Our Philosophy Pt. 3: C Is For… Creativity

A brand video can be surprising, artistic and enlightening all at once.

You might be trying to clarify what you sell, or show off your friendly team members and explain what they do. In the quest for a video that rivals the best in the business, the production crew have to achieve your objectives – but they should also do it creatively.

Why’s that important? Well, because an original and engaging video is one of the most valuable resources you can have, and it’s part of HSQ Production’s core principles. Let us explain what we mean:

The result is something people want to see

Think of a film or television show – one of your favourites. Why do you like it so much? Is it the writing, acting, lighting or direction? It’s probably a bit of everything: the most memorable visual stories treat all of those elements with the same care. We may not notice each of them as we watch, but they all add up to create an experience in which we feel a connection to what’s happening on screen.

Video marketing operates on the same principle. Sure, it’s a commercial product, yet there’s still a story to work out. Creative videographers have a big imagination; they see where they can make your brand’s personality flourish, within your preferred timescale and budget.

A sense of humour. Attention to detail. Great scriptwriting. A bit of creativity turns a standard video into one that you can’t take your eyes off.

Top-class technical ability

Video experts are restless, always looking for the next development in the industry. Creative people don’t like to be overtaken – innovation is in their blood.

The finest creative video teams will be ahead in terms of lenses, sound design and camera setup. They will always select the best tools for the job, from an arsenal that can deliver amazing returns on investment.

It’s not just a matter of sticking something in the frame and yelling ‘action!’. A top-class production team knows truly fantastic work requires a lot more than that. Within your concept and with your approval, they might even take a left-field approach to ensure your brand ends up leading the pack, instead of picking up crumbs from others in the industry.

Creativity makes up an essential, and significant, part of our own values. Once brought on-side, HSQ Productions will never take a laissez-faire stance when filming something spectacular for your brand or organisation. Talk to us or see what we’ve done in the past for proof.

Our Philosophy Pt. 2: C Is For… Cost-Effectiveness

Money isn’t everything. But it sure does play a role in how effective your video marketing will be as a business resource. Spend too much for a bad product, and you’ll be on the back foot for the rest of your financial year – as well as losing ground to your competitors.

HSQ Productions place ‘cost-effectiveness’ high on our list of the essential Cs: the values we uphold when making an offer to clients. It’s part of the six principles we abide by, and we firmly believe you should go for videos that make for a great return on investment, rather than ones that are cheap.

Here’s how we get the best results from video budgets:

Cutting the unnecessary stuff

Some production crews will push for big, bold additions to what should be (really) a simple video shoot. They’ll say they need to deliver complex graphics, props and camera angles – all of which absorb more time or funding. We aren’t saying there’s never a time and a place for such extras, but they shouldn’t be ‘do or die’. It’s possible to make a strong video that just uses the basics of scene, lighting, sound and a good script.

HSQ don’t sell you a package that’s weighed down with too many additions – at least, not if you don’t want them. A tight budget is fine, necessity breeds invention after all. Some of our most memorable projects have been simple, stripped-back videos that focused on little more than a place or an interesting subject.

Talking heads. Tracking shots. Quick, clever editing. Video agencies should be able to do great things with what they’re given, instead of making expensive requests that fill the gaps in their skill set.

You only pay for the final result

This is a subject we’ve discussed before the benefits of going for a video production service that charges for delivering on the brief as opposed to the hours they spend on achieving it.

Pay-per-hour is bad for a number of reasons. Chief among them is the chance for wasted work, which you’re still being billed for. There’s absolutely no certainty that the time recorded is A) accurate, or B) adds any value. What if the production team is swamped with assignments? Might they be holding off on the deadline because they haven’t planned their schedule effectively? Promises like this are half-baked. Such payment plans are a sign that the agency doesn’t value your budget as much as you do.

By agreeing to a weekly or monthly delivery list, on the other hand, you have confidence that your funds are being used properly. If the video is late, that’s the problem of those behind the camera. Your aims are entwined. And the budget, by all accounts, will be healthier for it. You can see how the costs stack up against the benefits you’re set to get far in advance.

HSQ Productions will never fleece you for a subpar video. It’s against what we believe in, and our clients respect that. Contact us to make a booking or to discuss how we can create a cost-effective video for you. With HSQ, every penny spent will be right there, in the frame.

Our Philosophy: C Is For… Capability

Did you manage to read our introduction to the six Cs of HSQ Productions? If not, that’s fine; we’ll give you a refresher on what we mean.

When we began life as a video production agency, Adam Smith and the rest of the team thought about the intrinsic promises our clients could look forward to. The six Cs are the answer – a cluster of ideologies, all hewn towards the beliefs we share for what we can do and how a business may trust us.

Your marketing aims, for instance, will need a Capable service: the very first C on the list. Here’s a closer examination of what that entails…

Know the tricks of the trade

Not everyone can master videography, or even be particularly good at it. Shooting film takes years of training and practice to get right; particularly when the yardstick keeps moving higher, as more brands warm to the possibilities of video content.

Success breeds innovation. And innovation means that more people are trying new things. If a video production crew can’t capably film your story (i.e. produce it to a standard that walks over your competitors, who aren’t paying as much attention) they will fall flat, along with your promotional power. But they also can’t rely on the same old methods to do so. Angles, composition, lenses and camera choices are an evolving set of tools and techniques. A production hire must be aware of what’s hot on the video scene, otherwise you will appear stale, by extension.  

Your organisation wants to be the best. Therefore, it has to look the best, and that relies on a capable team that knows what it’s doing.

Never pile the workload too thickly

Aside from the nuts and bolts of contemporary video skills, it’s important to realise that the crew – by all accounts – can take on what you’ve asked. Saying “yes” to everything just isn’t feasible. It’ll distract from a focused assignment, which yields the results you want.

HSQ are very careful to measure out what we’re able to film, edit and package in the time we’ve agreed to. By sticking to a select few projects, there’s no risk of missing the mark when we prepare for something. You’re assured that we won’t spread ourselves thinly, or press the ‘hold’ button whilst other enquiries take precedence. That seems like the fair and logical standpoint… But we know that other agencies don’t do this. They will keep taking more work on, even when they are at 100% capacity.

An HSQ booking, however, equates to a secure, focused video service that doesn’t juggle you with other clientele. Can you see now why our Cs are so useful to pick up on? They are a working philosophy that hasn’t let us down so far. And really, they exemplify what our brand means for yours. Speak to Adam or his colleagues for more information; alternatively, head to our Greatest Hits page, where you’ll view bright spots in HSQ’s professional roster.