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The Importance of Sound Design In Video Production

The Importance of Sound Design In Video Production

Video production has come a long way since the first films were created. Today, it’s not just enough to have great visuals, but also high-quality sound design is crucial to the success of any video production. Sound design is the process of creating and editing audio content for a film or video production. It’s also about enhancing the viewer’s experience of watching the production and making sure that the audio and video components are seamlessly integrated. Here are a few reasons why sound design is important:

  • Sound design creates emotional impact

Sound is a very powerful medium to evoke different emotions in the viewer or listener. By carefully selecting music, sound effects, and soundscapes, the sound designer creates an immersive audio environment that can significantly enhance the viewer’s emotional experience. Whether you want to evoke feelings of suspense, excitement, or nostalgia, the right sound design can make all the difference.

  • Sound design increases production value

The sound design is an important aspect of any film production. Whether it’s a short film or a big-budget blockbuster, the sound design can increase the production value of the project. Good audio quality, well-crafted soundscapes, and well-timed sound effects all contribute to making the film sound professional and polished.

Example of Sound Design Creating a Mood

  • Sound design can fix audio problems

Sometimes, even the best sound recording can have problems. Maybe there’s too much background noise, or the audio is muffled or too low. In such cases, sound designers can fix these issues using various techniques such as noise reduction, EQ, and volume balancing. By editing and manipulating audio, they can create a smoother, more polished sound.

  • Sound design sets the tone

The sound designer’s job is to create an atmosphere or ambiance that helps the viewer connect with the story. They use their creative skills to craft a soundscape that complements the visuals and helps set the tone for the production. This can include anything from subtle sounds like footsteps or rustling leaves to more dramatic elements like explosions or gunfire.

  • Sound design helps tell the story

Sound design is an essential part of storytelling. It can be used to convey important information to the viewer, such as a character’s emotional state or to foreshadow an upcoming event. Sound can also be used to create a sense of location or to immerse the viewer in the story’s world.

In conclusion, sound design is a crucial component of any video production. It enhances the viewer’s experience, increases production value, fixes audio problems, sets the tone, and helps tell the story. Without sound design, even the best visuals can fall flat. So, the next time you watch a film or TV show, take a moment to appreciate the work of the sound designer and their contribution to the production.

Creating Effective Social Media Videos

Creating Effective Social Media Videos

In today’s digital age, social media platforms have become a significant tool for businesses and individuals to promote their products or services, establish a brand identity, and appeal to their target audience. One of the most effective ways to do so is by creating social media videos that are engaging, authentic, and resonate with the audience. Here are some tips for creating effective social media videos:

  • Plan your story

Before diving into the production process, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to communicate. Start by identifying your message and defining your goals. What do you want your audience to take away from the video? What kind of emotions do you want to evoke? Create a storyboard or script to outline the flow of the video and the key elements you want to include.

  • Keep it short and sweet

Social media users are constantly scrolling through their feeds, so it’s essential to grab their attention quickly and keep them engaged. Aim for videos that are 1-2 minutes long and get straight to the point.

  • Tailor your content to the platform

Different social media platforms have different requirements and audience demographics. Make sure you optimize your video for the platform you’re posting on. For example, Instagram videos are usually shorter in length and need to capture attention quickly, while YouTube videos can be longer and may require more detailed storytelling.

  • Use high-quality visual and audio

A video that looks and sounds great will make a lasting impression on your audience. Use high-quality cameras, lighting, and sound equipment to ensure your video looks and sounds professional. Invest in a good microphone to improve the audio quality.

  • Tell an authentic story

People are attracted to videos that tell a story and evoke an emotional response. Use real people, stories, and experiences to create an authentic connection with your audience. Avoid using stock footage or generic music that doesn’t reflect your brand identity.

  • Add captions

Many social media users watch videos without sound, so it’s essential to include captions or subtitles to ensure the message is still conveyed. Captions also make your video accessible to viewers with hearing impairments.

  • Include a call-to-action

Finally, don’t forget to include a call-to-action at the end of your video. This could be directing the viewer to your website, asking them to subscribe to your channel, or encouraging them to share the video with their network.

Creating effective social media videos requires careful planning, a clear message, and attention to detail in terms of production and content. By following these tips, you can create videos that resonate with your audience, establish your brand identity, and promote your products or services effectively. No time or resources to make this happen? Then call us today to learn more about total marketing videos and imaging for your Brand, Kennedy International Studios is dedicated to your success!

5 Steps to Start Your Video Marketing Strategy

5 Steps to Start Your Video Marketing Strategy

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Video content gives your company a human face, builds trust and allows your prospects to see your product or service in action.

There’s no question about it. Video is huge and the ways businesses can cash in on the benefits are growing exponentially. When it comes to marketing your business, video should play a huge role. You can use predictive analytics technology as explained on Salesforce, to find the possible benefits a video can have on your business. Whether you’re showing people how to most effectively use your product, giving viewers an inside look at your company and the people who make things run, offering client testimonial videos, or using video ads for your Facebook advertising campaigns, video should be an integral part of your marketing strategy.

According to statistics on www.makewebvideo.com – video is changing how companies reach new prospects, convert traffic into leads on their websites, close sales, cover customer service issues, and delight your brand advocates.

Consider this:

  • Video has the highest click-through rate of any digital format
  • Digital video advertising spend will double by 2019 in response to a surge in mobile video.
  • By 2020, 75% of all mobile traffic will be video
  • According to HubSpot, including video on a landing page canincrease conversion by 80%
  • Videos earn the highest rate of engagement of any other forms of content

2017 is definitely the year to get your videos rolling! So consider these business video marketing strategies when planning out your first – or next – video.

1. Make your video as short as possible.

Short Video TimesGrab your audience’s attention and then deliver value fast. Assume that your viewers are busy. Short and sweet is a safe strategy, especially when most people don’t even watch videos all the way through. Sure, you can create longer videos when needed (and they may be more worth your while in remarketing campaigns), but don’t presume that video marketing equals full-length video content.

Different videos have a different optimal length but in each one of them, the rule of thumb will be :  make it as short as possible.

Consider the following examples:

  • Tutorials/Explainers (45-90 sec)
    The most common type of video tutorials are mobile and Web app tutorials. Since one of the goals of a tutorial is to show how simple it is, you need to keep your video the same. Simplicity means less time. Keep most tutorials under 2 minutes.
  • Creative commercials (15-59 sec)
    Just think about it – some of the best ever commercials are those we’re used to seeing during the Super Bowl, where the spots are the most expensive and the average commercial stands on 30 seconds.
  • Consider a clever gag, a funny story, or a heart-warming image. And remember – 59 seconds always looks better than 1:00.
  • Crowdfunding videos (Avg. 2.5 mins)
    Crowdfunding videos are usually longer than commercials and tutorials since the purpose is to create credibility around the project. Often a crowdfunding video will include a “talking head” part and another part showing the product, process, etc.
  • Testimonials/Talking heads (60-119 sec)
    When you want to show your customers talking about your product or your founders talking about the company, the video can be even four to five minutes long.

Grow your audience by making sure you’re consistently providing a fast delivery on your ideas. If you’re consistent with short clips, your audience will be more likely to tune in again and again because they know the delivery is quick and the value comes fast.

2. Post video content in multiple locations.

Where your video content is hosted matters. Creating a video and uploading it to YouTube might be your first thought. But here’s why that’s not your best option. Facebook videos directly embedded into the platform get more engagement than posting a link to a YouTube video. Based on Mixpo’s recent State of Video Ads report, Facebook will overtake YouTube as the leader in online video ads in the next 12 months.

For maximum video marketing ROI, you need to directly embed your video content in multiple locations. Embed videos within blog posts on your own site, pin videos to Pinterest, and share your new videos on your business’ LinkedIn profile, Facebook and Twitter. The more touch points you create, the better your chances are of seeing increased video return on investment.  Wherever you post your video, make sure embed codes are offered to your audience. If you allow others to embed your video content, the reach of your brand messaging is extended. Make sure your videos are watermarked with your logo for an added boost of brand awareness.
Screen Shot 2017-05-24 at 11.23.26 AM

3. Include video in your email marketing.

Sharing your videos on your website or social media channels isn’t your only option; don’t forget about expanding your video’s reach via email. Embed video content in your email newsletters consistently and watch your open rates climb. When your email subscribers come to expect awesome video content from you, they’ll look forward to your next message, and not just hit “delete.” Mention your embedded video content when you promote your email newsletters on social media and you’re likely to see your subscriber list grow, too.  How about adding a link to your latest video in your email signature?

Once you realize just how many ways you can use video content, you’ll understand why this form of visual content marketing is exploding in popularity.

4. Optimize your video for SEO.

SEO with powerful niche links attached with their discription is crucial for video marketing success. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

Video Keyword: Like anything aquried by companies like justseo.co.nz, the video SEO process starts with keyword research. What are the phrases you think potential customers might use to search for content related to your topic? There are a variety of tools SEO services company use, like Answer the Public, or Google’s auto-fill capabilities. After you’ve selected potential search phrases you can rank for, you’re ready to check out how strong your keywords and phrases are. In Google’s Keyword Planner, you can get search volume and traffic estimates for keywords you’re considering.

Video Filename: Make sure that you use the keyword in the video’s filename.

Video Title:  The title of your video should be at least 5-words long, enabling you to include your full keyword without keyword stuffing. Additionally, you get aslight video SEO boost by putting your keyword at the beginning of the title.

Description: Search engines rely on your text description to determine your video’s content, so be sure to:

  • Include a link to the appropriate page on your website
  • Include your keyword/phrase in the first 25 words
  • Make the description at least 250-words
  • Include your keyword more than once

The more you optimize your videos for search engine discovery, the better your content will perform. Hop over into this site https://victoriousseo.com/verticals/ecommerce-seo/ to make all that effort really count.

5. Make your load times as short as possible.

Load time is absolutely critical for increased video ROI.

Video Loading TimeMake sure your video is compressed for speed and in a format that will load quickly regardless of a viewer’s device. With ready-to-use livestreaming platforms you needn’t worry about compression rates, but any embedded video content should always be optimized for speed/load times.

Finally, don’t forget to repurpose your video content into multiple formats.  Create a slideshare presentation, build a blog post around your latest video or offer polls on social media based upon your videos. Create a series of video snippets and images with text based on the content. The more ways you repurpose video, the better your return on investment. Make repurposing part of your content marketing strategy – it saves you time and effort, and gets the most mileage out of that extremely valuable video.

Think you don’t have the budget to make an effective video? Think again!

You can make an effective video on your cell phone if it’s done well. But if you’re looking for a more polished & professional look, video marketing companies like ours can create budget-friendly videos specifically tailored to social media, e-newsletters, or other short-form formats. Or, if you have a bigger budget at your disposal for your video project – perhaps to make it longer and more all-encompassing, such as a front page video explaining your company on your website.

Check out some of our videos, then give us a call to talk about your next video project!

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Kennedy Web Video Explainer from F. Scott Kennedy on Vimeo.

Reference: https://quantummarketer.com/best-instagram-growth-services/

Call Kennedy International Studios for all your video production & visual marketing needs. Locally in the Wiregrass and Dothan area but traveling nationally for over 25 years!

Video Production Success – Facebook Vs YouTube

Video Production Success – Facebook Vs YouTube

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Picking between the two giants

After a decade of being the unquestioned leader in the online video market, YouTube, the Google-owned service, has found a formidable rival in Facebook.  With the rise of video and film production as an effective content marketing tool, today’s marketers ask: which channel can be best used to present their brands to their audiences – Facebook video or YouTube?

Search vs. Social

YouTube and Facebook are two media platform giants that have different advantages. Search for the former, being under the umbrella of Google; and social for the latter. When trying to discover content, we run to Google and simply search for anything through the use of keywords. Being under the umbrella of Google, YouTube holds the edge when it comes to search as Google can simply favour its channels. That said, when users know what to look for, they can simply try to play with keywords and results including YouTube videos can come up that easy. However, the case seems to be changing recently because of social media. While YouTube remains to be the biggest traffic destination when it comes to videos, Facebook is working to take a larger slice of the pie. In just a short period of time, Facebook videos are seen to be gaining more control in the online video scene. It is not very surprising to know that Facebook will soon take action in turning its attention to videos. As video marketing continues to become popular in the online marketing industry, Facebook’s merger of videos alongside its social media edge is a huge benefit to online marketers and businesses. In today’s case, Facebook feeds the top and recent videos to its users, which makes it possible for people not to turn to search engines just to see the latest and the trending. Through this system, social media gains the momentum when it comes to presenting what’s hot, viral and most viewed. Moreover, let us not forget that YouTube videos are also being viewed through Facebook.

Weighing between the most recent and the permanent content

As marketers, you must carefully study your goals for your digital marketing efforts. Understanding the trade-off between permanence and recency is vital in deciding which channel to place your video as it will measure your video’s ability to hold attention over time. For instance, Facebook Video can help your content gain attention through social media actions such as likes, comments and shares, but it can disappear quickly since recency and social interaction are the only ways to keep your video actively visible on the news feeds. YouTube, on the other hand, can easily be searched even when the video has been posted years back or hasn’t even gained much social actions. The important thing to note on YouTube’s edge in this case is that, your video remains searchable over time and can even gain attention even it is an old content. So in terms of staying power, YouTube takes the lead over Facebook. While if you think you can leave your video’s success on social actions, turn to Facebook. Now, have you decided where to put your brand’s corporate video?

Good news for marketers

Although we try to carefully figure out which is best and more beneficial to our brand, there’s a slightly positive thing that might ease the dilemma of choosing between Facebook video or YouTube. That is, competition between the two video channel giants is actually beneficial to brands that are keen on video production. Simply put, video content creators can in fact take advantage of the emerging online video developments in each channel. With proper planning and strategy, you can be sure that your video production efforts will be optimised. Facebook videos are known to be made to grab the users’ attention, so one thing to do is to create teasers for the Facebook page, and connect them to the full length version via the YouTube channel. This, however, is one of Facebook’s biggest downside against YouTube. While Facebook works to convince marketers to post full videos on the social media channel, users can see gaining more potential on YouTube where the content can be monetised. Will Facebook offer a better arrangement to its video content creators than that of YouTube? We can only wait. But until then, try to work around how your brand can get the most out of the competition. However, if you are more concerned about brand recognition than your video’s record of overall views in each channel, then you could post the same videos on both channels. BuzzFeed does this! Why? Simply because it’s fundamentally more significant to spread your video, gain recognition and increase recommendations in two different channels rather than increase the number of views by staying in just one channel. In the case of BuzzFeed, results have been different, wherein marketing videos on Facebook sometimes result to more views while the same video gathers relatively lower views on YouTube; and sometimes, the other way around when the video is found on YouTube search.

Online video production landscape

By understanding your brand and the online video landscape, you will be able to determine which approach is better. Plan and create a strategy to ensure where your video content will fit in and benefit your brand best. As you plan about your next move, try to leverage on these two biggest video platforms to make your social media marketing efforts a success.

To know more about video production for Youtube & Social Media click here: Kennedy International Studios Video Productions

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Kennedy Web Video Explainer from F. Scott Kennedy on Vimeo.

1161 N. Park Ave. Dothan, AL 36303 334-678-8454 scott@kennedyintstudios.com