How can your video marketing strategy be enhanced by skills used in indie films?

Independent or Indie Filmmaking is at the core of 2 East 8th’s roots. This begs the question; Why are you indie filmmakers making corporate videos? The answer is simple really. We don’t believe the two to be mutually exclusive. In fact, we have found a way to merge our video marketing services with our indie film skills. By taking an indie filmmaking approach to corporate videos, we are more creative, more resourceful, more flexible, more communicative, more collaborative, and more fun. We use the skills honed in indie filmmaking to help all types of businesses enhance their video marketing strategy.

These elements combined account for the most important aspect of our formula; Affordability. We’re simply better equipped to do more with less. We can stretch our client’s video marketing budget because we’ve been there and have had to do it with our own projects. We understand the restrictions our clients are faced with. We also understand that a limited budget does not limit creativity. In reality, it has the opposite effect. 

Creative videos that tell a story

When competing against larger, more profitable businesses with more money to throw at a video, it’s important to keep in mind that money does not equal success in making a video that hits its target. Being a small business ourselves, we certainly understand this. Having expensive toys doesn’t itself produce the best videos for marketing. Story does. And story doesn’t cost a thing. That’s where our focus is. The same passion and creativity that goes into our indie film projects get applied to our videos for your business.

Resourceful Video Production

This one goes hand in hand with being creative. One of the staples of independent filmmaking is utilizing the resources that you have at your disposal and working around them. The Duplass Brothers are filmmakers who had a van and a puffy chair. They made a movie revolving around these two items. Now they’re getting offers to direct Marvel films. We will find the resources that add production value to your video without hurting your bottom line. Sometimes this involves asking for favors but that’s yet another aspect of the indie film community that we love; an eagerness to help each other out. On one particular project, our coffee shop location fell through last minute and we had to scramble to find another option. We put out the call to our network and ended up with a bar/restaurant that welcomed us with open arms. We had to tweak the content slightly but it ended up adding an element to the story that we weren’t expecting. 

 

Flexible by design

Believe it or not, more money can often equal less flexibility. Maybe you landed a big name actor as your spokesperson. But they’re only available for a limited window of time. So if anything goes wrong during that brief window, you’re out of luck. Or you simply may not have an adequate amount of time to spend with this actor on getting the shots just right and the end product suffers. The same goes for expensive gear rentals. If that fancy rig isn’t back in time, it’s on your dime. When something goes wrong, as it inevitably does, we don’t panic. We pivot. We find a creative solution to the problem. The funny thing is that this usually makes the end product stronger. 

 

Communication is key

This one is more of a necessity than anything. With so many moving pieces, it’s easy for communication to break down on some level. This is true for any sized budget but is pivotal when funds are limited since there is so much less margin for error. Indie Film crews, in general, are smaller. So are we. That means fewer departments to relay information to and through since we are so heavily involved on the ground level.

Collaboration is a core value

This is also a must. The ability to come together as a group and not only communicate effectively but to execute efficiently and in concert with one another is essential to the success of any video production, especially one with a limited budget. We love to surround ourselves with creative people that can bring together all the necessary elements in not only creating a great video but a great atmosphere, which leads us to…

 

Video production should be fun

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Making movies is fun! And yes, that includes your corporate video. It’s such a rewarding process for us to bring an idea to life, whether it’s our own or the story of your brand or business. So we’re going to enjoy that process and it’s our hope that you will too. 

 

A Video Marketing strategy that doesn’t break the bank

These six elements make up our formula for saving you money on video production without sacrificing quality. Because just like our own films, we aren’t finished until we have an end product that we are proud to show off. While we own tens of thousands of dollars worth of video production gear, we don’t pretend that it’s anywhere near what some larger operations have access to. 

In a way, this unburdens us. Our camera rigs, lighting, and audio are more portable and easier to assemble, allowing us to move quickly. This saves you, the client, time, and money. The gear we own will make your video look great. But the creative work going into the content itself will be the difference in making your message feel great without so many dollar signs.  

In our article about video marketing statistics, we highlighted how too many local and small businesses think a video is too expensive to use in their marketing plans. Defying expectations is another skill we’ve picked up over the years making indie films and we’ve found ways to make videos that work for budgets of all business sizes.