7 Things That Make a Good Corporate Film

1. Keep it Clear and Simple
Whether you are publishing content offline or online, a common mistake that almost everyone makes is communicating multiple messages within a single film. Your communication should be crisp, direct and with a single central message. Multiple messages in your communication may confuse the viewers and may even cause them to lose interest in it. Be it a topic as broad as ‘life in today’s society’ or as narrow as ‘viscosity of your unique engine lubricant’, it should only communicate a single message. A film, in general, should consist of a singular, crisp and unambiguous communication, so one must build their story, details and its descriptions pointing towards the same objective.

2. Highlight the USP
The corporate world has reached a point where everything has a good, decent competition waiting around the corner. A general, too common a subject, may also need a specific quality which makes it distinctive compared to similar subjects. So, before deciding on the subject and how to go about the script of the film, you need to figure out the positioning of your company/product/service with respect to your USP. A Unique Selling Point is something you should base your communication on. There can be either of the two things or both: while one can be the subject of your film, the other could be the way in which the film is made / disseminated. Once that is identified, one must incorporate this uniqueness as the main piece of the film.

3. Quality Matters More
Identify your target audience and platform where you need to publish, broadcast or display the film you are making. Even after making a lot of films, filmmakers often fail to understand that their ways of contemplating are becoming outdated by the ever-decreasing attention span of an average viewer in this media-saturated world. Over-consumption of all kinds of content has left us a world with less curiosity and intrigue. An average audience today is much more difficult to entertain than ever before and harder yet to keep them engaged. A shorter length and engaging content have better recall value than a lengthy description which one has to endure. The dry content of all your technical and product-specific details can be compensated with a shorter length and some entertaining way to present it.

4. Original Content or Content Originally or Both
The content included in the film should not only be engaging but also requires being unique. Original content gives you a head start in positioning your brand to the first time viewers as authentic. It is easy to make them curious about something they haven’t come across before; also the same will create an air of authenticity as well as curiosity till you communicate your subject clearly. Peripheral things with which you wrap around your target message should be original by it and/or in the way it is presented.

5. Add Value Visually
There is a picture which a customer or client will make of you when they see your film. Their imagination would be as good as what you say audibly or visually. As far as the audio is concerned, the manipulation is easier and affordable. The key is to successfully get around the visual part of it and get away with it. Visuals are harder to manipulate and hence, should be restricted to the fantastic few you have got. Places to be shot or shown as a part of your company needs to be decided beforehand and should be decorated according to its purpose or place in the story. Fewer neat visuals would help you have a better identity than showing too many visuals which are not as neat or real. Also, showing something which is not real or true just to beautify the visual, would arise question on the authenticity of your company also; because your viewers will always have an upper hand in their exposure to media and would not take them long to figure out if something is manipulated.

6. The Script is the Preview
To see the film before all its components come together is not possible, but you can get close to it by reading, understanding and getting it approved by the client. A good script would give you an idea of the final film before even the shooting begins. Your script decides what to say and what to show, what to do and what to expect from the film. A good script nearly rounds everything up (visual, audible, graphical or imaginable) which will be present in the film, on a piece of paper. Craft the script with addition and subtraction of all the elements which would add or subtract the value to the film, respectively. A good script is half the job done.

7. Win People with People
Your film needs familiarity and connection with the client. Your company is represented by people and your potential customer or clients would also be in the form of people. The best and most basic connect that you can build up is by involving people into your film to tell your story. Company's vision and/or mission, with conviction, can be described by the very people who are truly responsible for the existence and excellence of your company. This will give a face, an identity, and credibility to what you are saying or describing in your film. But most importantly, a connection to the viewer is a must. Involve people, brag about the progress, give testimonies and information in the form of interviews. It will make it more believable and enable the ease of connecting to the audience effectively.