Making corporate films is a simple exercise for large companies. But in the digital age, a local craftsman, an SME (small-medium enterprise) or a new start-up may also want to take advantage of a corporate film to present the company, attract potential customers, manage team meetings, transmit your values, announce a new product or service, or share a professional event such as a seminar.
Are you wondering how to make a corporate film? Solid Rusk Production reveals the different stages of making a corporate film ⤵️
DEFINE THE PURPOSE AND TARGET OF YOUR CORPORATE FILM
As Grandma said, don’t put the cart before the horse! A corporate film is easy to make, but the success of it is 60% based on pre-production!
First of all, you have to define the objective of the corporate film and evaluate the target market you want to reach.
The goal of your corporate film 
Before embarking on making a corporate film, it is important to define the objective. This step is all the more important since the objective will naturally influence the choice of the intended audience and broadcasting channels.
Your corporate film can have several objectives:
Introducing the company
Attracting potential customers
Introduce a new product/service
Share stories from satisfied customers
Team meetings
Communicate company values
Provide expertise
Demonstrate
Training the company’s employees
Share images of a professional event
It’s up to you to set the goal of your corporate film according to your needs and expectations!
Solid Rusk’s top tip: Just ask yourself:
“Why do I want to make this film?”
“What am I expecting to achieve from this video?”
Once you have answered these two simple questions, the objective of your video will then be clear 
The target of your corporate film 
Once the goal of your corporate film has been decided, ask yourself which audience you are targeting? Who needs this video? Who needs to watch it?
These may include your current customers, potential clients, internal teams, external employees and service providers, future investments, etc.
Solid Rusk’s top tip: Once your target audience is found, you can then put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself “what do I expect from watching this video?”
Choose the broadcasting channel for your corporate film
Today there are a multitude of broadcasting channels: social networks (Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube or TikTok), traditional TV ads and e-mail, but your video will also have its place on your website in the form of a banner or projected on a screen in the entrance hall of your company, for example. Selecting the broadcast channel by priority will allow you to promote a video format that will be perfectly adapted.
Is a vertical format preferred for Instagram reels and Facebook videos, TikTok videos or YouTube shorts if you are targeting a young audience? A rectangular format with interviews for Linkedin? Or a more classic format for a report on your website?
Beyond the format, the choice of broadcasting channel will also strongly influence the duration of your video 
To be adapted to the broadcast channel your video must be short? 30 seconds to 1 minute. Or rather long? One minute to four minutes?
Think about using several media outlets to distribution your corporate film! We often think about the website and social networks but it may be relevant to show your film in the waiting room or in the hallway of your company. So think of a long version and a short version!
Solid Rusk’s top tip: We don’t recommend you post a YouTube link on Facebook! If you publish on social media, do it natively on each platform to increase the chances of your corporate movie becoming viral!
To make sure your target audience sees your video, it can even be interesting to create an advertising campaign on social media! By targeting your audience well, you’re increasing your chances to make your investment profitable.
Set the tone and atmosphere of the video
Once you’ve answered these first questions and defined your target audience and channel, you need to set the tone, atmosphere, and think about the message you want to get across through your corporate video.
The Solid Rusk team will help you answer all of these questions at the pre-production meeting. This meeting is the solid foundation for the continuation of the project. It will define the stages of the video’s creation (the timeline), the dates to respect for both the videographer and for the company.
Take into account any constraints
To avoid any unpleasant surprises on the day of shooting and to have the equipment adapted to any situation, we must anticipate the possible constraints as much as possible. Will the shooting take place indoors or outdoors? What are the locations that have been chosen? What is the light like and how will it be at the exact time of shooting? Is there any noise? A construction site or a schoolyard nearby for example?
What equipment is needed? One, two or three cameras? Do we need a prompter, extra lights in case? Do we need a tie microphone? Two tie microphones? What B-roll images do we need to take?
As you can see, anticipation is key! We discuss all of this in detail together at the pre-production meeting.
Don’t forget the “B-roll” images!
What the hell is that?
B-roll is not a new buzzword. It is actually much older than us since its origin goes back to the beginnings of cinema, straight from the west coast of the United States. B-Roll recently made a comeback in all areas of video creation, and is opposed (logically) to the A-roll which is are the main shots.
B-roll images is the content we use to present what the speaker is talking about on the video. It can therefore consist of images captured by a second team in parallel of A-roll, stock shots or simply rush from A-roll.
For example, if a Marketing Director approaches the subject of the relationship he has with his customers, we will have to think about shooting images of a handshake with him, moments of complicity, etc. A real customer can be filmed with their permission, otherwise an extra can be used to play this role. The main thing is that the message is pictorial!
These illustration images are very important and bring dynamism to your video. It is up to the videographer to suggest some ideas. You will be able to discuss together with the client, what kind of images will be needed before shooting.
The final stage: Editing!
Then comes the stage of editing! Just like for filming, it can be done in a day or half-day of work, depending on the length of the video.
It will also be necessary to add the following according to the requirements of the project: free music rights, subtitling, calibration, sound mixing and also the graphic work for the titles and transitions, including the intro, the outro or miniature of your video.
The editing will also be adapted to your target audience and the video format chosen.
An example of a video made for Indiana Café for a young audience can be found at the bottom of the page plus an example of an institutional video for the International University of Monaco.
How much does it cost to make a corporate film?
For the same brief, the budget can be very different depending on the ambitions of the film, the production methods and the dedicated means. As much information as possible is needed to get the most detailed quotation.
By using a videographer, the quote that will be proposed to you for your corporate film will very generally include two main parts: the shooting and the editing.
The filming
According to audiovisual productions, the production of a company film is usually quantified by days or half days of shooting. For the shooting of a simple corporate video, a half-day or even a day will be enough. For a full day of filming, it will cost a minimum of 450€ depending on the technical equipment. This detail is very important to take into account because the shooting is specific to each project and will vary according to the options available, the number of cameras and microphones needed, necessary lights, aerial images, a prompter, etc.
Editing
Then comes the essential stage of assembling the video for which it will be necessary to estimate between 300€ and 600€ per day. A full day of editing corresponds to 1 minute of your corporate film.
To this, it will be necessary to add the free music rights and the addition of the graphics: lettering, animation logo, intro/ outro.
Life hack Solid Rusk:
Our videographer also delivers your company film in vertical format which is subtitled to facilitate its distribution on social networks. This option is added by Solid Rusk Production with customer agreement.
In addition to filming and editing days, added costs associated can include moving to or between filming locations (if there are several) equipment and crew.
Contact us for a quote