability to have a greater impact on our users, which will make it easier for us to convert them into customers.
As we already know, the purpose of any inbound marketing campaign is to attract, interact and delight our potential customers, who are at the centre of our business strategies. However, to achieve this goal we must be up to date with new trends that may arise, be updated and make the lead feel part of our brand. Either way (whether we do it internally or with the help of an audiovisual production company), videos help in an outstanding way.
Audiovisual production company: Occam Agencia Digital
At Occam Agencia Digital we can make all your projects a reality. As an audiovisual production company, we aim to tell our clients' stories and make their brand more prominent.
We know how important it is for the brands and companies that contact us that the story they have in mind is told in the best possible way. That's why we offer different services, adapting to different requests and formats. For example:
- Corporate video, presenting your values, facilities, products, services, processes and experiences in a simple, truthful and approachable way.
- Motion Graphics (2D and 3D), combining photography, text, audio, graphic design and video in an attractive and dynamic way.
- Animated GIFs. Support animations and give a fun touch to your messages. Attractive, brief, creative and efficient. Your users will understand it in a matter of seconds.
- Tutorials and training pills: Create manuals, FAQs videos, How to's, learning guides and much more .
- Testimonial videos. Let your customers give their opinion. It is a perfect audiovisual resource to tell experiences, stories or opinions of the brand. Gain confidence.
- Events: Opening a new business, celebrating a meeting with your suppliers, a flashmob, immortalise the moment and generate brand image.
- 360º video. See life from another dimension to tell stories from every point of view. Call it immersive, spherical or a different panoramic view. It's video .
- Corporate webseries. Corporate fiction, we create your made-to-measure series. We combine creativity, formats and identifiable characters. The result? Emotions.
- Promos. Introduce a product, launch a campaign, capture a specific audience. You will reach them in an impactful way .
With these different services, we want to give prominence to the image of your brand. We know that what is not seen, does not seem to exist, so what better way to communicate than through video?
The possibilities of how you can use video are endless. Most people use it to promote and raise awareness of their company, but you can also use it to train your staff, communicate with your team, tell a story, promote a new product and record live events.
Tools used by an audiovisual production company for streamings
As we have already mentioned, it is important to keep up to date with trends, and in audiovisual production, it is no less important. Audiences are changing and adapting to new technologies and new trends.
One trend that is here to stay is streaming videos. The word streaming refers to the fact that it is a continuous stream (without interruption). The user can listen or watch whenever he wants. Streaming makes it possible to listen to music or watch videos without the need to download them beforehand.
Music, video and other types of media files are pre-organised and transmitted in sequential packets of data so that they can be streamed simultaneously. And, unlike traditional downloads that are saved on your device, media files are automatically deleted after they are played.
All you need to stream is a fast and reliable high-speed Internet connection, access to or subscription to a streaming service or application, and a compatible device.
On the other hand, there is live streaming, or live streaming as it is commonly known. Live streaming is the transmission of an event over the Internet as it happens. Award shows, sports, video games and special events are the most popular types of live streaming, with the variety of topics constantly increasing.
Social media platforms, for example, stream everything from celebrity events, promotions and lifestreaming to user-to-user streaming. You can live stream on any compatible smartphone, tablet, TV, computer or gaming console with a relatively fast internet connection.
Some web streaming tools offer the possibility to interact with the people who are attending the live stream. In most cases this interaction happens through a chat located on the same page where the live stream is displayed. The relationship and communication model that is generated from this type of interaction can improve many community management processes. Some tools in addition to the chat allow even visual interaction, which further increases the ability to generate better links and closeness between the people participating in the live event.
However, although it may seem very easy, the audiovisual production company that broadcasts in streaming must have quality tools. After all, a user can broadcast something simple in streaming, but audiovisual production companies are in charge of broadcasting concerts, events, etc. Lately they have become very important as a result of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, as many artists have offered concerts by this method, as they were unable to have a live audience. The same has happened with sporting matches, competitions, etc.
But what tools does the audiovisual production company use to broadcast in streaming?
- Camera: The camera must be capable of allowing live transmissions, as the video will be seen in delayed mode.
- Microphone: A microphone that allows us to pick up sound from the place where we are, but that does not echo the background sound, which can cloud the quality of the sound.
- Internet connection: We must have a powerful internet connection so that our video does not give errors, get stuck, etc.
- Choosing a platform: It is just as important to choose the streaming content as the platform on which we are going to place it.
There are many platforms available for streaming, the most used in Spain, and therefore, consumed by users are: -
Facebook Live has become by itself one of the references in the sector to broadcast any live event. You can broadcast your signal using a mobile phone, your laptop, a digital camera or even combining two devices at the same time.
This undoubtedly comes from the fact that Facebook, as a social network, is one of the most widely used and has the most users worldwide, being easy to navigate both from a smartphone and from a computer. In addition, it is already available on playback systems such as Apple TV, Google Chromecast, so the level of user experience can be high depending on the quality of the broadcast.
- YouTube Live: Another good way to get started in the world of streaming is through the service offered by YouTube
In fact, in the midst of the coronavirus, it is becoming another channel for live streaming of the daily data produced by the pandemic, and macro-concerts have been held worldwide, with thousands of artists performing their best-known songs from their homes. You can broadcast anything you want: e-sports games, yoga classes, podcasts, or even show the world your musical talents. To do this, you only need to have a verified user account on YouTube. Like Facebook Live, it is free to stream from there .
- TikTok: A social network that undoubtedly caused a sensation due to the novelty of the short video format where users share their experiences or any activity they carry out and, of course, allows live video broadcasting. In this way, users can broadcast live with their followers. The disadvantage is that, for now, it can only be done through mobile devices, as well as its visualisation.
- Twich: Who doesn't know Twich? That's the question we ask. Twitch is Amazon's streaming service, which is currently the most fashionable among young consumers due to the huge number of users who broadcast their daily adventures in video games and e-sports. However, although it was initially launched with this theme, there are more and more different themes that can be found on this network.
- Instagram Live: This is one of the closest forms to what would be a live performance or witnessing an event in the physical place. If you have a lot of followers on Instragam, it can be an interesting option for live broadcasting. However, like Tik Tok, it only allows us to do so through a mobile device.
There are many other platforms for streaming, but the data shows that these are the most used in our country. Any audiovisual production company that wants to be up to date must master this new trend.
We hope that this guide on audiovisual production and how to learn how to win more clients through video has helped you to get excited about video marketing! Occam Agencia Digital is your 360º audiovisual production company. We are waiting for you!
