Bickley Creative was pleased to have been selected to write the script and provide creative direction for a 2-minute online video to introduce TechHomPro, a Do-It-Yourself home security system that is also a smart home solution. The video project is a collaboration with Brian Erkens and Graham Zielinski of Reel Video & Stills. The client is Melanie Stewart Hensen of TechHomePro. Voice talent and the audio production engineering was provided by ProCommVoices — all great people to work with!
What I’ve found after being involved in dozens of productions over recent years, the best work is a true collaboration and a combination of several critical elements. A startup company, TechHomePro didn’t have a huge budget and the challenge has been to minimize the cost of finding quality talent and shot locations. Our client went out of her way to seek out “stars in the making” from her friends and colleagues. We shot many of the scenes at Brian Erkens’ lovely home that also happens to be on Airbnb.
FACT: you don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to achieve high-quality video production. (You do need a realistic budget though.) Money aside, some key production elements must be in place. A great video starts with a well-written script that is well executed from an audio standpoint. While quality videography is important, a lot of videos don’t live up to their potential because the voice talent and the “read” aren’t right. In my opinion, you can’t have a great video with a mediocre “read.” The right voice talent has to be selected to resonate with your viewers and that talent’s delivery and inflection of certain words within the script plays a huge part in the effectiveness of the audio. Nothing irritates me more than hearing a hurried delivery that is not “punching” the right words in a script to optimize creative communication.
Another important element to producing a quality commercial or video is choosing music that goes under the voice-over or under the speaking on-camera talent. This is an art in itself…..the music enhances the tone of the creative…..and the tempo has to work with the audio. I’ve seen so many videos where the camera work was wonderful and so was the editing…but the music was just “wrong.” The right music is an opportunity to take something great and add another dimension that makes it even better.
I’ve been fortunate to have spent many long hours of time in studios working with talented sound engineers who have the experience and “ear” to help you get it all just right. One such place was Williamson-Evans Words & Music (closed now). I learned a lot during those sessions. The point of all this is….while these days, it seems so easy to just click on an app and put a video together of your photos or videos from your phone….a true commercial video requires a crew of people who are specialists in their fields. Writers, producers, sound engineers, videographers, voice and on-camera talent, video editors…..it really does take a village to create a quality video product.
