Recently a client asked if we could make a video for them that would celebrate their 70 years in business.

It was a massive undertaking because we had to tell that seven-decades-long story in less than four minutes.

Here’s how our video production team in Perth managed to achieve a top-quality video that celebrated the incredible achievements of this great company.

Figure out how you’re going to tell the story in your video

First things first, you have to work out how you’re going to tell the story. In this case, we decided to use a timeline showing the company’s evolution from inception to the present day.

We asked the client to write down the major events across the years, starting with the big and memorable ones and then bringing it down to the critical moments of the journey.

Here are the sorts of questions we asked them to consider:

• How and why did the company start?
• When did it grow? What were the contributing factors?
• What needs has the business filled across the years?
• What factors, events, technology, etc., shaped the growth of the business?
• What are some of the fond memories around this?
• How have things changed? 

Here’s an example of a “timeline” based video. (Although we didn’t make this one, and DHL isn’t our client.)

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What are the key messages you want to share in the video?

Anniversary videos are an excellent opportunity to show the strengths of your business.

They’re a great way to affirm that your business can be trusted and will continue to be trustworthy for years to come. They’re also a strategic way to support your corporate culture marketing objectives.

So, take a moment to consider your current marketing objectives and how they can come to life in the key messages you’re including in your anniversary video production.

For example, is the business about building relationships, the service it provides, or the accurate function?

Here’s an example of a video that achieves this really well. (Again, this is not our video, nor is Sika our client. We’re just sharing some love.)

Who will tell the story in your anniversary video production?

Business isn’t just about the services provided; it’s about people, too. The people in your company will bring this story and your key messages to life. Sometimes the story will hinge off one person, like the founder, or even the key players involved in the business, like the leadership team.

But what happens if those people are no longer here? Who can tell your story? It might take a bit of pondering and digging around. You might even have to get out the phone book and find out if “Vera the typist” is still alive and can share some of her story of the business on camera.

This video for Nulsen Disability Services shows how a video really can be all about people. (We did actually make this one. It’s not an anniversary video, but it demonstrates the point about people well.)

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How will you bring the story to life in the video?

Unlike today, when we can all film events on our mobile phones, not everyone used to carry around a super eight film camera in their back pocket to record things.

Archival footage is fantastic, but if you can’t get your hands on old footage, go hunting for old photos.

Ask the people you’re interviewing if they have any old photos of the workplace or company events. You honestly never know if you never ask! And it’s a great opportunity for you to collect some of your company history along the way.

Historical societies or the State Library are other places you might find old footage or photographs relating to your company. It takes time to go through the archives, but be assured a little bit of animation on old pictures will help bring the nostalgia to life.

Here’s how Fuji Xerox did it in their fiftieth anniversary video.

Making it happen smoothly is key

Logistics and pre-production will be the key factors in making this video come together.

If you don’t have a good nostalgic location to film and you’re working with interviews alongside images, it’s a good idea to film all the interviews in a studio and with two cameras.

That will help keep the look consistent and provide you with a controlled environment for sound and lighting. It’ll also give you a wide and tight shot, which will help a lot in the edit suite.

Here’s how that looks when the edit comes together. (And, yes, we made this one, too.)

If you’d like to work with a video production company in Perth, and Western Australia, that knows how to tell the story of your business in a manner befitting your anniversary celebration (or any occasion, for that matter), get in touch with Lush – The Content Agency.