This is the third part of a 3-part blog series focusing on producing dynamite video footage for your website while getting the most bang for your buck.

In the second installment, I offered a number of tips for the production phase. In this installment, I address the post-production phase, i.e. editing. Remember, the tips I provide below are based on a conventional corporate-video formula intended to yield about 5 minutes of final, edited video footage. Remember, they are just guidelines and may not apply to every project.

Post Production

Keep Graphics Simple

Flying, flipping motion graphics, even from templates, take lots of time to edit together. Putting static white text over a black background is fast, cost-effective and can be done elegantly so that it doesn’t degrade the impact of your video. For lower thirds (the title graphics you see with the name and title of the person being interviewed) simple white text over a semi-opaque color bar across the lower third of the screen may just do the job.

Use Digital Stills
So that the final edited video isn’t just a sequence of talking-heads, you will want some visual content to insert over the interview clips. If acquiring video footage during your shoot of easily accessible subject matter is possible, then do so. If one has to go to extraordinary lengths to get the shots you envision, consider still photos as an alternative source of visuals. These can be photos you already have, or ones you can easily take yourself. Your video producer can insert these photos into the video and even animate them slightly to grow or slide adding a little dynamic energy to an otherwise static shot.

Review Edits Thoughtfully
When you review an edit, record specific notes regarding any changes you might want and provide the time-code/counter numbers that correspond with those changes. Get the input of one or two trusted colleagues as they might see things that you don’t. Deliver all your feedback on one document and be ready to go over the list verbally with your producer/editor, trying to avoid multiple rounds of revisions.

Repurpose Your Video
Lastly, to get the most bang for your buck, make sure to get your video in a variety of usable formats suitable for web, PowerPoint presentations and DVD and look for opportunities to leverage your video investment.