So you have finally received the "thumbs up" to go ahead with the new marketing project you and your team have been planning and it is time for you to approach a video production house. Whether it is your first time working with a production house or you’ve worked with a few in the past, we have compiled a list of 7 recommended things to prepare that can help bring a smoother start to your project.
當你的市場推廣計劃獲得了公司的批准, 你和你的團隊通常需要聯絡一間影片製作公司。不論這是你第一次或是你已經有數次和影片製作公司合作的經驗, 我們為你準備了以下七項的建議, 希望幫助你和製作公司有一個順利的開始。
1) Company Background and Story 公司的背景和故事
Any information about your company background, beliefs, goals, mottos, company mission, challenges, products, founding story can give production companies more materials to work with when coming up with the best visual solution for your project. Even old brochures, articles or website links can help provide a better understanding of your company which can maximise the value of what a production company can provide for you.
有關你的公司的背景，信念，目標，格言，公司願景，挑戰，產品，成立故事等，都是很有用的題材，讓影片製作公司構思最佳的影像市場推廣方案。此外，一些舊的宣傳小冊子，文章或網絡連結都能令製作公司更了解你的公司，從而提供更好的服務。
2) Content Purpose 項目目的
What aim are you trying to achieve through this project? Is it for brand awareness? Explaining what your product is? Creating a brand identity? For employees to feel proud? Call for action? Audience engagement? By letting the production companies know what you are trying to achieve can give production companies a direction on what creative ideas can work.
透過這個推廣項目，你希望達到甚麼目標? - 是否為了提昇品牌知名度? 介紹產品的特徵? 創立品牌身價? 增強員工歸屬感? 邀請參加行動和推廣活動? 確定明確的目的能讓影片製作公司為你的公司訂立更清晰的創作方向和意念。
3) Budget 財務預算
It is often best to let the production companies know what your budget is. There are no set price for any production, each production costs differently. If you are able to provide your budget, it can help production companies adjust the production possibilities according to your budget. A budget can help a production company determine how much room they have for production costs, concept possibilities, equipment choices and manpower. A bigger budget would only mean a higher production value. Small productions can still produce high-quality work, but you will be limited with possible ideas that can be executed well at a low cost. It is also recommended to have a spare internal budget in case you want to add production items halfway through the project.
通常最佳是能讓影片製作公司知道你的財務預算。每條影片製作的成本費用都會不同。若你能讓製作公司知道你的實際預算，它便能按照你的預算調整製作方案。一個清晰的預算能讓製作公司計算生產成本, 概念創作可行性，攝影器材選擇和顧用人手和演員等。高預算製作會帶來高價值出品。低成本也可製作出高質素作品。但是製作概念會因成本原因受到限制而影響創作效果。另外，你可準備一個額外的撥款以備中途需要加添或修改製作事項。
4) Content Quantity 產品數量
Note down how many videos or media items you may need for your brand's marketing campaign. Are you already an established brand looking for one high-end commercial to renew marketing materials? Are you looking for a few marketing materials within the same campaign? Are you looking for a mini web series? Would you also want photography included? If you’re looking for different goals and purposes from the videos (eg. brand awareness and product explainer), we highly recommend separating it into different videos/media items to avoid information overload from one media item.
數算你的品牌推廣活動所需要的影片和媒體項目數量。你的公司是否已經是知名的品牌需要更新市場推廣? 你是否需要新的推廣媒介或是一系列的微型網絡宣傳? 是否還需要攝影宣傳? 如果你的宣傳短片是需要達到不同的目的，(例如 提昇品牌知名度和產品推介)，我們會建議你分開使用不同的短片/媒介，以避免資訊過度負荷於單一媒體。
5) What you can provide as a client 顧客可提供的協助
Although production companies usually can provide the whole spectrum of production resources, it is often helpful to let production companies know what you can provide as a client. Some examples would be locations, products, brand influencers, talents, interviewees for documentary/corporate videos, licensed music (eg. music festivals clients), props, costumes (especially for fashion brands), extras, archived footage etc. By letting the production company know what resources you have can help lower the production costs and quotation price.
雖然製作公司是可以提供全面的製作物資, 顧客提供的協助也是很重要。例如，拍攝場地，推廣產品, 品牌代言人，藝人，紀錄片/企業之受訪者，版權音樂 (例如音樂節顧客)，道具，服裝(特別是時裝品牌)，臨時演員，存檔素材等。讓製作公司知道你能提供的製作物資亦可減低製作成本和項目價錢。
6) Turnover time 周轉/更新時間
It is important to let production companies know when your turnover times are. Letting production companies know when you need the videos to be completed can help them plan the production timeline more accurately at an early stage to make sure they meet the deadlines. It is always best to communicate the turnover requirements before production begins to avoid any unexpected deadlines that may stress both the client and the production company if it can not be reached.
讓影片製作公司了解你公司的品牌推廣周轉/更新時間表和知道何時需要完成影片製作。若製作公司可預先訂立雙方同意的製作流程和工作時間表，那便可以避免很多不明朗的因素和壓力。
7) Creative Freedom 創作自由
Different clients have different approaches to how much creative freedom a production company receives. Let the production company know how much creative freedom they will be getting from this project. There are genuinely three types of creative freedoms a production company can have for a project:
Client has clear instructions on what type of video they need with clear creative direction and branding.
Client has a general theme/brand and knows what type of videos they need from a project (e.g. 5 x short film, 2 x infographics, 1 corporate interview video), but allows the production company to create scripts/concepts surrounding those themes and types of videos they’re after.
Client wants the production company to have complete creative freedom in thinking of videos that can help them reach their business goal. As long as it matches their brand’s philosophy, they want the production companies' creative advice.
不同的顧客對給予影片製作公司的創作自由度有不同政策。讓製作公司知道它在你的公司項目中能得到的創作自由空間。以下三種是創作公司常有的創作自由情況:
顧客作出清晰指示和規範，明確需要甚麼種類的推廣影片，如何創作和建立品牌化
顧客有一個大概的主題/品牌 和知道項目需要的影片類型(例如: 5 x 短片，2 x 資訊圖片，1 x 企業訪問短片)，但是也容許製作公司圍繞項目的主題和短片特性為其構思創作劇本和概念。
顧客給予製作公司全面的創作自由，希望它能為其公司拍攝不同的推廣短片，顧客亦會尋求製作公司的創作意見，以達到公司的商業目標。
Each production company operates differently, but if you are uncertain about something, there is no harm in asking. We hope this list will come in as a handy guide to help you jumpstart your project!
每一間影片製作公司都有不同的工作模式，但是如果你有任何的疑問，你都可以向它們查詢。我們希望以上的七點建議，可以幫助貴公司快速開展手上的商業推廣項目。 To keep up to date with more content from Scene 852, follow us on facebook and instagram!