One of the most common questions we’re asked by business owners and marketing execs is: Should we consider in-house production for our next corporate video?

99% of the time, our answer is… Maybe.

The reason of course, is that every corporate video is different, and every brand has different needs.

Before even asking yourself whether you can produce your project in-house, it’s best to asses what the project’s tactical and creative requirements are.

Is this a simple talking head interview that will be used on an internal email? Or a full blown consumer-facing product demo? Both of these can fall into the “corporate video” category, but one requires far more heavy lifting and expertise.

As a general rule of thumb, the best type of content to produce internally falls into one of these categories:

Daily/weekly YouTube videos
Quick turnaround social media content
Internal updates or training spots

There are two common denominators between the content types listed above. They are each: 1) high volume and 2) not dependent on production quality.

Beautiful looking videos take time to produce, because they are crafted using a professional system. It’s why big-budget Hollywood feature films can take 5+ years to put together.

Quality takes time, and there are no shortcuts….

But not every project requires theatrical or even broadcast production quality. Some content will perform just fine with a more basic level of production. Social media videos (just as an example) are often read as more authentic if they aren’t over-produced.

So if you’re considering producing content internally for any type of high volume/fast turnaround production, you may very well be on the right track.

There are exceptions to this rule of course, and we’ve certainly spent many months creating polished social media content for our clients as a result.

But in those cases, production value was warranted given the scope of their needs and their emphasis on brand identity. In many other instances, in-house production would work just fine for this type of material.

With regards to more traditional corporate spots - like recruiting videos, web promos or product demos - they are almost always best left to a pro.

When you work with an outside production company on a full scale video production, you should benefit from each of these services:

Input on your creative direction
Guidance on your release strategy
Production & post-production support

When it comes to producing pro-level video content, what you’re really paying for is experience. It’s not about having the right camera or editing software, it’s the creative artistry and marketing expertise that matters above all else.

In the vast majority of corporate settings, it’s unlikely that an in-house employee will have the exact qualities to pull this off, as most staff are experts on other things and tasked as such.

Not to mention, having an outside party give input on your creative direction and strategy is absolutely crucial.

Your job is to understand your clients/customers and solve their problems with products or services. Our job is to help you communicate that value to them.

Half of the battle is the physical shooting and editing of the footage. But the other half is knowing how to translate your message into a format that can be easily digested by your audience.

The great news is, far-reaching/high production value content doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg. It also doesn’t need to take forever to produce… So long as you collaborate with a corporate video producer who prioritizes quality and efficiency equally, as we do.

It’s always worth consulting with a producer about your needs, if nothing else to get a rough time and cost estimate for your work. You may find that producing your content with an outside party is just as cost effective as going the internal route, and you’ll have peace of mind knowing it’s in the hands of a professional team.

If you’re interested in learning more, we’d love to provide you with a free consultation any time.

We can discuss options for both producing original content, or help you configure an in-house setup to shoot lower-cost videos internally.

Just shoot us an email at info@creativerebellion.com and we’ll talk.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!