FAQs

Quotes, budget & pre-production

Do you have a brief format for a corporate video?

Yes, you can find a downloadable Corporate Video Brief Document here. The more information you can supply, the more detailed our proposal and the more accurate the costs will be.

How much does a corporate video cost?

Like the cost of a house, a car, a bottle of wine, the cost of a corporate video will vary.

Cost depends on a range of factors including the number of filming days, the number of crew required, the level of equipment used and the complexity of post-production.

That probably doesn't answer your question, so here is a link to a more definitive guide to corporate video production costs.

Of course, quotes for the same work vill vary a little between each London video production company.

At NextShoot we start from about £2500 for something very simple, but it's likely to be nearer to £4500 plus VAT for a one day shoot and the associated post-production.

Can you turn round a quick quote?

Absolutely. Email us at mail@nextshoot.com with your brief, however simple and we can get a quote for your corporate video back to you within 24 hours, or the same day if time is of the essence. You can find a downloadable Corporate Video Brief Document here.

Rather talk it through? Call us on 0845 539 0075.

Will there be any additional costs after the initial quote?

We give you a full breakdown of costs in our initial quote, so you can see exactly what the proposed budget covers. If the approach stays the same, there are no hidden costs.

If the brief develops then we can arrange whatever extra services are required, such as a second day of filming, stock footage or more graphics. We will always give you any extra costs in writing.

What are your standard payment terms?

Our standard payment terms are:

50 per cent on confirmation of the job

50 per cent invoiced on completion of the project with terms of 30 days.

How much of our input do you need to produce a corporate video?

Of course, you didn't Google 'best video production companies in London' only to have to lead your production company each step of the way through the creative process.

That said, if we're the experts in corporate video production, you'll be best positioned to know about your brand, its needs and the purpose of your video content.

So, what we ask for is a clear brief at the outset of the project. This can be in the body of an email (send it to mail@nextshoot.com ), sent as an attachment (see our downloadable Corporate Video Brief Document here.) or we can talk it through on the phone (call us on 0845 539 0075). However, we're always keen for our clients to stay involved throughout the video production process, including preparation ahead of any shoot and attending the filming itself. That way we are all working together to get the result you need.

How long should a corporate video be?

Not long. Attention spans being what they are...did we lose you? The ideal length will depend on the subject matter and where the video is shown.

Trailer 15-30 seconds
To kick off a presentation 90 seconds
LinkedIn 1 minute
Your website Up to 2 minutes
Fascinating niche material up to 4.5 minutes

So it might be that a few different edits serve your video campaign best.

See our Guide to Video for Social Media for the lengths permitted for video content on different Social Media platforms.

Filming

Do you have a studio we can film in?

We're a relatively small video agency, but we do have a 1000 square foot studio in Central London (NW1 9TN) that can be used for interview filming (eg Talking Head videos, Case Study videos, About Us videos). We have a client car parking space available.

What space will you need to film in our office?

The key components for a space for a talking head interview on video are:

As large as possible. No smaller than 6 x 4 metres

Quiet (not near the lift, the coffee machine or overlooking a noisy bus-stop). It helps if we can control the air conditioning also

If there are external windows, we will need to be able to control the light (ie we'll need working blinds or we may have to black out the windows)

As conference rooms are the most common locations for talking head interviews, it's important that the table is moveable and that anything plugged into the table (conference call facilities, for example) can be removed. Often it is best to involve Facilities before the shoot

We may need a separate space to store our kit boxes

Really it's best for the producer to visit the filming location options or for you to share pictures ahead of the shoot.

How big will the crew be for our shoot?

A crew's size varies enormously, depending on the project. Here's a link to an article we wrote about what crew you need to film a corporate video.. With video production services for a tv advert the crew and cast can easily get up to 60.

Probably 75 per cent of corporate video production involves talking head interviews and broll. The typical crew for this will be:

Producer/ Director
Director of Photography
And possibly a sound recordist
So, to answer your question, the crew will probably be 2-3 people.

How long is needed for each interview?

Typically we allow an hour slot for each interview. We would say 30 minutes is the minimum, for speakers who are very comfortable in front of the camera.

It's worth remembering that it takes 90 -120 minutes from our arrival at a location to bring the kit in, get the room configured and the lights, cameras and sound set up. And then 45 minutes to derig at the end of the filming.

If we are capturing more than one interview on camera then we tend to 'flip' the cameras and the lightning set-up so that contributors appear on different sides of the frame in the final edit.

So as a rule of thumb:

One interview - 4 hours
Two interviews - 5 hours

Who asks the interview questions?

With any video that includes a talking head we always suggest that our director asks the interview questions. Why?

They have experience in the answers that work well in a video, are skilled at guiding interviewees into shortening their answers and shaping their responses into a clear narrative, and can spot if there are any technical issues (eg changes in the light, overlaps in speaking). They also make judgements about how two different takes could be edited together to give the best answer.

It's much easier for our director, as an outsider, to ask a senior company representative or your client to repeat or reframe their answer than for someone from their own company or a provider.

If you have someone on your team who does want to conduct the interview, then our director would be there to support and guide them and to ensure that we come away from the filming with the interview material you need to make the best video case study, talking head or promotional video possible.

What preparation should interviewees make ahead of the shoot?

We would recommend that anyone speaking in a talking head interview gets sight of the questions they will be asked in advance (typically 5 questions).

However, put them at ease by letting them know that rather than scripting long answers - which they will inevitably try and fail to remember by heart - it's best to just have 3 bullet points per question that they should aim to include in their answer. You might even suggest what these points could be as a guide. That way the interview will come over as authentic rather than rehearsed.

For more information on interview filming see our comprehensive interview filming guide

What should contributors wear for their talking head interview?

Don't wear anything that is too busy or heavily patterned.

Simple bold colours work well, but avoid too much black or white, which can look plain. Steer clear of clothes with obvious text, branding and logos.

If we film against a coloured backdrop then colour-blocking clothing – ie picking a colour that complements but contrasts with the background – works well. We can talk that through in pre-production.

Our clients at Stylus have taken colour-blocking to another level in their Look Ahead promotional videos.

If we shoot against a chroma key background (ie a green or blue that can be replaced in the edit) – then do avoid the background colour in your clothes. We would always flag this up ahead of the shoot.

While the interview will likely be the main focus of filming, there may be some b-roll or establishing shots of the speaker, so they should assume that we will see their whole body and bring appropriate shoes.

One final thing to consider is that the talking head speaker might need to wear a lapel radio mic, fastened to their clothing. If they're wearing a a very flimsy top or a polo neck it could be hard to fix the microphone to them. Wearing an outer layer always helps.

If in doubt, bring a few clothing options.

Can you take photos on the shoot?

Yes, we can supply a professional photographer for your video shoot. Just let us know and we can quote for this.

If all you need is a few snaps for a blog or Social Media, then the regular film team can take these for you. Behind the Scenes on a shoot - a Social Media winner!

Post-production, delivery and video hosting

Can you arrange for a voiceover?

Yes, we can.

We have over 100 male and female voiceover artists to choose from.

Once it's been decided if a male or female voice is the best fit for your promo video, then we'll send you links to three suitable voices from which you can make a choice.

Can you include graphics in our video?

Yes, we can!

We have an in-house graphics team that can create a range of graphics:

2d infographics - such as maps, charts, diagrams
2d motion graphics - animated graphic design, especially text that supports the ideas expressed in interviews or voiceover
2d animations - with characters and sets
3d graphics - anything in 3d, from a logo to a cartoon character or a product See some of our graphics work here

What music is used in the video?

Let's face it, no one has a 'corporate video production' playlist on Spotify.

That's because music in business videos has traditionally been pretty rubbish. The challenge is that we can't feature tracks in your promo video that require copyright clearance (every song you've ever sung in the shower), and so we rely on library music.

Fortunately, library music is now better than ever and our own provider (Audio Network) is in our opinion the very best.

So, we'll choose a song for your promotional video, offer up a choice of a few different tracks, or you're welcome to have a browse yourself.

A music track will be included in your budget, and once your video is online you'll never need to relicense. it.

Can you create subtitles?

Yes, we can.

At the risk of boring you senseless, there are two ways to subtitle a video - Hard captioning and Soft captioning, also known as Open and Closed captioning.

Soft/ Closed captions are not actually a part of the video. Think of them as a layer that floats on top of the video if someone asks for them in the player they are using to watch your video. One advantage of this is that you could have your subtitles in different languages and the viewer chooses which one they want. The most commonly used text file for soft captions is .srt.

Hard/ Open captions on the other hand are created during the editing process and are permanently 'burnt' into your video, so become a part of the video file itself.

While Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn accept .srt files, Twitter and Instagram currently don't support any form of soft captioning for video, so hard captions are the only option.

So, depending on where your promotional video campaign is running, you may need a clean video, .srt files in the languages of your choices, and a version of the video with burnt-in (hard) captions.

Subtitling will be discussed in pre-production and included in your quote if needed.

Will we be able to take still images from the finished video?

Yes, it's possible to take frame grabs from a video to use like photographs, for example to use as thumbnails. But bear in mind that the resolution of the final video is likely to be 1920 x 1080 pixels or at 4k UHD 3840 x 2160. A still image is likely to be 4672 x 3104, so a lot more detailed. However, if you're just looking to post them online, they'll look fine. If you want to use them for print, that's a whole other ballgame.

We can supply a photographer for the shoot if you require.

How many feedback opportunities do I get?

We offer two rounds of feedback typically.

How long does the edit take?

There will be a number of editing days allocated to your project in the budget. For a video with 3 video interviews and broll this might be 3 days.

With this, typically we would assemble a rough cut of the video to show you after 2 days of editing and then await your feedback.

Once we have your feedback we produce a second edit - a fine cut - for your comments.

We then create the final edit.

So the overall time it takes to edit a video depends to some extent on how long it takes to get your two rounds of feedback.

We also need client input for the title of the video, name & job captions, and the end card. If this information - along with any brand guidelines - is provided before the filming it makes the post-production process run very smoothly.

In general we would say that a video which has budget for 3 days of editing will be completed within 5-10 days after the filming, including the time for the two rounds of feedback.

For a conference video or an event video, we can turnaround the edit very quickly.

More complex projects - like animated explainer videos - take longer in post-production, as do video projects with more filmed material, such as long-form documentaries.

Will it be possible to update or re-edit a video in the future?

Absolutely. We can always update, re-edit or repurpose material from a video.

Do you keep a copy of our footage?

Yes, we do.

In fact we will keep two copies of your footage.

If after some time we feel that footage has become redundant, we'll offer to send it to you before we delete it. If you do want it there would be a cost for the editor's time, the drive and postage.

Can you put our video on Youtube?

You should find uploading videos to your own YouTube channel pretty straight forward. Overall we would recommend you manage this process yourself so that there is no need to share your password to your Youtube channel. Here's Youtube's own guide.

We can always talk you through how to make an upload. We also offer Youtube Channel Management services to clients commissioning a large volume of corporate video content, which includes producing bespoke thumbnails, creating playlists and writing rich text.