Your ‘Quick’ In-House Video Idea… Will Fail

Have you ever tried to produce a video in-house?

Picture this, you’re in your bi-monthly marketing meeting and you’re brainstorming campaign ideas. Someone pipes up, “We really need some video content to promote this.”

Then comes the inevitable sigh from the corner of the room: “But we don’t have the budget for that.”

Silence descends. Until… ping! A lightbulb flashes above your head. You reach into your pocket, pull out your smartphone, and declare, “Let’s just do the video in-house! My phone shoots in 4K. How hard can it be?”

Everyone nods enthusiastically. It feels so easy, so resourceful, so… creative.

But as your friendly neighbourhood video experts, we need to step in like that mate who’ll tell you when you’ve got spinach in your teeth. We’ll let Dr. Ian Malcom explain.

“They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” – Ian Malcom – Jurassic Park

The above quote and following intervention comes from a place of love, we promise.

Because without a professional strategy, your video will fail…..

“But I Don’t See This as a Pass/Fail Thing…”

We hear this defence a lot. You might say, “It’s just for a social media update,” or “It’s just for fun, I’m not looking for an Oscar.”

It’s not fun for your audience. If you don’t see this as a succeed or fail affair, then that’s a problem in itself.

If you are going to spend your own time, your team’s time, and company resources on this, what is the point if it has no value, no objective purpose? Even a “free” in-house video costs money to produce. If you aren’t aiming for success—defined by impact—then you are simply creating more digital noise to add to the ether. And creating noise that no one listens to? That is the definition of failure.

Having the Gear vs. Having the Idea

The tech is becoming easier to use than ever, but do you have the knowledge and experience to actually create something that has value to your target audience?

A crystal-clear image of a bad idea is still just a bad idea. A camera is merely a tool. It doesn’t know about pacing, narrative structure, lighting that doesn’t make your team look ill, or audio that doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a bathroom.

And then there is the post-production. How are you going to edit it? Are you giving the footage to someone who edited their son’s birthday party video once? An in-house video put together on free software by an amateur often lacks the rhythm and polish required to actually stop someone from scrolling past it.

The In-House Video Echo Chamber

Here is the other problem with trying to keep your video content in-house: you lose objectivity.

You have to deal with your own internal company biases. When you produce an in-house video, who is quality controlling the content? Are you surrounded by yes men who don’t want to offend you?

Or perhaps the issue is at the top. Is your CEO adamant on one idea and one idea alone and will not budge? You know the type: they think their personality is so sparkling that people want to spend five minutes watching them list company milestones. Deep down, you know it’s a bad idea and a waste of time, but no one dares say it.

The Budget Reality Check

Going back to that moment in the meeting where someone said the budget wasn’t there.

If it’s not important enough to allocate some budget towards it, then is it worth doing it at all?

In marketing, every piece of content is a reflection of your brand. A DIY video that looks cheap suggests your product or service might be cheap, too. Be honest with yourself; if it’s important enough for your organisation, someone, somewhere will find the money.

Wait, We Can Still Create In-House Video Content?

You can still film it in-house to save costs, but you need to let a professional externally guide the content.

You handle the camera to keep the budget down, but you bring us in for the strategy, the script consulting, and the training. We can offer the tips and advice on lighting and sound that turn a “dodgy mobile clip” into a semi-professional piece of in-house video content. We help you filter out the “yes men” noise to find the story that actually matters.

Let’s Make Some Great In-House Videos, Together

So, before you stick a tripod in front of a white wall for your engineer to read a script off a laptop just off screen and hope for the best, let’s have a proper chat.

Let us be the friends who call you out on the bad ideas so we can focus on the brilliant ones. Let us guide your in-house video production so it actually achieves your KPIs. Because if you don’t…

Your Video Will Fail.

Ready to turn that idea into a reality? Get in touch with our team today!