We’ve all heard a commercial jingle out of our heads, or laughed at an ad that really caught our attention. Video commercials are effective marketing assets that attract customers, educate viewers, and win business for your company’s products or services. Commercials are more than 30-second TV ads; they can be made to reach people online, on their phones, and even on your own website. They can be made as long or short as you need to catch attention and get your message across.
So, how do you make a commercial? We’ve broken down the process into six steps to help you understand the full timeline.
Step 1: Make a Creative Brief
You’ll start with a creative brief when working with a video production company to create a commercial for your business. The production company will collaborate with you during this step, but it usually creates the final brief based on your input and requests when ordering the commercial.
Your creative brief should include the following:
- Project overview – A summary of the entire project, including the commercial’s scope, timeline, purpose, and how it fits into your business’s overall marketing strategy.
- Brand guidelines – Depending on how comprehensive your company’s brand guidelines are, you can either include a link to the full document in the creative brief or a short overview. The production company should always have access to your brand’s tone, style, visual guidelines, and any other crucial branding information when producing a commercial.
- Target audience – This includes detailed information about your ideal customer, such as their age range, lifestyle, interests, and pain points. Be as specific as possible when identifying your target audience.
- Video marketing funnel stage – A creative brief should clearly state the commercial’s purpose and the desired action consumers will take after watching it. Common marketing funnel stages are brand awareness, educating (think infomercial or product announcement), conversion, and retention.
- Budget – The project’s budget should be determined and finalized in the creative brief well before production begins.
- Placement – Determine if your commercial will air on television, online, or both. If your business is regional, specify what areas of the country it’ll target.
Think of the creative brief as a roadmap for your entire commercial. It guides the production company through the project while setting specific guidelines for everyone to follow.
Step 2: Brainstorm and Outline Creative Concepts
Now armed with a creative brief, the commercial production company brainstorms ideas and concepts to bring the commercial to life. A successful brainstorming session includes team members with various backgrounds and experiences.
Think of brainstorming as the “sky’s the limit” step in the pre-production process. Yes, you have a budget and restrictions outlined in the creative brief, but this is the chance for the production team to swap big ideas and “what ifs?” for your commercial. These grandiose ideas will eventually be scaled down to a creative yet practical commercial concept.
Step 3: Write a Script
Once the concept is final, the production company writes a script. A script doesn’t just contain dialogue—it lays out the following to guide the entire shoot:
- Filming location(s)
- Preferred shots and camera angles
- Dialogue, including voiceovers and superimposed text (known as “supers”)
- Staging directions
The production team will also create a storyboard to complement the script. Storyboards are a visual breakdown of each shot. Each storyboard frame determines camera movement, focus point, and angle.
Step 4: Pre-Production
The pre-production process is everything done to prepare before the camera rolls. That can include assembling the equipment and production team like cameramen, microphone operators, production assistants, and stylists. Of course, the commercial’s budget determines the size and scope of the entire team.
During this step, the production team may also conduct location scouting, secure permits if needed, and prepare assets like shot lists and a shooting schedule.
A commercial with a large budget may hire musicians to produce original music for the project. Smaller budget productions may skip the live music and pay a licensing fee for prerecorded music. Filming locations will also be finalized during the production process.
Step 5: Production & Filming
Now it’s time for the big moment: filming your commercial! Some commercial production companies consider this part of the production process, but we wanted to highlight it as a separate step.
The previous steps on how to make a commercial have set a strong foundation for actually filming it. The creative brief, script, and storyboard guide the production team to bring your vision to life. Filming may take place over one or multiple days, depending on your project’s budget and scope.
Step 6: Post-Production
After filming, the commercial is finalized in post-production. This step involves the following:
- Editing
- Color grading and correcting
- Sound engineering
- Incorporating overlays and visual graphics
The production company will send you the commercial footage for feedback. Once you’ve approved the final cut, the commercial is sent to the television network for final approval.
Ready to bring your commercial to life? 336 Productions is a full-service agency that handles every step of producing a commercial while collaborating with your business throughout the process.
Contact us today to tell us about your project, and our team will create a custom budget for your commercial.
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