No matter how professional or experienced most video production companies are, they’re mostly run by humans, and humans make mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with human error—we’ve all had it, done it, experienced it—but it can be a bit of a blow to the reputation when simple mistakes that could have easily been corrected end with huge repercussions on your organization.
You can’t know what you don’t know, as they say, so knowing the mistakes video production companies can make during video production should be highly beneficial. We’ve listed the five most common.
Not Preparing Equipment Before A Shoot
Even if you do a lot of in-studio shoots, it’s not a hundred percent guaranteed that you’ll have all of your equipment right where you need them. Some projects may require you to shoot on-location, which means leaving the office—and most of your gear—behind.
Ergo, get into the habit of preparing everything the night before. Even if it’s just a simple project that only needs a camera and a mic setup, there are still a lot of things that could be missed. Batteries could be half empty, lenses could be missing, microphones might not be charged, etc. Getting everything ready the night before the shoot lets you review what’s needed with a clear (read: not rushing) mind, and it also gives you a bit of leeway in the morning to double-check that you have everything.
Forgetting The Camera Settings
Another thing that some video production companies forget to check in their rush between locations is the camera—specifically the settings.
For videographers and producers running back-to-back shootings for multiple projects in one day, it’s easy to just grab the camera, start filming, and forget about the settings. If you’re shooting in similar conditions all throughout the day, clean up won’t be much of a problem. But if you’re filming with different different light sources and different lenses, post-production is going to be a nightmare.
Taking a couple of minutes to check your settings, and adjusting them accordingly, will save you hours of editing later. And on that note…
Depending Too Much On Editing
Post-production is an important part of the video production process, and all video production companies—regardless of size or specialty—depend on it. Not having a video editor is ludicrous, as just the thought of uploading an unedited video is can make any video producer or business owner nervous.
However, there’s a difference between an improvement and a fail-safe, and the mistake a lot of people make is using video editing as the latter.
Video editing is meant to enhance the existing product, not create an entirely new one. Do as much as you can during the actual filming—i.e. lighting, color balance, camera movement—and then use post-production tools to correct minor mistakes or enrich scenes.
Depending too much on post-production editing will slow down your entire process—and it might not even give you a great end product, either.
Not Checking The Licenses Of “Royalty-Free” Media
The problem with general “royalty-free” media sites is that most of the items there still have a dozen or so different licenses that place specific restrictions on their use.
For instance, a lot of free music tracks might specifically state that they’re not for commercial use. If your video is going to be viewed publically—and it most likely will—you can’t use it without specific permission from the owner. Another example would be media that is not meant to be used for profit. Again, if your video is promotional or sales-related in any way, you could get slapped with a hefty fine.
Tedious as it may be, taking the time to actually double-check the licenses and clarify permissions can save you and your production agency from a lot of trouble.
Failing To Prepare Contingency Plans
Contingencies happen to the best of us—and the best of us plan accordingly. Even with all your planning and preparation, it’s not uncommon for one or two things to fall through. The location you had your heart set on might not allow filming or the actor your client wanted might not be available for your set date.
It’s the little things that can make or break your video, which is why you should have back-up plans for such eventualities.
Even the best video production companies can slip up from time to time. As we said, we’re human. However, that doesn’t give anyone blanket permission to just mess up all the time and chalk it up to human error. Knowing what might happen means you’re better equipped to prevent it from actually pulling through.
