Product video

It tends to be short, thirty to ninety seconds, and it lives on detail. It is shot in a studio against a plain background or in the environment where the product is used, which for technical products is almost always better. One product is half a day's work if it is clean and ready. For a series it pays to film several at once, because the lighting is already built and each additional item costs only camera time.

Why it pays back: an online shop with product video sees fewer returns, because the customer sees the real size and material rather than a retouched photo. In B2B a salesperson stops explaining the same thing at every meeting. A furniture maker we worked with filmed eight videos in two days and used them for a year on the website, at a trade fair and inside quotations.

What to prepare: the product in sellable condition, not a prototype with a scuffed corner, and ideally two units in case of fingerprints. Then a decision about what the viewer must understand within ten seconds, because that is when they choose whether to stay. And if the product needs to be shown working, we need someone who can operate it, not an actor.

When it makes no sense: for a product that cannot be shown, such as software, where a screen recording works better. And for a range of three hundred items, where a video for each is unrealistic. There you film five representative types and cover the rest with photography. Beware of excessive effects too: a product rotating in fog looks expensive and says nothing.

Before filming we ask which question the sales team hears most often. The answer becomes the first ten seconds of the video. Try it today: write down three questions customers ask before buying and check whether your website answers them with pictures or only with text.