Because I'm worth it

Commissioning video for business requires trusting relationships.

Many who commission video production for business, spending significant sums as they do so, are not confident when judging the worth of paying more for better quality. Better quality in video can seem of intangible value. I get the same feeling when I get my car fixed: Should I get opt for the new cormthruster unit that'll last me another 5 years or risk just getting the widget pipes cleaned for half the price?

And this presents me with a quandary: as I make video for business, should I concern myself with achieving high level aesthetic values when the client cannot see the point?

It’s an issue I take seriously. Is my obsession with quality dysfunctional? Are my quality control measures the wrong ones? I’ve thought about this and I’ve managed to convince myself that I’m doing alright.

Good filmmaking speaks to the unconscious. When we make video for business we do have to communicate information, but on the whole, video is not as good at doing this as text. What video is good at is communicating to the subconscious – affecting attitudes and understandings.

Narrative is a profound craft that changes minds. Religion, politics and Max Clifford all use it to make meaning. Because we watch TV regularly it’s easy to think that telling a story is easy. It isn’t. There are rules and techniques that can be studied and mastered.

The worst sort of corporate film dramas are little more than lists of facts and points that need to be communicated - put into the mouths of characters. Exposition isn’t drama. The communication of facts and attitudes needs to be translated into the language of human conflict to attract our interest.

Visual composition has been studied and analysed. There are rules to be learned. And sticking to them can make a programme that is easier to watch and which communicates more effectively.

There's more, but in short – the skills we bring to bear in the creation of video for business create effects that look simple, but which come from the study, mastery and application of technique. When budgets get squeezed we can compromise our art – and that can compromise the result and the effect. What the client wants is someone who is only going to spend their money where it's going to have a significant effect on the impact they are trying to make.

I’ve talked myself into it – I am worth it!