Top 5 Video Production Mistakes and How to Avoid Them | By a Video consultant

Producing high-quality video content can be challenging, and avoiding common mistakes is crucial in ensuring the final product is professional, effective, and aligned with your goals. Whether you're a business owner, marketer, or someone involved in video production, understanding these mistakes helps you save time, money, and effort while maximizing the impact of your videos.

Mistake #1 - Going It alone (Get a Video Consultant!)

Going it alone in video production is often tempting, especially when you think you can manage it yourself or that it’ll save you money. But without the right expertise, you're likely to encounter problems that could have been easily avoided. Video production is a complex process, and there are many moving parts—from pre-production planning to shooting and editing—that need to come together seamlessly. Without someone experienced in the field, you risk creating content that doesn’t align with your brand, looks unprofessional, or fails to engage your target audience.

A video consultant can provide the strategic insight and guidance you need to avoid these issues. They can help refine your vision, streamline the production process, and ensure that every detail is taken care of, from proper lighting to effective editing. They’ll also guide you in crafting a story that resonates with your audience and meets your business goals. Going it alone means missing out on this critical expertise, which can cost you time, money, and potentially damage your brand’s image.

Mistake #2 - Don't overcomplicate things.

Overcomplicating the story in a video is a big problem because it can easily confuse or lose your audience. When a video tries to do too much or gets too deep into unnecessary details, people just don’t know where to focus. In today’s fast-paced world, viewers want content that’s easy to follow and gets to the point quickly. If the story’s too complicated, it can make your message blurry and turn people off before they even finish watching. Keeping things simple and focused ensures your audience stays engaged and walks away with exactly what you want them to know. Ogilvy have a very interesting article on what has worked and what recently hasn't in the advertising arena. We highly suggest a read!

If you become noise, you'll get lost in it...

Mistake #3 - Not Optimising Your Advertisement For Different Platforms

There's no reason you can't reuse your advertisement, it can be used and recut in many different ways - This is something a video consultant or editor can help with! For example, a TV ad can definitely be recut to work for different platforms, but it’s important to adjust it for each one’s unique needs. While TV ads are typically made for a broad audience and have a specific format (usually 30 or 60 seconds), each platform has its own requirements, whether it’s the aspect ratio, video length, or how viewers engage with the content. For example, social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok often prefer videos that are either square or vertical, and you’ll need to trim or refocus parts of your ad to fit those formats. Plus, the pacing or style of the ad might need to change to better capture attention in the fast-scrolling world of social media.

Mistake #4 Don't forget your brand.

People don't like to be surprised - As humans, we like consistency. (Anyone remember the Jaguar rebrand?) Although some would argue this tips the scale from uncanny valley to sheer shock therapy. Another example could be a business that uses very high-end, polished visuals in their branding but then puts out a video with low-quality production, poor lighting, and cheap graphics. That mismatch can damage trust and make the brand seem inconsistent.

Branding isn’t just about logos and colors—it’s about the whole feel of the content. A video should reflect your brand’s voice, values, and aesthetic. If it doesn’t, viewers may get confused about what your business stands for or, worse, feel like it’s not as professional or authentic as they thought. That’s why aligning your videos with your brand is key to maintaining a strong and consistent presence across all platforms.

Mistake #5 - Lack of a clear objective.

Lack of a clear objective in video production is like setting out on a journey without knowing your destination—it leaves your video feeling directionless. For example, if a business creates a video just for the sake of having content without considering what they actually want to achieve, the result can feel scattered. Maybe they want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to their site, or promote a specific product, but if that goal isn’t clear from the start, the video won’t be effective in reaching it.

Without a clear objective, the video could end up with too many messages or none at all, leaving viewers unsure about what they’re supposed to take away. For instance, if the goal is to drive sales, but the video spends too much time on broad brand messaging without clearly guiding the viewer toward a purchase, you’re wasting your opportunity to engage effectively.

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