Video Production Companies:
Thoughts for the Future as 2011 Comes to a Close
The new year is approaching faster than we think, and its nice to look back upon a year that has been filled with ups and downs for all media companies. When browsing on Mashable I came across Lance Ulanoff’s article regarding the years winners and losers in the tech industry – http://mashable.com/2011/12/20/tech-winners-losers-2011/.
It’s interesting to think about how quickly things change, especially in industries where the technology is being updated at a rapid rate, and usability is changing the face of who can participate. As the above post discusses the changes in the tech industry, so has the video production industry had those highs and lows which cause us to re-think our strategies and tactics for the new year.
In today’s landscape video production companies are having a harder and harder time getting the same amount of profits they once did. This is due to the fact as I mentioned in my blog post The Net Neutrality Debate & Its Implications on Copyright, that as video equipment is becoming more accessible to the masses, its easier and easier to make a cheap and quickly produced video. The issue is, that professional production companies still have a lot of overhead costs that need to be paid for somehow. With a production company you are not just paying for the video itself, but the experience and professionalism of the staff as well.
Because of the changes in the industry, production companies also need to be able to add additional value to the videos they make, which is based on how you apply the videos you produce to the specific market demands of your clients’ company. Today video production companies can’t just produce a video and ship it out, they need to remain active in multiple fields including but not limited to, social media, marketing, online video, mobile etc. The client is no longer just paying for your expertise as a video producer, but also your ability to know what sort of videos are best for what formats and audiences.
Being able to know the specifics of a particular industry is extremely important as well. If you specialize in Human Resource videos for example, this type of specialty knowledge can be even more important then just a general knowledge of video production. At Keywest, we have the ability to create any type of corporate video imaginable, but through the years our work with dramatic narrative training videos has become a niche for us. We are good at them, and they allow us to stand out in a crowd.
Therefore, production companies can no longer rely just on their ability to create a good video. As more and more industries become integrated and collaborative, the video production industry needs to adapt as well.
