Hello there.  My name is Sara Deneweth and I'm the newest member of the operations team.  Before starting at EchoDitto, I was the post-production manager for five years at a film/video studio in San Francisco, called Remedy Editorial and I'd like to share some of what I learned. 

As I become more involved with the wide world of non-profit video, I've seen some sites out there giving advice. They claim to have the "best practices" or "top ten tips" on how to make a video. But really, there is no one way to make a video. Instead, I'd like to review some questions to ask yourself when kicking off a video project, tips for finding and working with a production company, and some advice for project planning.

1. Questions to Ask
Every organization is unique and so is each video. In general, I can't recommend one camera or editing program.  It all depends on who you are, what you're trying to say, who you're trying to say it to, and what your budget is.  The first question to ask yourself is, "What are we trying to accomplish? Do we really need a video?  Would this message best be communicated through another medium like an email, website, or presentation? How does this fit in to our overall campaign?"

The next question is a matter of style.  It may be that you're aiming for a low-fi look and have someone around who can pull it off.  Go for it.  See what happens.  It may turn out to be exactly what you need. There are a number of low-cost effective videos out there, but there are probably more that are so poorly executed that the message is lost.  

2. Seek Professional Help
If you've decided that a more professional video is the way to go, my advice would be rather than invest in your own equipment and staff, hire a production company, at least for the first time out.  They are professionals with experience who can show you the ropes. If you're only doing a few videos a year, this may be more efficient than setting up an in-house department.  And it will definitely save you time and headaches, if not some money.  Many companies offer a non-profit discount or may have creative ways to work within your budget.  Depending your needs, you could also consider hiring an experienced freelance producer to help kick off your project (rather than hiring a whole company). 

So how do you go about finding some help?  The film/video community is very team oriented.  It's extremely difficult to make most kinds of videos all by yourself, and few people have all the skills/equipment/time to do so.  Once you find a way in, people are happy to recommend others could work on your project.  So ask around.  Is there an organization that you work with who's done video before?  Have you seen a cool video on online that is similar to what you're looking for? Take a look at the credits.  Craigslist isn't the way to go here.  Neither is asking your intern, just because he/she happens to be in college.  Like any other project, you want people who know what they're doing.  Check websites targeted for your local community.  Some cities, San Francisco and Washington, DC for example, have online directories.  Ask to see a reel or samples of work.  Investigate what other opportunities may be out there, such as grant money.  Your organization may be eligible for the YouTube nonprofit program.  It offers benefits like adding call to action overlays and donations through google checkout.

3. Work Backwards
Another bit of general advice is to work backwards. Like you would plan any project, start with the delivery date. And then think about the distribution. Figure out a production schedule that will allow you to hit your goal using the technology and specifications that are most appropriate.  For example, if you know that your video is only going to be online, you may want to consider doing 24p because there are fewer fields and frames to render and therefore less compression.  Do you need to shoot in HD?  It's usually cheaper not to, and depending on how your video will be shown, it may not be necessary. However, that makes your footage less useful for the future, since everything is moving towards HD. What background should you use for your interviews?  Limbo white and black are easier to work with because they are more forgiving if you need to change locations or cameras, or shoot new footage later on.  But it could make for a less interesting video, depending on what your b-roll looks like.  Greenscreen allows you to create your own background, but it's more difficult to light and takes more time in post-production to pull the keys.  Also think about how you'll archive your project.  New tapeless formats are great in that you don't have to buy tapes and it's faster to ingest footage than digitize it, plus you don't need an expensive deck.  But then you don't have any tapes to go back to when your harddrive dies, so it's extra important to have everything backed up.  Twice.  

Hopefully that didn't veer off into too much technical territory there. Anyways, I realize I can't cover every aspect of film/video on one blog post, so if you have questions, feel free to hit me up at sara at echoditto dot com.  I'm also planning to do more posts in this series, so let me know if there's any specific topics you'd like me to cover or have any other feedback in the comments section.