With the outbreak of COVID-19, a lot of businesses needed to quickly pivot into work-from-home situations, including video production companies. Agencies were forced to suddenly halt and shut down their current productions, or drastically reduce the amount of staff involved on in-person shoots due to social distancing restrictions.
This pandemic pushed forward many out-of-the-box innovative approaches, one of which being remote video production, which allows a production team to create gorgeous, high-quality video content without any need for in-person contact from the crew.
The current health situation that faces us all has thrust this form of production into the spotlight. Is remote video production here to stay when things return to “normal?” Well aside from the obvious underlying advantage of remaining safe amid a global pandemic, what are the benefits of remote video production? We’ll discuss our top 3 – budget, productivity & efficiency.
Budget
It’s no secret that production costs are a major focus and concern for broadcasters, business owners, and essentially everybody nowadays. The cost of equipment, labor and travel – including airfare, lodging and meals – are all involved in the expense of video production. But with remote video production, as fewer people are needed on site or out in the field, expenses required for travel are vastly reduced, freeing up a lot of budgetary restrictions.
In addition, remote video production also means you won’t have the hefty cost of renting vehicles in order to transport expensive, fragile production equipment to a remote location. Since all filming will be handled from a remote setting, you will save on both time and cost associated with transporting equipment to and from filming locations.
Productivity & Efficiency
In addition to price reductions, another major benefit of remote video production is that productivity and efficiency are enhanced. Indeed, the two go hand-in-hand. Traditional video production requires sending members of the team to a particular location for live shooting, and then awaiting their return before you can begin work on the next project. This means your attention and resources must be focused on one project at a time.
But remote video production allows you to maximize your workflow and save time because the production crew can manage more than one production during the day, meaning you’re covering more events with the same number of people. Not to mention the time it takes to set up and break down equipment for each shoot is also greatly minimized.
In short, if you’re looking for an alternative to traditional video production amid these uncertain times, consider remote production. It’s an effective and reliable solution that requires less spend while increasing efficiency as it pertains to allocating your resources, boosting your production output and generating more overall revenue.
How Does Remote Production Work?
Our production company offers a 3-tiered approach to remote video production and recording services. All options are focused on a frictionless user experience to ensure you can focus on the messaging and getting your message across, while we ensure you look and sound your best. Therefore, we have designed all three tiers to be user-friendly and simple to use.
Tier 1: Remote Camera Kits
Our remote kits take your home WiFi, as well as the phone’s internal cellular signal, and combines the two into a solid, stable connection. Each kit has 2 iPhones. The first will obtain an HD video feed using our cloud servers, while the second is only used for communication via the platform of your choice, such as Zoom. Within each kit is also an easy-to-use broadcast-quality microphone and an IFB earpiece.
A question we get asked a lot is: “Why not just use one phone or device?” To put it simply, each device has one job. Your smartphone records the video. The second device is there for communication only. Since we are using an app that connects to our cloud servers, it allows us to see your camera shot, record the video remotely, and ensure that once the recording session is over, so is your part of the work – this way, we are doing most of the heavy lifting on our end, and you can sit back and relax once the recording session is over.
Tier 2: User-provided device with desktop light and mic
Using the same software and connectivity as in Tier 1, we ask that you download and install an app on your personal device. We will also send you a desktop ring light and microphone that is designed to work with the device of your choice.
Tier 3: Skype for Broadcast
In this tier, we use the SkypeTX hardware which allows for an isolated feed from up to 4 remote guests at a time. It also allows for limited compression, isolated audio, and minimal delay. You must either install Skype onto your computer, tablet or other device, or we can share a web link and generic login information. This tier does heavily rely on the guest having a reliable and strong internet connection and a stable computer.
Does the Crew Need to Be Fully Remote?
Our video production services do not need to be entirely remote. We’ve broken them up into two different categories – hybrid remote and true remote.
In a hybrid situation, we send a small crew to your location. There on site, we supply various pieces of equipment for video production. Our small on-site team will then send a feed to our NYC headquarters, and our communication is in real-time.
However, in a true remote setting, both the team and talent are in complete remote settings, entirely separate from one another. This is where our remote camera kit comes into play, or you can use your own device, such as an iPhone.
Get Remote Video Production Today!
Considering current world conditions, in addition to the amazing benefits, it makes sense to choose remote video production. So, if you’re ready to get your next project started, reach out to Sorrentino Media! We specialize in short-form digital content, and we have remote video production kits that can get any project – no matter how big or small – done quickly and efficiently.
In addition, as a boutique production company headquartered in NYC, we provide service and attention to our clients that large production studios are unable to match. We pride ourselves on high-quality and attention to detail, and guarantee gorgeous, professionally produced marketing video for your business or brand. Contact us today to speak with our team!