What is Video Communication?
From Zoom to TikTok, video is at the core of how we now communicate and receive information, whether video calling as we work from home, delivering induction and safety training before stepping on-site, feeding our social media, or helping us wind down with YouTube videos or our favourite Netflix series.
With necessity, the mother of invention, the last couple of years have seen video conferencing technologies significantly evolve the way we work, thanks to the covid-19 pandemic. No longer is the video conference confined to conference rooms. The transition from face-to-face meetings to video meetings seems here to stay, as we embrace hybrid working and take the opportunity to travel less for work, to save costs and reduce our carbon footprint.
With video now all-pervasive, it can be helpful to pause and remind ourselves of the fundamentals, to ensure we create and target our video communication for maximum effect.
Brief History of Video Communications
Visual storytelling is some 40,000 years old, dating back to when cave paintings recorded events and shared knowledge. With the invention of the moving image in the late 1800s, it wasn’t long before propaganda films found their way into cinemas. And as technology evolved, the military and education sectors were quick to embrace the latest formats and storytelling opportunities. The US military learnt from the best, including Disney, in making propaganda and training videos during WWII, and was more than matched by the other side.
Whilst videotape was invented in the 1950s, it was the ‘70s before it became generally available. Unlike film, videotape could be reused and, not having to be developed like film, enjoyed a simpler and faster workflow. Like all new tech, it wasn’t cheap, and competing formats made it complicated. However, by the early ‘80s, MTV and home movie rental houses made VHS the staple.
Larger corporations with deep pockets embraced the new format for promotion, education and training. As the technology evolved and costs came down, corporate videos became higher quality and more mainstream, and an Australian government training levy in the early 1990s supercharged the training video sector.
Today, anyone can shoot high-quality videos on their mobile devices and edit them on their laptop. Video content is more accessible and available from streaming, via YouTube to bite-sized videos on social media. The range of quality and skill from low-fi reels to high-end Corporate Videos is extensive, with high-end video embracing sophisticated storytelling, cinematic production values and principles of marketing communication.
Different Types of Video Communications
Whether your message is for internal or external communication, passive or interactive, the starting point for all good video communication is determining what you are wanting to say, to whom, and determining the most effective format and platform to use. What, why, who, where, how and when.
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Corporate
Video is the ideal way to convey who you are, your vision and your values, both internally and externally. This is increasingly important in retaining staff who want to work for a business with a purpose. A video is also a useful tool for induction, training, and professional development. It can bring Annual Reports to life, and it can document important information and events for the company, including corporate history.
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Client
Whether on your website, socials or part of your B2B marketing, video can help you articulate your business and brand values, show prospects what you do and why you are their clear choice, illustrate your capabilities for a tender, provide information on a problem that you have the solution for, and be championed by satisfied customers via testimonials.
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Product
Show – don’t tell. Video is the perfect way to showcase your products and services. From product launches to demonstrating your USP, editorials, advertorials, tutorials and point of sale.
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Community
Whether internal with your workforce or external with your B2B/B2C customers, video is the ideal tool for promoting your values, building your brand and strategically engaging with your communities across a myriad of platforms.
Benefits of Video Communications
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Sticky
Storytelling engages both sides of the brain, the analytical and the emotional. We remember things better if told in a story than as hard facts.
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Efficient
Video enables us to explain and show how something works or what to do, conveying information relatively quickly and economically.
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Clear
Video is less ambiguous than text can be. It enables you to show processes and events clearly, with less room for misinterpretation. The body language of a presenter or interviewee can also enhance understanding, which can help overcome literacy and language barriers.
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Resonant
Video can pique the senses – from the tone of the voice-over, the mood of the music track, or evocative visuals – which can create an emotional response and promote empathy. Seeing a key person, such as your CEO delivering a heartfelt message, can help build trust.
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Consistent
Video is easy to disseminate across the miles and over time and provides consistent information provided regardless of when and where. It’s ideal for remote working, inductions, health and safety, corporate messaging.
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Interactive
Education and training videos can include story pathways that encourage and enable you to monitor critical thinking. You can confirm that induction videos have been watched and understood. And you can tailor metrics to your reporting needs.
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Time-critical
Video enables you to capture key moments and events, from timelapse on a construction site to the launch of a prototype, for promotion, reporting, or the archives.
List of Video Communication Tools
- Video conferencing: we’re all too familiar with these now – Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout/Meet, Microsoft Teams.
- Webinars: Streaming live video with real-time interaction, recorded and available for catchup/repeat viewing.
- Produced Videos: pre-recorded and generally scripted form of video for a specific purpose and to a brief
- Social media: bite-sized stories for video streaming, to encourage engagement, reinforce your brand, extend your reach
- Other realities – VR, AR, MR, XR
o Virtual, where you are immersed in a scenario. This can be the real world, 360o video, captured with multiple cameras, or computer-generated, usually through a games engine. Imagine yourself in a forest, an operating theatre, or on a sports field.
o Augmented, where computer-generated images are layered onto reality. Pokemon Go!, cat filters on zoom, see how a piece of Ikea furniture will look in your room, safely show high-risk points on your construction site.
o Mixed (aka XR, Extended) combines real and computer-generated images. The video alone doesn’t enable interactivity, but buddy it up with some IT for great learning experiences. Inspireworks can create 360o interactive training videos where employees learn online and interact using google cardboard headsets.
Final thoughts
Video Communication involves the capture and creation of video content and the delivery of that content to an audience via communication technology. Almost anyone now can create and upload video content. But there is a skill to creating clear and focused video content and delivering that content effectively to its intended audience. For that, it’s best to hire an expert.
Hire a Professional Video Production Company
For over 21 years Inspireworks has been a video production partner to some of Australia’s most influential companies in consulting, utilities, construction, science and technology. In that time, we’ve evolved along with the technology and the art of corporate visual storytelling.
We work with our clients to understand their needs, advise on the best medium for the message, and agree on a brief. We develop the creative narrative and visual style, capture high-quality audio and video, 4k or HD video, bring the content together in the edit suite and deliver effective video communications Australia wide.
To discover what we can bring to your video communications …
Please call us today at Inspireworks on 1300 885 968 or send us a message for more information.