Easy Ways to Extend the Shelf Life of Your Videos

Whether you work with us on a project, or shoot and edit something in house, you want your video content to last. Several things you do at the time of the shoot can make or break your ability to use your videos for years to come. Here are our top tips for giving your videos a longer shelf life:

Logos: While it’s tempting to use a backdrop emblazoned with your branding or have your providers sport your logo on their clothing, we suggest you avoid that. Branding changes. A different font style, a stripe of color added or deleted, or a logo overhaul can get great video content declared unusable. Let us plaster your branding all over your video, digitally, because it’s much easier (and less expensive) to update your look on the editing side of things than to re-shoot all of the content or toss aside an otherwise solid video.

Clothing: Encourage your subjects to wear clothing that isn’t obviously seasonal. Sundresses, bulky sweaters or holiday themes can distract from the content, as well as limit the timeframe of when a video feels appropriate. Viewers shouldn’t be able to easily guess what time of year your video was shot. Make sure your shoot isn’t scheduled on Ugly Christmas Sweater Day (You laugh, but we’ve seen it!)

Setting: Much like with clothing, pay attention to what might show in the background of your video. When we shoot in hospitals and clinics, we look for decorations designed to put patients at ease that could come back to bite us. Fall leaves, Christmas trees or bunnies with baskets can inadvertently date your video. Take down holiday decorations or slightly move the shoot location. It’s fine to have jack-o-lanterns in the background of a pediatrician or dentist talking about Halloween candy, but check your surroundings to be sure what your audience sees won’t limit your video’s use. 

Dates: Listen for sound bites that include time references. For instance, if a provider says they’ve been practicing for 2 years, that won’t be true two years from now. Instead, ask them to re-phrase their answer to “I’ve been practicing since 2017.” This comes up a lot in bio interviews with new providers – they say they’re brand new. They won’t be new for long, so train yourself to catch those references. 

Paying attention to these details can help your videos last over multiple years, platforms and uses.

Kim Griffis, CEO and Executive Producer

The original version of this page was published at:  https://healthcarevideoedge.com/2019/06/28/easy-ways-to-extend-the-shelf-life-of-your-videos/