What are the Major Video Production Service Types?

On a given day, a video production agency could be asked to create one of the hundreds of different styles or formats of video. These range from short social media teasers to intricate training videos that showcase how to function in a new position or role to simple, catchy event videos, marketing videos, Wedding videography, and testimonials. All major video production service types essentially fall into one of several major categories.

If you’re considering a video for your business, you must first choose from the various video production service types offered by most video production agencies.

These include:

• Event Videos
• Commercial Advertisements
• Wedding Videos
• Documentary Style Videos
• Corporate Videos
• Real Estate Video Videos
• Educational Videos
• Music Videos
• Social Media Videos

Understanding Video Production Services

Professional video production services have evolved over several decades. What was once something that only those with deep pockets could even consider is now a recommended service for small businesses and large brands alike. The influx of clientele that is seeking video production services would seemingly make the process of “selling” the services easier on the production agency — but such is not the case.

In fact, the truth is, many clients are unsure when they seek a production agency to work with. They don’t quite know what kind of video they’re looking for. They want something catchy; they want something that speaks to their audience; they want something that they can relate with — and in the process of wanting all of these different things, they leave you trying to figure out how to emulate those things without truly having the background data or knowledge required to succeed.

This is why many new customers are shocked in the beginning, as when they first start to work with the production crew they are asked question after question:

• What kind of video do you want to create?
• Who is your target audience?
• What is the overall goal or agenda?
• What is the budget?
• What is the timeframe for completion?

The list of initial questions that can arise may go on and on, but the overall goal is the same — ask the right questions to determine the type of video that the client wants.

Defining the Purpose of a Video

Videos are created for a single purpose, regardless of the type or style, or length of the video, they have a singular purpose – marketing! Videos are a promotional tool that is used by brands and by individuals regardless of the style of video created. Marketing is the primary purpose of paid video production.

Even wedding videos that are produced by a paid production company are done so with the purpose of promotion or marketing in the background. The couple that pays for a professional video is seeking to share with others a view of their wedding that promotes their relationship and showcases to friends and family members that their wedding day was special — and amazing.

Event Video Production Services

The production of event videos is something that many brands, businesses, and even non-profits seek. Much like a music video, event video production services are generally simple to secure and the end result is less advanced than videos that feature intricate storytelling and advanced production skills.

Event videos share the story of an event or upcoming event promotion by delivering footage of the event to the audience and using text, narration, music, and other features to engage the audience.

Professional event video production services are entirely different from short promo videos. Why? Because the event video requires a multi-camera setup to capture footage and advanced skills to ensure appropriate recording of audio — the goal of the event video is often to promote the event, archive details for future promotions, and utilize the footage in various other ways.

Event videographers often charge an hourly rate or a day rate commensurate with experience and then incorporate editing into that rate as well. Event videos rarely require the advanced editing techniques used by brand videos, commercials, or other video production services as most event videos are:

• Recorded live.
• Captured with the intent of minimal editing to the finished work.
• Produced with the intent of a relatively quick turnaround.

Many different types of event videos can be captured. For example, a professional may produce any of the following event videos:

• Performance videos.
• Lecture videos.
• Concert videos.
• Meeting videos.
• Sports videos.
• Conference videos.

Event videos that require more than just your standard video capture, quick editing, and splicing together with essential cuts and b-roll could take longer to edit. For example, you may have a business that wants an event video but they also want it delivered in the style of a documentary-style film. Producing and editing this style of event video will require all of the essential steps involved in producing a standard event video as well as steps to produce post-event documentary-style interviews, narration and voiceovers, and essential editing to splice together essential parts and produce the event story.

Event video production services may be sold as a package, all-in-one deal. If this is the case, and you purchase event video services alongside your venue rental, make sure that you are aware of the offer that is being made and the services you are purchasing. This is not likely to be ideal if you’re seeking to produce a documentary-style event video or if you’re not interested in the standard event video.

Video production professionals that specialize in producing event videos carry their own expertise, skills, and understandings. Priority is important as is the ability to have a camera crew on staff that can capture the essential footage required for the finished project. All of this is much different than producing commercial videos, corporate films, or other forms of professional video content.

Event videographers have the skillsets necessary to capture footage at an event without getting in the way. They have camera operators that are dependable and trained to work in groups without interrupting the events taking place. Most have all the essential gear and equipment to produce the video of your choice.

The skills that an event videographer will carry are quite different than those an independent videographer will have and vastly different from those most professionals in a video production agency possess. They are accustomed to working with local venues and often solely work to produce event videos.

Commercial Advertisement Video Production Services

Clients sometimes say, “I want a commercial.” And to the client, this could mean a social media advertisement, a television commercial, or a commercial advertisement for their website. To a video production agency, when a client says they are seeking commercial advertisement video production services or commercial production, they hear: “I want a promotional video for a television broadcast or for the web.”

Commercial video production services represent the final video output, which delivers a commercial advertisement, to the audience. Beginning clients may elaborate on what they want, what they wish to achieve, and their overall goals for the video. More experienced clients will often say, “I want a:30” or “give me a:15” These numbers represent the final cut length of the video that the client is seeking to produce, being 30 seconds or 15 seconds.

These timeframes are most commonly used in producing television commercials for local broadcasting but they may also represent starting points for commercials that can be used to advertise on websites, social media, and elsewhere on the web.

Producing commercials is something that many video production companies struggle to sell to clients because commercial advertisements for television are often produced by local TV affiliates or within the television’s own commercial production department.

Commercials are:

• Creative and frequently produced.
• Often sourced by an advertising or video production agency.
• Seen online more frequently than on television.
• Often produced for social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or targeted audiences.

Many commercial video production services seek to fulfill opportunities for Pre-Roll which allows the content to be seen prior to other content or a primary video on Youtube or some other site. Pre-Roll advertisements allow clients to successfully target audiences that are waiting to watch particular videos, however, these pre-roll commercial spots are sold by TV affiliates. Thus, placing your video in a Pre-roll will require professionally produced content that is substantially more advanced than a typical advertisement or program.

Commercial video services are not only for those working for a profit. Non-profit agencies, public broadcasting stations, colleges, and professional organizations often seek short commercial videos in addition to for-profit organizations.

View this 30-second commercial filmed by Team Beverly Boy:

Wedding Video Production Services

Wedding videos are all pretty much the same, aren’t they? Wedding videography is something that most professional video production crews steer completely clear of. It’s not considered the most complicated or profitable niche and therefore it’s often where early videographers start out and where advanced videographers avoid.

Wedding videos are generally NOT something that a professional video production agency is hired to produce — they’re just not.  However, wedding video production services do claim their own category of major video production services because the wedding film is something that has been around for several decades and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, anytime, soon.

While a wedding video is something that typically delivers the standard event style footage of a wedding, capturing the reception and key moments of the wedding ceremony for all eyes to see years later, a wedding film is something quite different and extraordinary.

A wedding film is a customized form of wedding content that has not been popular for very long. This type of video is sometimes referred to more eloquently as a “Love Story” and it features a short set of highlights that showcase the entire wedding day, key clips from the bride and groom throughout the day, to deliver the entire story of a wedding.

Wedding films typically use the same general format to tell the “love story” as follows:

• They start off with the bride and groom getting ready.
• They provide a glimpse into hair and makeup.
• The show the man putting on his tie.
• They show the woman stepping into her dress.
• They showcase the wedding ceremony.
• They showcase the wedding gifts being transferred.
• They show the behind-the-scenes activities that take place leading up to the wedding.
• They tell the entire story of the couple, their big day, and the wedding in short bursts of footage that is then pieced together in editing.

Challenges are faced frequently by the wedding filmmaker. Unlike the wedding videographer that captures just the wedding ceremony itself, the wedding filmmaker has the goal of capturing all of the essential moments throughout the day, without getting in the way. They must capture essential shots from opposite angles, using various focal lengths and distances to produce a variety of footage, and they need to make sure that every shot varies in terms of focus, exposure, and steadiness without jeopardizing the happiness of the bride or groom.

At the end of the big day, the wedding filmmakers take hours of footage and work it down to a few short minutes that showcase the entire story from getting ready to say “I do.” The only place that the wedding filmmaker can slack on is the audio — because the majority of the film will be pieced together with music playing similar to a music video — that is with the exception of the groom saying his vows, the bride saying hers, and the two saying, “I do.” Some audio simply cannot be missed!

Reception speeches must also be captured with pristine audio. In fact, many wedding filmmakers use reception speeches that take place as their basis for producing the entire story for the wedding film. Thus, the audio is made up primarily of the reception speeches and the bride and groom vows that take place — there is absolutely no room for error in capturing this essential audio!

As such, it’s important for wedding filmmakers to ensure that:

• There are no technical errors or risks when capturing sound.
• Reception speeches are planned between the crowd and practiced.
• Wireless feeds are tested and prepped, and there is no risk of the feed shutting down.
• Audio recording is set long before, and after, the speeches take place.
• Backup recording is in place.
• Equipment is placed discreetly without interrupting the party.

As you can see, there’s a lot to consider for the wedding filmmaker and in the end, this is one of the major video production services that are certainly not for everyone. In fact, many find they are not cut out for wedding shoots and choose other lines of work.

Documentary Style Video Production Services

Documentary videos make up a major portion of professional video production services and represent a key service provided by professional production crews. Formatting variations aside, Docu-Style video productions tend to achieve similar core qualities.

The documentary video shares the story through interviews in which the subjects tell much of the storyline on camera and then B-roll footage is used to cut away and provide added visuals to fulfill the overall story. Essentially, the entire story is told through the eyes of the subject interviews that take place.

Additional emotional connections are made through the use of music, motion graphics, and other visual effects that support the story interviews. Documentary video production services require essential interviewer skills and powerful editing. The best documentary films will deliver exceptional visuals, powerful interviews, and quality editing for a finished project that captures audience attention.

Docu-Style Videos

Sometimes a film contains a documentary-style but it’s not a true documentary that follows the story subject around as raw footage is captured and the story lays out. The use of an interviewer and editing to create a story on the screen through the use of various dialogues between interview subjects and essential narration over quality footage is referred to as a Docu-Style or Documentary-Style video. It’s not technically a “true documentary” but it’s very similar.

Unlike a true documentary, which essentially uses a mix of time and events to deliver the key story, a docu-style video uses interviews that share the story of an event and allow for a similar video to be produced in mere hours rather than over the course of several days, weeks, months or longer.

True documentaries use less interview cutting as this is considered something that could potentially bend the truth of a documentary video. Likewise, a docu-style video uses a lot of interviews cutting to tell the story often switching between interviews and narration and the use of text over a video to deliver the storyline without any real justification of rules or ethics in place — essentially, anything goes.

Docu-style videos are promotional in nature. They use real-world scenarios, real-world people, and real voices to tell the story that helps the viewer to connect and understand the plot.

Types of docu-style video production services:

• Historic documentaries
• Sports featurettes
• Late-night infomercials
• Short ads featuring real-life subjects
• News features

While some news features are docu-style, not all will use this format. In fact, hard news will often use a mix of voice-over narration and a reporter or news anchor to deliver the story to the audience. As such, interviews of news subjects for these hard-news features are often secondary, and thus, these are not necessarily docu-style films.

When considering a documentary or a docu-style film, is that this type of video production service can be used for almost any style or niche of video content. Documentaries can be used to piece together events, wedding films, commercials, and a wide range of educational videos and scenes. A producer seeking to create a docu-style video may be asked to do so by one of many other names requested by the client.

A documentary is:

• Interview based.
• Delivered through narration.
• Uses a basic format of interviews pieced together.
• Is promotional.

Corporate Video Production Services

Documentary videos or the docu-style film is commonly used for corporate video production. This is one of the most widely requested video production services, and it would seem that there would not be a separate category for “corporate” video production service, but a client may think otherwise.

Clients refer to corporate videos generally when the client is a for-profit company. However, nonprofits, colleges, and educational institutions, and various other businesses that are not always looked at as a “brand” or a “for-profit business” can also use corporate video.

Often times, a business will refer to their video needs as “a corporate video” or “A documentary video” or “a brand documentary” or “a promotional video” or something in between.

Corporate video production services represent the production of video content for businesses or brands that operate for a profit. They utilize a mix of footage, interviews, narration, b-roll, and various other elements to produce true and fictional storylines that include characters, scenes, and a healthy mix of both promotion and audience connection.

Defining corporate video production services can be challenging simply because there are so many styles and types of videos that can be considered a “corporate video.”

For example, there are all of the following types of corporate video production services:

• Corporate culture videos
• Talking head videos
• Testimonial videos
• Production videos
• Case study videos
• Presentation videos
• Webinars
• Sponsored videos
• Sizzle reels
• Promotional videos

Promotional, corporate videos are:

• Usually 1 to 60 minutes in total length.
• Generally used to promote a business in some capacity.
• May represent a short-video, teaser, or highly-professional training video.

Real Estate Video Video Production Services

Why does real estate videography have its very own category in the overall scheme of video production services? Because much like a wedding video, real estate videos make up a large niche and represent a style of video that clients will often pay for in seeking professional services.

Real estate video production is used to promote properties, sell homes, or commercial land, and may also be used to promote realtors, agents, property managers, and independent homeowners in an effort to deliver a professional appearance to prospective clients seeking real estate.

In an industry once largely dominated by photographers, real estate videography is now largely targeted by videographers that use drones and other advanced skillsets to deliver beautifully captured footage of prime real estate in an effort to promote the sale. Professional real estate video production services utilize a mix of:

• Drone footage.
• Video shots on gimbals and sliders.
• Crane shots.
• Professional interior lighting to capture a scene.
• VR videos.
• 360 video tours.
• Panorama videos.
• High-resolution walkthrough video tours.
• Augmented Reality videos.
• Matterport.

The overall goal is to help the potential buyer feel as if they are literally walking through or engaging in the space that is for sale without requiring them to step foot outside their own home or office — a professional real estate video production crew can make high-resolution real estate videos that will attract buyers.

Check out this Real Estate Video filmed by Beverly Boy Productions:

Educational Video Production Services

The production of educational videos is both important and intricate. The greatest difference between educational video production services and all other services included here is the fact that the client is distinctly different in this case.

Educational videos are often requested by employees or non-profit organizations that are seeking expansion of a niche or project and must educate others on their team to gain approval or acceptance. Educational videos are often funded by outside organizations and may represent many working variables when it comes to production — each will have a say in the finished project thus the process will likely be long and time-consuming.

Many types of educational videos are created. These videos frequently promote products or services rather than the organization itself. They may even promote something entirely different. Educational campaigns may promote a key idea or theme that is expressed within a nonprofit or organization.

These videos also have a very unique purpose. Educational videos may resemble basically any other style of video — they could be produced similar to a commercial or a documentary, they may resemble an event video or a social media text video. The primary difference in an educational video versus all of these others aside from the client is the purpose:

Educational video clients don’t ask about filming a commercial, they will call to film a “spot” because they already know how this goes, they’ve done this before. Educational video clients won’t ask for a corporate video, they’ll ask you to produce a training video. However, this doesn’t mean you’re creating something entirely different from any other corporate training video you’ve created in the past — it just means you’re working with a different client that refers to this type of service in a different manner.

Educational video clients are often non-profits that seek out things like:

• Fundraising videos
• Mission videos
• Public service announcements

In fact, the term Public Service Announcement is most widely used to describe this style of video for this style of the client. Nonprofit coalitions and organizations seeking to promote a purpose, particular theme, or set of ideas will use the term PSA instead of referencing a “corporate explainer video” or “corporate training video.”

In the end, the overall benefits and production tasks are much the same. PSAs or educational video content that promotes a set of themes or ideas for an organization are often produced with the same overall structure and tasks involved in producing an explainer video. The use of motion graphics and essential editing comes into play.

Tutorial videos, how-to videos, and other forms of educational video content are widely viewed on Youtube. In fact, this style of video is one of the most popular online. Video production professionals that specialize in educational video production will work with brands and non-profits to produce these explainer videos to inform, educate, and demonstrate key topics, ideas, or themes to the audience.

Music Video Production Services

The production of music videos is nothing new, and it’s really not a surprise that music video production services are one of the many major video production types. Music videos a niche all their own, and most video production crews either specialize in this niche – or they don’t. It’s that simple.

Music video production is something often reserved for smaller groups or videographers seeking to make a name for themselves. Larger video production agencies often steer away from music video production simply because it’s a niche that is so different from all other styles of video production services.

However, corporate clients sometimes seek a professional to produce a music video that includes their own mix of visual aesthetics that accompany lyrics either their own or produced by someone else. Perhaps they don’t describe their video as a “music video” though, they will probably tell you they want something entirely different – and you’ll have to work the details out.

Corporate videos that often resemble music videos may represent a new product or service, key details from a new brand, or a special event taking place. They don’t particularly tell a story though, they use music and narration with video footage to tell the overall story through visual representation.

A corporate client may call this a:

• Trailer
• Teaser video
• Sizzle reel
• Product teaser
• Social teaser
• Event recaps

Regardless of how it is described, if there’s music in the background and the overall story is delivered through visuals that are played to the music – it’s a music video.

Music videos are not to be confused with social media text videos. While both may include music, and both may include text overlays, the primary difference is in the way the video is intended to be viewed – with, or without, sound. Music videos are meant to be heard. Social Media Text videos are created with the express intent to be viewed without sound.

Hiring a professional music video production crew that carries essential skills in both production and post-production editing is a must for a quality music video. Corporate brands may ask you to produce a video that isn’t necessarily a “music video” in the initial scheme of things, but as you learn more about what the client wants you come to realize that it is in fact a music video.

For example, consider an event video that is pieced together using snippets of the event, recaps of the essential speeches that took place, and finished clips of the thank you or end crowd cheering the speakers on. The entire story is told through video or with text on the screen, while music plays in the background — this is a music video.

A music video may or may not be scripted. Most are not. They take time and effort to produce and editing is absolutely essential for a perfect finished project. Professional music videos are relatively simple to produce for an advanced professional and may require mere hours of time versus weeks.

Here is an example of a Corporate highlight reel:

Social Media Video Production Services

The use of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has evolved substantially in recent years. Today, video sharing is one of the most frequent activities taking place on Facebook and the low cost of entry into Facebook advertising makes this a popular medium for many brands. While you can share your Youtube video on Facebook, it’s more effective to share Facebook native videos that have been created and posted specifically to Facebook.

Algorithms make videos that are produced and shared directly on the platform more accessible and visible to the social media audience. While you may initially think of Facebook video as something you snap with your iPhone, the trend has certainly become more sophisticated than that!

Today’s social media video production services mix professional footage, pristine editing, and spectacular storytelling into short video clips that captivate audience members from around the world. In fact, Facebook video uploads receive significantly more views than Youtube videos and they are ideal for brands seeking to promote small campaigns as well as for those seeking to capture local audiences.

Not only that, but Facebook actually captures video views for those who scroll casually past your video in their feed — but how effective is this style of video? Some believe it to be extremely effective! In fact, with just a few seconds to grab a viewer’s attention and secure their interest, producing professional Facebook videos has become both an art, and science in recent years.

Great social media video production services know to:

• Capture the audience’s attention right away, you’ve only got 2-3 seconds.
• Deliver the leading content first, and then work out the details.
• Provide the key points, and then the 20-second hook.
• Create videos for view only, without sound.
• Produce social media text videos.

What’s a “social media text video”? Great question!

These are not your traditional Facebook video uploads that occur without sound. The Social Media Text video represents an entirely new means of producing video content for social media — content that by default plays on mute, and uses captions to deliver the story.

These videos:

• Use on-screen graphics to encourage viewers to unmute their sound.
• Remind users to click HD for the best viewing experience.
• Take steps to target sound-free video experiences.
• Feature compelling video or photos that use text overlays to tell the story.

Many brands use Social Media Text now without even realizing what it is or exactly where it originated — they simply know that bold, highly visible text is important to those otherwise silent videos that are often seen on Facebook or other social media platforms.

Social media video production services that utilize full text features to tell the story and caption or otherwise highlight the entire reel are not only used on Facebook — they are commonly seen on Twitter, Instagram, and even on Youtube. It would appear that the muted video is here to stay, and text overlays in place of audio narration will continue to play a major role in this style of video production.

Check out this social media Ad made by Beverly Boy Productions:

Video Production Services at Beverly Boy Productions

Beverly Boy Productions offers a wide range of video production services to assist you in coming to terms with the exact goals, objectives, and steps to success with your marketing. From testimonials and case studies to documentary-style videos and educational footage, we’re operating worldwide with more than two decades of experience to support your business. Give us a call to learn more about the various video production services provided near you or to immediately begin forming a crew that can get started on your next big project – we can’t wait to produce video content for you!