Thursday, August 23, 2012

Think of it as... cost per wear!

Video is expensive.  As a freelance filmmaker, I frequently task myself with tactfully educating my client as to the real cost of making video.  For example, the professional audio gear is not an upgrade.  It's like seat belts.  You need that.

From the production of the short film Nicky.
Its not unusual for a client to come back and say "well, it doesn't have to be that good."

In response to that, I'd like to borrow a piece of sales wisdom from the clothing retail industry.  Like in clothing, video frequently must address pricing concerns with the customer who thinks they can save a couple bucks through lowered expectations. 

I want to save people the mistake of making a poor decision that they will regret in two weeks when they don't get the views they were expecting.  This goes beyond production values and has more to do with developing a story or narrative that will retain an audience long enough to receive your message.

Don't think of it in terms of cost per video.  Think of it in terms of cost per views.  If you can double your views simply by incrementing your budget, your cost per view will go down.  You'll get more traction out of that video content.  You'll look back on the entire process having a better feeling about the whole thing.