Professional Video Production Is Not Always Affordable

As we have said before, producing a high-quality video is much more complicated than one might think.

Video production requires the work of skilled and experienced professionals – the writers, the technical team, the actors, the editors, the animators, etc. It’s also important to realise that the beautiful videos we see on TV or in cinemas are filmed using high-end equipment that costs a considerable amount of money.

To get a great looking video it is also necessary to control many other aspects such as the environment (which often must be a hired studio or special interior), the set, the props, the costumes, the makeup, and hair, etc. This all combined means that video production costs really can become unaffordable for many small businesses.

You Don’t Always Need the Highest Quality Video

You want to use promotional video production as part of your marketing strategy, but you don’t have the budget for pro production. Should you give up on the idea? No.

Don’t be afraid to go the DIY route. If you are ready to invest a bit of time in learning and a bit of money in purchasing some equipment, you can produce reasonably good promotional video productions even when shooting with an iPhone.

There even are successful short movies and full feature films out there that have been shot entirely on an iPhone.

Some types of promotional videos will even benefit from the feel of authenticity that using an iPhone brings to the video.

Types of Video That Can Work Even If Shot On an iPhone

Talking Head Videos

In talking head videos, the camera focuses on one speaker while he/she is delivering a message. The frame will usually consist of only the head and shoulders of the speaker.

You can shoot interviews, short “how-to” videos, “questions and answers” videos, sales videos, video testimonials, video emails and many other kinds of videos in this talking head style.

If done correctly, you can create a decent talking head video shooting with an iPhone and some extra accessories.

Vlogging or Behind the Scenes Videos

There are many video bloggers out there who use an iPhone to shoot their videos.

And you as a business can leverage the same tools and approach. Showing off bits of your business’s daily life doesn’t have to look incredibly professional. For the self-evident reason – this is the daily life of your business and people relate to the less professional videos as being more authentic. Still – you should invest time to learn how to shoot with an iPhone before attempting to create such videos otherwise you risk making your business seem cheap. You also must be ready to invest in at least some equipment.

Product Review Videos and Unboxing Videos

Although these videos are not a result of your own promotional video production efforts, we still wanted to include them in this list as they can be quite important for many businesses.

If your business is selling a physical product, you can encourage your customers to send in a product review videos and/or unboxing videos. These will most probably be shot on an iPhone or another smartphone.

You can even arrange a space for filming such videos in your own business premises and ask people to come in and shoot the video there. In this way, you will have more control over the quality of the video.

In fact, a study from a leading cross-platform measuring company ComScore concluded that professionally-produced video content and user-generated product videos exhibit strong synergy in driving sales effectiveness. In the context of this article that means small businesses should (where possible) invest in professional videos. But the simple, user-generated videos such as product review videos or unboxing videos can add trust in your product. And as a consequence, drive sales.

Conclusion

Professional video production can sometimes be too expensive for smaller businesses. But there are DIY alternatives out there. Videos shot on an iPhone can bring a feeling of authenticity that can in turn increase trust in your brand. Best way to leverage this DIY approach is to use it for only certain types of videos that are generally less complicated to create. Some examples include “talking head” videos, vlogging and product review videos.

All in all, the DIY approach is a great option for technically inclined business people. However, if you want your iPhone promotional videos to look professional, you should invest time in learning some video techniques. You will also need to invest in finances in some equipment.

We hope to post another blog article soon specifically about what techniques and equipment to use in order to make your iPhone videos look more professional.

Last updated on 27 May 2019