Can You Create A Promotional Video in Los Angeles with No Budget?
The short answer is “Hell Yeah”, it’s not the tools its the idea that counts and if you are filming in Los Angeles then you are lucky enough to be in one of the most film friendly and visually cinematic places in the world. You should be able to come up with a bucket full of ideas. But lets get into the details and break it all down:
New company looking to make a promotional video in Los Angeles
So, you’ve just started your new company. You’re based in the ever-competitive market of Los Angeles, how are you going to stand out from your hundreds of competitors? One big way would be to create a promotional video which surprisingly not every business is doing. Chances are though if you’ve just started your business you don’t have the money to hire a fancy Los Angeles production company to make it for you, so you’ll have to knuckle down and make one yourself with little to no money. So how do you make your own promotional video? We spoke to Film Director Lawrence Jacomelli, and he gave us a few tips about filming a promotional video in Los Angeles.
What Equipment Do You Need For filming a Promotional Video in Los Angeles?
You will need your standard filming equipment, so a camera, microphone, lighting etc, to create a promotional video which can be pricey, especially if you’re based in Los Angeles. If you are working on a budget there are plenty of alternatives, one example is a smartphone which pretty much everyone has. It is also possible to rent out a camera, however, pricing can range from location to location and based on what equipment you choose.
For example, to rent a RED Epic in Los Angeles you would be looking at around 350$ per day. But then you will need lenses and all sorts of accessories like filters, cables, monitors, tripods etc. And if you have no experience then you will at the very least need a camera assistant to set up the camera for you which will cost anything from 300-500$ per day. Not everyone can afford to rent a Red Epic in Los Angeles along with all the additional costs though.
If you can’t rent any equipment then why not find innovative ways to use the equipment you already have in your pocket – your new iPhone 11. This is an incredible piece of kit, and very often it is not the tool but the idea that is the most important aspect to making engaging video content. Here is a link to a video that we made for the iPhone XR & iPhone XS, shot on the iPhone.
You will also need to consider the lighting, again this could be done with a smartphone but it won’t look good in really low light conditions. We would suggest trying to film during the day. Or in an area that is very well-lit up as this will save you having to rent and set up additional lighting. Keep those production costs and logistics in mind when you are writing the script.
Audio again can be done through your iPhone 11; you will get decent quality audio from your phone as long as it isn’t windy and you are close to the subject. If it is windy or you just don’t want to film audio at the time of shooting you can always add it in post-production. This would be great for voice-overs as the quality will be much higher. However, we wouldn’t recommend that you do this for interviews or quotes from people, as trying to line up the audio to a face can be quite difficult at times and the end product can be less than desired.
What Else Do You Need for A Promotional Video?
So, you’ve got your equipment, what next? You may need actors for your video, you won’t be short of options if you are based in Los Angeles. When working on a small budget it’s a bit easier as it may be possible to pay for the actor’s travel costs for them to come and work with you. However, you would probably have to work with up and coming actors as full-time actors would not work for free (this is understandable as it probably is their full-time job,) or you could hire student actors as they would most likely work for free, all you would have to do is give them a credit. But if possible we would recommend paying your actors, or at least their travel costs.
You will need a location to film in, choosing your location can be quite easy when you have no budget as it’s free to explore around Los Angeles and other area of California and see where you can film. Most public areas would be fine to film in however some may require permission, which sometimes you have to pay for, however, a lot of places can be quite lenient with this, most times if you just make up an elaborate story about why you are filming a promotional video and who for a lot of people are fine with it.
Looking for locations in Los Angeles (What sort of location should you look for?)
Well, it depends on what you are promoting, for instance, for a clothing brand a nice open space with great views would be perfect, so perhaps somewhere like Venice Beach, or even the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco but if it was promoting something corporate, office space would be the best choice for this.
Once you find a location you are happy with then it’s time to start filming the video. As previously mentioned, if you are using your phone then you won’t have much playing room in regards to setting however if you rented a camera you can play around with the settings to fit your story. There are ways to do this on your phone by downloading apps like which allow you to have more control over the settings on your phone. We won’t say what setting to change as this is done to your personal preference as to what you are filming for your promo video and what time you’re filming. Once you’ve got all your settings sorted out it’s time to start filming your promo video, which should take place over the course of a day and a filming day is usually 10hours with 1hr lunch break. So what sorts of things should you be filming? It depends on what you are actually promoting. Let’s say for instance you are promoting a holiday company that has Los Angeles as one of its destinations, you would want to focus on the main selling points, so in our example, you would show all the tourist spots in the city, so Venice Beach, Hollywood Boulevard, Griffith Park, Mulholland drive – the list is really endless. You would then show whatever you are promoting “in action”. So again in our example, we would show people taking part in activities in Los Angeles, so hiking by the Hollywood sign, or cycling through Venice beach.
Once the filming process is all finished up it’s time for the post-production process, for a promotional video we would recommend you keep it simple. You don’t need any fancy effects, all you would need to do is show off whatever you are promoting, one thing we would recommend is to have a little voice over, this will make your promotional video a lot more professional. But where can you find a voice over artist? Well if you’re working under a tight budget you have a few options, you can either do it yourself, which is probably the most budget efficient way, although if you don’t want to do it yourself you can use a service like Fiverr. Fiverr is full of people who can do voice over work at an affordable rate. Most people are charging around five pounds for the voiceover however some people would charge more. As long as you have a quality script you will be alright.
So once you have followed all our tips, you will hopefully have a high-quality promotional video that will help promote your brand or product and boost your sale or conversion rate.
Beast Video Production Company Los Angeles
Beast was established in Los Angeles in 2012 and we have shot many videos in LA and all across California. Here are some links to a few of our videos.
This video for Vans was shot all around LA but the main shooting too place in Downton and Silverlake.
This video was shot down in the area where Donald Brink makes his incredible hand crafted surfboards.
This video about surfboard make Rhett Roback for Guinness was shot in and around Santa Monica and the surf shots were at Washington Pier and El Porto.
California board company promotional video
In this video a little kid walks the walk and finally arrives at the beach and thanks to his friend and ex professional surfer, Yadin Nicol, he catches his very first wave.