eFilms are Everyday Films. eFilms are highly-professional Everyday Business & Brand Films done on a shoe-string budget. The two key takeouts of eFilms are: High Professionalism and Low Budget.
How many videos or digital films did you see last week compared to similar week 10 years ago? Everyday Films have emerged as the greatest force on earth to communicate every day information. A WhatsApp video or a story idea here, a YouTube film or an insta reel there, the truth is humanity is becoming addicted to video content. If perceptions change the way you see the world, Everyday Films or eFilms can change those perceptions in no time. eFilms can change your mind – good or bad.
Businesses need eFilms today because Information Technology, Internet and the Social Media Revolution has made films the most important language of humanity today. If you cannot communicate using the eFilm medium, you become a dinosaur in your industry very soon. And if you do not do these eFilms rightly, you fail faster than the time you took to decide on doing these eFilms. This happens simply because wrong perceptions kill brands faster today, than ever before in the history of business. So, the only right solution is to have a professional eFilm creator associate with you. It is not necessary that you associate with us; you can talk to anyone. But the ground rule for creating business success today is Strategy Consulting and delivering the right strategy through professional eFilm making.
Yes. Depending on the business results expected, eFilms can be categorised into two – Strategic Creative eFilms and Creative eFilms. But the true difference can be only understood by top-end business leaders and strategists. For the rest of the world, both the types may look alike.
Strategic-Creative eFilms are also creative eFilms but they flow out from the business strategy that focus on creating exponential value and growth for the business currently and in the future. Strategic-Creative eFilms focus on the current market share, brand feelings, competitor movements, market transitions and the future market. Strategic-Creative eFilms are a string of eFilms in a pre-defined sequence catering to the different phases of business growth over a defined period of time. Whereas the Creative eFilms only focus on the client brief, the brand guidelines and the creative expression. Strategic-Creative eFilms are profound and deep but Creative eFilms are easy and shallow.
Today's business success is a by-product of Power Strategies and Perception Management. Your business perception cannot stand still at any point in time or be traditional in the modern world. It has to always move into the future. Poor Brand Communications that include films and videos that does not elucidate the strategy is the biggest element that leads to Business Failures in the modern world.
The tools to create designs and films are omnipresent today in the digital age - anyone can use it. But the wisdom and knowledge to do the right thing for the brand is as rare as stars on a clouded sky.
The inability to seek wisdom and knowledge earnestly, is the blind spot of most small and medium Business Leaders. Their self-interests and coteries around Business Leaders prevent them from seeking the right business thinking.
Most of these leaders rest a Rs 500 crore and more company on the weak shoulders of people who know bits and pieces on business strategy or brand communication, instead of consulting thorough professionals who have brought in results continuously for decades together. The inability of these Business Leaders to identify the wheat from the chaff becomes their business waterloo. In the modern era of global competition playing out in the local neighbourhoods, these businesses get decimated and wiped out before the blink of an eye.
eFilm budget varies with the requirements of the business and the brand. It depends on two factors - 'Client Wants' and 'Brand Needs'. In India the eFilm budget can start as little as Rs 5000 for 3 seconds. It can also go beyond Rs 5 lakhs depending on the script, the film time and the film-making process. In the international market it can vary from $80 to $9000+. It is interesting to note that $80 will be less than taking 12 people out for a dinner at McDonalds in New York city. Average budgets on eFilms are less than Rs 50,000 in India or $1000 internationally.
There are 4 key cost centres in eFilm making. They are explained in 4 Parts. The success of your project depends mostly on Part One. You can do a good eFilm for less than Rs 40,000 excluding the license costs. If you can limit the film time, you can even bring it down to Rs 25,000.
The 4 key cost centres of eFilms are:
Part One – Wisdom: Experience & Expertise in Business Strategic Communication, Scripting, Brand Knowledge and Film Direction.
Part Two – Operations: Project Understanding, Servicing & Coordination costs.
Part Three – Technology: Top Film Making Technicians' costs.
Part Four – Licenses: Footage & Licenses.
The primary cost is for experience, expertise and deep knowledge on business strategy and brands. It begins with the Power Idea and the Foundational Script based on profound wisdom on 7 foundational elements of the business - Market, Category, Brand, Customer, Community, Culture and Context. The secondary costs are for Project Understanding, Servicing & Coordination - someone has to wire everyone and everything together for the eFilm perfectly. There are two types of tertiary cost. The first tertiary costs are for Top Film Making Technical Skills - Relevant Power Design Slides, Studio time, Graphics, Animation, Editing Talent, Sound Mixing etc. The second tertiary costs are for rushes and licenses - for footage, graphics, imagery, music, sound effects and voice over.
a) Picking & Choosing the Right Parts Reduce Costs:To reduce costs clients can pick and choose the parts they need in each project. For example, a single film may not need a campaign concept in Part One. Some clients can do Part Two completely on their own. So, all these costs do not come into play.
b) Long Term Planning Reduce Costs:Second method to reduce cost is to look for multiple films at one go after planning the films. For example, if you buy a 2-minute licensed piece of music for Rs 2000, you can edit it to use it for 6 films of 20 seconds. The music license cost will immediately drop to Rs 350 per film.
c) Annual Subscriptions Reduce Costs:Paid Monthly Annual Subscriptions reduces costs because efficiency can be brought into the long-term planning of campaigns that include multiple films. Focused campaigns bring in a bigger positive impact on sales which also is another factor that reduces client costs.
d) Bigger Impact Reduces Costs: If films are liked by all or brings in more customer footfalls for a business, economies of scale apply. So, the bigger impact of a film avoids wastage and thus reduces costs. Experience and Expertise in Business Strategic Communication along with Film Direction based on business strategy is the key factor to create successful films that impact business results positively.
If you do not start with the Fundamental Ingredients in eFilm making, the project can be a disaster regarding its contribution to business success. Therefore, the foundational 12 key elements of every eFilm must be:
- Defining the Objective Focus of every eFilm
- Understanding the New Concepts of eFilms as a category
- Market Understanding Depth
- Market Transition Wisdom of the Times
- Category Journey into the Future
- Understanding Research Notes on Culture
- Brand Understanding Profoundness
- Customer Attraction Knowledge
- Customer Behavioural Study
- Brand Storytelling Expertise
- Film Making Technical Experience
- Film Delivery & Viral Engine
Any type of stories, practices and activities can be transformed into eFilms on a very-low budget. A customer visiting a shop or a doctor treating a patient can be a story. But the important thing is that the story needs to be told well so that it becomes a part of someone's memory. The 15 popular eFilm Story Types are:
- Corporate Stories
- Stories on Purpose & Focus
- Stories on Business Vision & Dreams
- Stories on the Business Leader & Industry Leadership
- Brand Launch Stories
- Brand Stories
- Customer Experience Stories
- Customer Attraction Stories
- Customer Service Stories
- Customer Loyalty Stories
- Product Stories
- Product Making Stories
- Experiential Stories
- Store Journey Stories
- Post Purchase Stories
There are 3 ways in which organisations, institutions, businesses or individuals can associate with eFilms.
Option 1: Single Project Based Approach - on a single film production.
Option 2: Project Packages - One Package in which multiple films are involved.
Option 3: Annual Subscriptions Paid Monthly - Many Number of Films on fixed Film Time delivered on a weekly basis every month.
Annual Subscription Contracts are Annual Subscriptions Fee Paid Monthly.
The Annual Subscription Fee idea is about attracting customers, prospects and top-employee talents continuously. The key objective is to have number of Films on fixed Film Time to be broadcast on a weekly basis every month so that the brand has high recall. However, eFilms will do and deliver the entire monthly deliverables together at one go to keep the client costs low and eFilms production efficiency high by keeping a focus on brand continuity.
Yes, we can. Here is the 7-point simple check list.
- Payments: Bank Payments Only - through Money Transfer or Cheques. No cash deals, please.
- Advance: All payments are in advance. We have a Zero-Credit Policy implementation method.
- Taxes: All Taxes Extra.
- Changes: Change Requests after agreements will be billed extra.
- Agreement: Revisions & Timelines are fixed in the agreement. Extra Revisions & Time Delays will impact costs and billing.
- Less: Short Project Turn Around Times (TAT) will cost less and will be billed less.
- More: Long Undefined Project Turn Around Time (TAT) will impact costs and will be billed extra.
- Subscriptions: Two months advance required for Subscriptions as they are highly discounted.
PART ONE FEE: WISDOM
Experience & Expertise in Business Strategic Communication and Film Direction.
- Strategy Understanding
- Brand Understanding
- Market Understanding
- Category Understanding
- Competitor Analysis
- Market Transition Knowledge
- Campaign Concept
- Creative Script
- Film Direction
- Creative Focus
PART TWO FEE: OPERATIONSProject Understanding, Servicing & Coordination costs.
- Project Understanding
- Internal Team Coordination
- Licenses Coordination
- Third-Party Coordination
- Project Planning
- Shoot Schedule
PART THREE FEE: TECHNOLOGY
Film Making Technicians' Costs.
- a) Sound
- Sound Mixing including Dubbing
- VO Artist
- Dubbing Artist
- Sound Engineer
- Sound Recording.
- b) Editing
- Editor
- Editing Studio Time
- c) Graphics
- 2D/3D graphics: Extra - Depending on the Graphic Artist
- Simple 2D Graphics
- Slide Making in Brand Guidelines
- d) Talents
- Strategy Trained Talent
- Editor Talent Time
PART FOUR FEE: LICENSES
-
- Licensed Footage
- Licensed Stills
- Licensed Music
- Licensed Sound Effects