There’s nothing we love more than releasing a shiny new video from our studio!
But until the exciting final point, there is a long road full of thought and hard work.
Behind every video, even the shortest ones, stands a complex process of cracking the brief and creatively thinking about a winning idea that will make the video a huge success!
Come get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative thinking process – and in essence – how do you come up with a winning and effective idea for a video?!
Every project actually begins with a brief we receive from the client. In the brief, we can get an impression of the unique product/service, the purpose of the video (going to social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok? Or specifically to the home website?), the target audience, important highlights about the product/service, and other parameters that will help us crack the brief and come up with an idea that will perfectly suit our specific customers.
We usually schedule a meeting for the brief, so that we can get to know the customers and the product in the best possible way, and feel the vibe and what exactly they want to convey.
After the briefing, comes the brainstorming phase. At this stage, we sit and think about what is the most right thing for the video/video series.
For me personally, good ideas come through visuals. Sometimes going the other way is actually the best way – first seeing a strong visual idea that works well, and then thinking about how to adapt it to the client and the specific product in a way that will best serve the film.
That’s why at this point I like to dive into the big web – to sites like
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ ,
Behance https://www.behance.net/ ,
Dribbble https://dribbble.com/
In addition, I really love my “Saved” category on Instagram (every time I come across something interesting, I save it on Insta, and over time I’ve created a respectable folder of references and inspiration).
So, by browsing extensively online, I find ideas for inspiration and a suitable style for the videos I need to create.
The next step is to create an inspiration board.
On the inspiration board, I put photos/videos that I feel are right for the specific brief, along with atmospheric photos that will demonstrate the desired styling and of course a color palette that marks the framework within which we are working in terms of color.
What’s interesting about the inspiration board is that the references don’t have to be one-to-one with what will happen in the end. They are just pictures that give the right feeling. Therefore, in a brief for a stop-motion video of a product, an artistic image may appear on the inspiration board whose only connection to the video is the color scheme and the general vibe that the image conveys.
After we have created an inspiration board, we start thinking about different directions for the video. Think of 2-3 main ideas, and begin to develop each one separately. Usually, at this stage, we already feel what is most appropriate and what is least.
In the pitch we present to clients, we show the inspiration board and the winning ideas for the film from our perspective. In addition, we present a color palette, a general feel of the video, relevant references to the technique, and a detailed explanation of why we think the idea is suitable for the product/service and how the idea expresses the message and values
Working with customers and transparency throughout the process are very important to us, as no one knows the product better than the customer themselves. That’s why we are attentive throughout and make every effort to hit the mark and come up with a perfect concept that will convey the message as accurately as possible for the customer! This is also an important step in terms of coordinating expectations, as this way the client can really imagine the final product and get an impression of whether the ideas are in the right direction and reflect the initial vision they had when they decided to use visual media to promote their product/service.
The next step is detailed visual planning of the film using a storyboard and animatics, and then of course filming and editing.
As you can see in previous blogs I published here and here and also here
So in conclusion, thinking of an idea for a video can be challenging and even frustrating (depending on how quickly the idea comes…). The good news is that we live in the information age and there is so much inspiration all around us, just one click away, you can be exposed to a truly wide variety of talents and ideas.
It is important to formulate the idea according to what the client requested. This will both shorten approval and revision processes, and will also give the client a feeling of “peace of mind” when all the emphasis he conveys is taken into account in the creative and style. It’s always worth staying up to date and looking at what others are doing, keeping good ideas aside, and at the moment of truth, coming up with your own winning idea, which will create the foundation for a successful and good video.
