Video for Small Businesses: It’s Time to Jump In

In my career I’ve worked with, and for, many types of business, providing video production and post-production services as well as audio editing and music composition. While reasons for not implementing “multimedia” in-house (equipment too expensive, programs too hard to learn, the need to hire additional resources) may have been valid several years ago it’s just not the case anymore.

At one company I used to shoot with $65,000 betacam camcorders. Betacam is still used in broadcast but is now considered an “old” tape format. Those camcorders were first-rate with excellent lenses and 3-chip sensors. However, that price tag certainly wasn’t fathomable, let alone justifiable, to businesses who were deciding whether or not to upgrade software on a few computers.

Software and dedicated computer systems built solely for video editing were another barrier to entry. I remember some video editing systems costing in the neighborhood of $50,000 (not even the most expensive!) and they were far from perfect. Of course, we were making a leap from the days of linear or tape-based editing to non-linear or computer-based editing. Ultimately, the savings in time was supposed to make up for the excessive price. That is, if you knew how to use it! This is not to say that linear systems were cheap. Far from it. Video decks and switchers could easily run in the 10′s of thousands. The point is that the hight costs were a real obstacle to small-to-medium sized business to bring video production in-house.

Another problem to contend with was learning the equipment and systems or hiring someone who already knew them. As an experienced professional I can tell you that most people don’t learn to shoot or edit in a weekend. And don’t forget about troubleshooting, an art in and of itself.

Businesses needing a video to demonstrate a product or announce a service were faced with finding outside resources, either through a production company or a freelancer/contractor. It made send (and for some it still does) for businesses with limited space, capital and time. However, video production companies generally aren’t cheap. They are, after all, businesses with all of the typical overhead of building, personnel, benefits plus insuring all of those video and audio toys! Freelancers vary in cost per hour or day and can be cheaper overall because they don’t have the same overhead that a company does. This also assumes they have their own equipment to perform the work. So, while a company couldn’t afford the potentially huge outlay of dollars to bring production in-house, they could afford to do a little here and there by going to outside resources.

Times have changed and businesses, no matter what industry, need to change with them. Costs for equipment and software have, in large part, fallen dramatically while the reliability and ease-of-use and greatly improved. YouTube, social media and cloud computing have taken over the web (and the world) and businesses, regardless of size, need to capitalize and exploit these advances to their advantage.

Blogging and tweeting are ever important but don’t forget about video, audio and presentations. Cisco says that by 2013 video will be 90 percent of all internet traffic, 60 percent mobile. The barrier to entry is nearly nill. On the low-end all that is required is a webcam and a free account on YouTube or, for example, TweetTube. A step up is to add some basic titles or perform simple edits in free Windows Movie Maker of iMovie on the Mac. The variety of capable video editing software for under $100 is amazing and still quite simple to use. (I’ll have a future post about this in the near future). On a more professional level, the Adobe CS4 Suite on PC or Mac and the Final Cut Studio on the Mac are unbelievable. While they aren’t cheap at $1600-$2000 the power within these applications is remarkable. Just 10 years ago it was $25,000-$50,000 for an “editing system”, that is, for the computer, special video cards and only the video editing software. Now you can buy a system with multiple times the power, an entire software suite, all off-the-shelf, for multiples less and be editing like a pro. Video camcorders are no different. Try a FlipCamHD for a few hundred dollars are a more professional Panasonic HVX-200a HD camcorder with professional audio inputs for about $5,500.

Many companies are either looking at preserving capital, strapped for cash or even facing layoffs. Those with means, however, may want to consider moving into digital media production in a bigger way. Whether a new way to offer services, explain product benefits or leverage for a competitive advantage, digital media is here to stay and it’s time to jump in.

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