A couple of years ago, 4K video started to make its way onto the scene. High-end cameras were coming equipped with 4K capability and 4K ready TV’s were making their way onto the market.
But it’s something that hasn’t really hit the corporate video marketing world yet.
Nowadays, 4K (or Ultra-HD) is even more readily available than it was a couple of years ago. The cost of 4K cameras and screens has dropped dramatically with tech manufacturers already looking on to 6K and 8K.
“It all comes down to your needs. Don’t go 4K just for the sake of it.”
So does this mean that the time has come for 4K corporate video to be the standard? Does this mean that your next corporate video needs to be 4K? In order to better inform that decision, we’ll be looking at some of the pro’s and con’s of 4K corporate video.
Pro’s
– It looks beautiful: One guarantee that you will see is how good the footage looks. 4K has 4 times as many pixels as 1080p. So you can be sure that it’s going to looks sharp. Especially if you’re planning on showing it on a really big screen.
– Future proofing – Another advantage of 4K is that it ‘future proofs’ your footage. So when the time comes and 1080p is no longer the standard, your footage won’t be considered out of date.
– Flexibile footage – Working with 4K also gives your video editors a lot of flexibility when it comes to post production. Because of the extra resolution, it means that the editors can crop in and re-frame shots without losing any resolution quality
Con’s
– Viewers may not be able to see benefits: One of the big downsides to 4K, is that your viewers may not even be able to see it. If the video is going online, then they most likely won’t have an internet connection strong enough to stream it at it’s full quality. They also probably won’t be watching it on a 4K ready monitor. So the extra effort and cost, could all be for nothing.
– More Resolution = More Data: As you would expect, by having 4 times more resolution than 1080p, it takes up 4 times more hard drive space. Which, ultimately, means that video production companies will need to invest more in media storage space.
– Can add to editing costs: If you’re editing in 4K, you can almost promise it won’t be a quick edit. Especially if you’re adding a fair few effects to the footage. Unfortunately, most editing machines haven’t quite caught up with 4K and, whilst they can churn out 1080p footage in no time, it’s a different story for 4K. Which means that the cost of editing could increase because it will take a lot more time.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to what you need. If you want a super cinematic corporate video for big screens, then 4K could be the answer. If you’re making a short video that’s going online or in a powerpoint presentation, then maybe 4K is overkill. You’ll probably find that 1080p will be more than enough for your video production.