Content Creation vs Video Production - What Is the Actual Difference, if Any?

 

 

Often when businesses are exploring the idea of creating video for the first ever time, a phrase they will occasionally enquire with is ‘we are looking to create some content.’ But what is the difference between a batch of video content that is used for social media purposes and fully-fledged video production?

Let’s first take a look at content creation…

This type of production could be defined in many different ways and in all honesty it is fairly subjective, but when a potential client gets in touch and uses that phrase my immediate thought is that they are looking to create a large bank of both video and photo material that they can use to market with for the months to come.

Usually this content needs to pre-planned and easy to capture, enabling the client to get a lot of bespoke pieces of video in a relatively short space of time - typically a half or full day shoot. In the digital age where we need to be turning up on social media almost daily to stay connected with our consumers, it goes without saying that any organisation can benefit from putting out regular content so long as it is providing value and has a level of quality to it, even if it’s something as simple as putting subtitles and a thumbnail on a video that was shot on a phone.

More and more videographers are now offering ‘content days’ to clients with the goal of these shoots being to capture as much content as feasibly possible over the course of a day. This can be really handy for business owners who want a regular social media output, but don’t want to be having to arrange shoots every single month. This concept is really ideal for the hospitality sector who need to be consistently showcasing their latest offerings, but it can also be applied to any industry. Let’s say you’re a mortgage broker and regularly get asked the same ten questions by clients around certain topics - a great thing to do would be to create a short video focussing on each of those commonly asked questions and this could either be scripted or entirely off the cuff in a Q&A style.

 

 

So, if content creation is essentially just making videos with a camera, how does this differ from video production?

There are a lot of parallels between the two, but in my view daily content for a business’ social media channels doesn’t necessarily need to be as complex as fully-fledged production. Where possible and budget allowing, this material should be well lit, shot properly and if there’s audio that needs to be clean - aside from that, you just need to ensure the end result is thought provoking and relevant to your market.

When it comes to high-end video production, perhaps to create a singular promotional film for a brand, a lot more thought initially needs to be put into the messaging of that piece and what is required to achieve the desired outcome. You need to be carefully thinking about who you want to speak to, the questions you’re going to ask, the footage you need to capture and fundamentally what story are you trying to tell.

This type of production can also come with a few more intricacies on the actual shoot day - there could be multiple cameras, more lights, a boom mic and potentially several members of crew to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently.

Naturally, given the complexities and increased production value, this comes at a higher price point. That said though, businesses should be utilising both methods in order to stay on top of their game. A really well polished brand film for the website is what can help clients decide to work with you and regular output on social media is your way of staying connected with them and providing value.

 

 

At FOSTER Studios we are very happy to support clients whether they’re looking for a brand new promotional film or simply want an archive of content that they can regularly post on their social media channels. We can quite easily scale projects up and down depending on your requirements and budget - if you would be interested in finding out more, head over to the Contact page and get in touch!