What are the Different Types of Video Production?

Most people are familiar with the different genres of cinema, such as action, comedy, romance and horror, but commercial video productions have their own ‘genres’ that are determined by what the video is trying to achieve. Some video types focus on trying to promote a product, others the brand, and some are created purely for entertainment.

Figuring out what kind of video is best for your business starts with knowing what the available options are, so here are a few of the main types of video production, and how they can be used as part of an effective video marketing campaign.

This is a type of video production that focuses on promoting a business’s products and services, with the intention of increasing sales of those products and raising awareness of the business’s place within the market. Promotional videos usually present a problem and a solution (with the latter being the brand’s product or service) with a call to action of investing in the brand.

While this is the general purpose of a promotional video, the form of the video can vary quite drastically. Examples might include talking heads and testimonials touting the effectiveness of the product, product demonstrations, announcement videos or even unboxing videos that evoke the excitement of opening and using the product for the first time.

Brand videos are a great way to showcase a brand and what is important to them. Brand videos are more than just demonstrating what a business does, they also show their ethos, their values, how they do business, and the overall feel of the brand. Effective videos of other types, such as promotional and educational videos, should also feature strong branding but in a brand video, this is put at the forefront.

This kind of video can be a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how the business is run, footage of the work the brand does outside of their normal business such as charity and outreach programs, or even a ‘highlight reel’ type video showcasing the brand’s most significant achievements. It can even just be a ‘brand feel’ video which is not overly promotional but gives a sense of your brand identity and narrative through stunning visuals.

Related article: How to Create Effective Branded Video Content

Educational videos are a great way for a brand to showcase their knowledge and expertise. The most common type of educational video is the ‘how-to’ style of video, but all educational videos have the aim of instructing the audience how to perform a certain skill, understand a concept, or even how to properly use one of the brand’s products.

As well as the skill that the audience learns, the educational video helps to develop trust with the brand and establish them as experts in their field, making the audience more likely to return to them for advice or instruction in the future.

Many educational videos would also fall under the category of informational videos, but the main distinction is that informational videos use facts to raise awareness rather than necessarily to instruct. In terms of video marketing, this could take the form of a video that gives the audience information about the industry the brand works in, the challenges facing it, or even a wider issue that the brand is invested in tackling.

These kinds of videos can be funny, exciting, or inspiring, but are ultimately made to entertain. All videos need a high level of engagement and interest in order to captivate an audience, but entertainment videos are even more reliant on these aspects to make an impression. Without a specific product to sell or instruction to give, entertainment videos depend on being striking and memorable enough that the brand is evoked just for being responsible for it.

Entertainment videos allow significant creative freedom as they don’t have the constraints as many of the other types of video production. Comedy shorts, music videos and travel videos are all types of entertainment video, and the main advantage of this form is that, with no specific ‘selling’ involved, a larger audience is more likely to engage with it, rather than just the brand’s key demographic.

Most people are familiar with cinematic documentaries or the episodic series that keep us hooked to our TVs and become the next ‘water cooler’ topic on social media, but documentaries have a place within video marketing too. Documentaries work on the premise of finding a compelling narrative in real situations. In other words, they show the story behind a brand’s process, employees, or the journey of a new venture.

However, a documentary film needs more than just a recording of events to be effective. It needs to create sympathy with the people involved or for the goal that is being worked towards to get the audience to invest. This could mean clearly laying out what’s at stake or showing the ‘characters’ lives in a broader context, rather than just solely as employees of the brand.

The possibilities are near endless when it comes to a video marketing campaign because there are so many different types of video production. Each type has its own benefits and a demographic that it will best appeal to, and when choosing which route to go down, the deciding factor should be how you want your brand to be remembered as a result of the video. 

Is getting your product seen by as many people as possible the main goal, or is it to raise awareness of your brand as a whole? Whatever your goal is, there will be a type of video for you. If you want some help figuring it out, feel free to get in touch and see how we can help with our filming and editing services.