👨🏾‍🔧 🤜🏾 👨🏼‍🍳 How to order an outsourced IT product video and get what you need ⛵️ 🙅🏼 🧑🏼

7 things that depend on you

Want to quickly make a cool video about your service or application? The contractor wants to do the same for you! Your intentions coincide, it remains only to learn how to interact productively. What can the client do, for his part, so that work on the video goes smoothly and leaves only positive impressions? After analyzing our experience in creating videos about IT products , we at Alconost made seven recommendations on this subject.

1. Highlight the person in charge

One person who will provide the files necessary for the contractor to answer questions and accept work. Of course, this person may need the help of colleagues in setting the task and their opinion when certifying intermediate results - and without problems. At least the whole team can participate in the discussions on your side! And the role of a responsible person is to transmit to the contractor agreed opinions on your part.

If the wishes of colleagues contradict each other - agree within the team and return to the contractor with a point of view that suits everyone.

2. Warn the artist about planned changes to the product

Sometimes an application is constantly being improved and, while a movie is being created, new features may appear in the application itself or existing ones may change. Warn the artist about the functionality that is being finalized, and even better - provide the artist with a test version of the application, the functionality of which is as close as possible to that which will be implemented by the time the video is released.

3. Give the performer enough information

If the contractor asks you to fill out a brief - do not neglect this. In the brief, questions are asked that the contractor needs to understand the “chips” of your product, your expectations from the video and its technical requirements. The more accurately the brief is filled, the lower the probability of getting the “output” is not that or not quite what you really needed.

Of course, when you select a contractor and correspond with several agencies or freelancers, and everyone asks to fill out a brief of their own format, this is time-consuming. But you can pre-prepare the terms of reference in a format convenient for you, and use this blank when filling out briefs. If you have never done this before, it's okay: after reading 3-4 briefs from different contractors, you will understand what issues everyone is interested in.

4. Feel free to ask for clarification.

Sometimes, the executors are so immersed in the production process that they forget to surface when communicating with the client. If in dealing with a performer you come across a specialized term, the meaning of which you are not sure about, feel free to ask what this means. You do not have to be competent in the field of video production. And there is nothing awkward in asking the performer to speak with you in a human, not technical, language.

5. Do not be afraid to ask questions.

Ideally, you always know when the contractor plans to show you the nearest interim result and what stage you will go after it is approved. We recently wrote about the step-by-step process of creating videos in Alconost , but if your artist forgot to warn you, for example, when to expect a storyboard - do not hesitate to ask about it.

And also - at the initial stage of production, you can ask the contractor to draw up an approximate plan for the stages and terms.

6. Assure intermediate results in earnest

Approved material forms the basis of the following steps. For example, based on the script, an announcer's voice is recorded, under which the animation is then assembled. Changing the approved results is as if at the stage of wallpapering decide to replace the wiring or tear down the wall. Of course, this is not impossible! You can replace and demolish - if you are willing to allocate additional money and time for this.

Sometimes it is difficult to overcome the inner voice whispering: " Well, like anything, if that - and then fix that ." But it’s better not to accumulate doubts, but to discuss them with the performer as early as possible so that the snowball of comments does not crash into the video, which is almost ready for publication.

And also - when planning the release date of the video, consider the time you need to formulate a response to the intermediate results. Indeed, the pace of approval on the client side is outside the control zone of the contractor. At the time of certification - the ball is on your side: it depends only on you how soon the production will proceed to the next stage.

7. Give constructive comments.

“ Reduce, please, this inscription! "- you can ask, and to fulfill such a request is really simple. But it’s better for the contractor to understand what problem you want to solve with this change. After all, the point is not that the 18th size is more beautiful than the 24th.

“ In this scene, we need to focus on the action in the interface, and the inscription draws attention to itself. Maybe we will reduce it or something like that? "- here is a comment with which you can work more constructively. Perhaps it is better to make the caption paler or move it to another area of the frame, display it sooner or later, reduce or remove it altogether.

Talk about the problem, and finding its optimal solution is the task of the performer.

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In your experience, which of these tips can really save the project? What would you personally advise a manager who plans to work with an outsourced contractor? How did your own approaches to work with outsourcing teams change over time? Share in the comments.

about the author

Alconost creates videos for applications , games , sites and businesses : selling, image-building, advertising, training, teasers, add-ons, trailers for Google Play and the App Store. We make turnkey videos : from script to sound design. In any languages!

Alconost also localizes games, applications and sites in 70+ languages.

How to order an outsourced IT product video and get what you need