What’s pre-production?
Pre-production is the first stage of a project. At Launch Media, this typically begins with discovery meetings, where we determine your needs and vision and establish a strategy that meets your communication objectives. Then, we build out a creative brief.
Pre-production can technically be as extensive or minimal as you like. But, the more time and energy and resources you put in during the pre-production stage, the smoother the rest of your video project will go.
Pre-Production with Albemarle
They’re revolutionizing the way we consume energy, which is pretty cool.
But, did you catch the “global” in that company description? That adds a whole other element of difficulty.
Albemarle is a leading global producer of Lithium, Bromine and Catalyst solutions. Among other internal projects, we did a highlight video for Albemarle Corporation.
A highlight video is standard fare for most businesses. It’s one of our most popular services, designed to drive awareness about a brand or product or message. And, they can be easily molded to fit your needs.
So yeah. Albemarle is revolutionizing the way we consume energy all over the world. But, that meant we needed to go talk to people all over the world.
Thus began a long journey of pre-production.
Pre-Production: Managing the People
One of our primary objectives for Albemarle was to convey its size, impact, and potential. But, encompassing their company mission, operations, and impact into a single highlight video was no small feat.
It was important to think strategically about the target audience throughout each stage of pre-production to ensure the right message emerged.
First, that means talking to the right stakeholders. Unfortunately, the logistics of having a lot of people involved in the pre-production stage of a project usually complicates matters.
However, with Albemarle, we needed to engage with people all over the world. And, that added extra layers of challenges for us to overcome.
Embracing the Stakeholders
Information gathering can be a time-consuming process, but it’s incredibly valuable. We wanted to ensure that everyone was heard, so that we could have the necessary perspectives to create an impactful visual narrative.
Across the industries we serve, our clients consistently express their appreciation for the care we take in understanding their goals, delivering attention to detail, and crafting highly customized video solutions that drive results.
For us, the most important things are your satisfaction and the video’s efficacy and that only happens when you prepare and plan extensively in pre-production.
Overcoming Language Barriers
To create something that stands out requires expert input, from the creatives (us) and the subject matter experts (our clients). And, there were a lot of stakeholders that we needed to consult before we could begin to understand what the message was, and what it would convey, and how we would use video to capitalize that.
Our team worked tirelessly to collaborate with Albemarle stakeholders to get the right message. And, that meant overcoming language barriers.
Just because we didn’t share a language with someone didn’t mean that their insight was less valuable or not worth exploring. So, we hired translators to alleviate issues with language barriers. The process was simply going to take more time, planning, and attention.
Finding Perspective
It can be a challenge to work with people in the best of logistical situations. When dealing with language barriers, even hiring translators doesn’t make for smooth conversations or easy understanding. Finding the right perspective takes time.
That’s why we understand the importance of collecting multiple perspectives from the people who know their craft best. The best creative happens when we find a common thread that binds those perspectives together and emerges as an authentic, compelling message.
Real talk: it’s not easy. And sometimes it’s even a pain.
But, it’s always worthwhile.
