Being authentic is a must in Los Angeles video production and Los Angeles video marketing. This isn’t an opinion and it isn’t negotiable. People love buying but hate being sold to. Ergo, when people feel like they’re being talked at rather than to, they experience a disconnect from the message. They automatically close themselves off from what is being offered.
Authenticity is what differentiates advertising from content marketing, and it’s what makes content marketing so much more effective. Advertising feels cold, manufactured, and impersonal whereas content marketing is personable, relatable, and stands a better chance of boosting brand trust and loyalty.
What it Means to be Authentic
Going by the dictionary definition, authentic means “of undisputed origin,” or “genuine.” If you put that in terms of sales or retail, it would mean that whatever you’re promoting isn’t some cheap knock-off or shoddy duplicate of the original. If you put that in terms of marketing, it quite simply means quality.
The word “authentic” immediately brings to mind something positive. When you’re dealing with something branded “authentic,” you immediately assume you’re handling something of good quality. It’s the same principle for corporate video production; brands that release top-quality videos will be seen as more trustworthy and more authentic than brands that release shoddy, poorly-executed videos.
Production Value Has Very Little To Do With It
Expensive video production does not a quality video make. A typical high-quality explainer video can run anywhere from $5,000 to $35,000 per minute, but there dozens of Los Angeles production companies out there that can create an equally stunning masterpiece for a fraction of the price.
Does this mean you shouldn’t bother spending big bucks for a video? Nope. Definitely not. Quality video production is always going to cost a pretty penny. In this industry, you get what you pay for. Your takeaway from this is that you shouldn’t focus solely on the price of production, and you shouldn’t use the price to dictate your expectations for the final product.
The Difference Between Script and Scripted
Never, under any circumstances, forego scriptwriting. It’s the most important part of the pre-production process, and it can affect the actual production process more than you know. Your script is your guideline to how the video will run, and it’s what your video editor, sound editor, director, and DP will refer to when making calls on- and off-set. If everyone’s following different guidelines, you can be sure of disastrous outcomes.
However, a video that follows the script is entirely different from a video that is scripted. If you’re going to have actors or staff members addressing the audience—or even just each other—make sure that they are familiar with the key points enough to deliver the message. They do not have to memorize the script word-for-word. Nothing seems less authentic than a person who looks, acts, and talks like they’re just parroting words. If they don’t have the slightest clue about what they’re saying, it’ll show.
Ditch the canned quality in favor of raw, genuine emotional delivery. If that means having to do several takes, then so be it.
Be Direct
Leila Lewis of Be Inspired PR cautions against taking too many artistic liberties during Los Angeles video production. The whole point of a video is your message. You want your viewers to actually take away something from the sixty or so seconds they spent watching your video. Lewis points out that when brands get “too metaphorical,” the message can get lost. Leave the similes and symbolisms for full-length films; effective Los Angeles video marketing means releasing content that is clear, concise, and clever.
