How to Tell the Producer the Video is Terrible
Image courtesy of @Headwayio via Unsplash
It’s time. You hired that video production company months ago to create a new batch of content for your marketing efforts, and they’ve just finished screening the initial edits. The lights go up and there all of you sit in your conference room, the production team on one side, you on the other.
“Well?” The Producer asks. “Thoughts?”
Providing your video team with constructive, actionable feedback is not as easy as it sounds. It’s not enough to say “I don’t like it,” or “Hmmm. It really needs something more.”
So, here are some ways you can better communicate with your video team and move your content closer to what’s best for your brand.
If at all possible, screen the video with your production team in the room. Whether you are all physically together in an office, or watching via videoconference, it’s important that all parties are there together to discuss the video. More on that later.
Watch the video through in its entirety, without taking notes. I know you have that notepad and pen poised as the video fades in, but resist the urge to write all of your thoughts down. This takes your attention away from what’s on screen and prevents you from getting a sense of the pacing, the story arc, the flow from one thought to another. Watch it in the same way your audience will watch it. Your viewers won’t be taking notes as they watch your content.
After the first screening, jot down a few of your first impressions. Then, ask to watch it through a second time. It’s okay. You won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. On the second viewing, feel free to take notes as the video plays. At the conclusion of the second screening, re-assess your overall impressions about the video. Did the second viewing change your thoughts?
When it comes time to comment, don’t say something just to say something. I’ve been in several creative review meetings and usually there’s a moment of silence right after the video plays, as people try to collect their thoughts. And for some, silence can be an awkward feeling. I dislike long silences myself. If you’re one of those people too, resist the urge to say something about the video just to break the silence.
Making the video shorter will not necessarily make it better. This is something I’ve heard over and over right after a screening. Following that initial awkward silence, someone will speak up and say, “I like it, but can we make it shorter?” Now, to be clear, sometimes shortening a video is better for the end product, but you can’t assume that cutting it will improve it. If you really feel like the video should be shorter, be prepared to explain why and then be prepared to explain how making it shorter will improve its performance. There is plenty of data out there to show that longer videos outperform shorter ones, depending on content and distribution platform.
So, try and make notes about the following items as you watch the video:
Make sure your message is clear and accurate.
First and foremost, does the video capture your brand voice and communicate your message clearly? Is it “on brand?” If there are sections in the video where the script doesn’t feel quite right, bring it up with your production team. For example, “At two minutes, ten seconds into the video, the voice-over says ‘X’ but we really don’t say it that way. Our brand voice always says ‘Y’ instead.”
Examine the structure of the video.
Does the video fit together logically?
Did you understand how you got from point A to point B to point C?
Was the story easy to follow, or did you find yourself asking questions?
If at any point during the screening you felt lost, jot those moments down and then talk about them with the production team. What edits can be made to make a certain point more clear to the viewer?
Consider the pacing of the video.
Did the video feel like it was dragging at any point?
Was there a nice ebb and flow throughout?
The best videos will pick up the pace when it’s called for, using quicker cuts, more up-tempo music, etc. Then, they will slow things down when needed, in order to create a different mood. The entirety of the video can’t have the same rhythm. Take note of any place in the video where it feels like the pace can be changed and then explain your reasons why it feels that way.
These are all excellent starting points for learning how to provide clear, honest, constructive feedback for your production team to make your videos even better. Here are a few other things to keep in mind:
Talk through the video with your production team. This was the very first point in this post. Most people don’t understand the importance of being with your production team when you evaluate video content. They think they can just watch the video on their own, pass it around via email to a few others in their office, compile a bulleted list of changes, then simply forward that on to the editor. This isn’t helpful, because it doesn’t give you the chance to hear directly from the editor why certain choices were made in the edit. You need that outside perspective to bring up things you may never have considered before.
Will my comment make the video better, or just different? Video production, like any creative pursuit, is subjective. Many times a video editor will feel very strongly about a particular shot. That’s why it’s in the video. But you might not like that shot as much as you like another shot. Before telling the team to swap it, think about whether or not substitutions like that will really improve the video.
Context is everything. How will the video be distributed? And where? If the video is a companion piece to a written article on the company’s website, then the video won’t need as much copy. Where the video lives will impact what’s said and shown in the video.
Being able to constructively critique a video is a skill that doesn’t need to be overlooked, or undervalued. It’s vital to the video production process. What other advice do you have? Leave them in the Comments.