How to Produce a Web Series on Any Budget

What do Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jada Pinkett Smith, Elizabeth Olsen, and Zach Galifianakis have in common? (Other than, of course, being movie stars). 

They’ve all appeared in popular web series, and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. An iceberg that has been growing at a rapid pace due to the restrictions placed on traditional film crews and video production companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When the world went into lockdown the hunger for fresh content was palpable, and celebrities like John Krasinski (Some Good News) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Create Together #WithMe) began pushing out content that they filmed themselves. However, this is not just the playground of the rich and famous. In fact, most web series are created by relative unknowns on a small budget with minimal crew. That was true before quarantine, and their presence has only grown in leaps and bounds since then. 

But what the celebrities and everyday content creators have in common is one quality no amount of money can buy – passion. 

It takes commitment and drive to dedicate yourself and your pursuits to a quality web series. Rallying the people involved. Getting everyone on the same page. Coordinating the shoots and collating the footage. It’s a lot of work. 

In short, it’s a labor of love. 

But by embracing User-Directed Content (UDC) it’s actually a lot more love and a lot less labor. And with just the latest smartphone in your pocket, you’ve got everything you need to get the footage required for a truly great web series. 

Let’s begin with the basics: What do you need to create a web series?

If this piece was written just five years ago, this section on equipment rental would be as long Godzilla’s tail. And then there’s crew, location scouting, make-up, craft services, and everything else that used to be involved in creating a quality web series. 

That was then. This is now. 

All you really need is a great smartphone (the iPhone 14 Pro is a content capturing monster), a plan of action, and people who want to be involved. By putting the camera (in this case, the aforementioned smartphone) in the hands of the right people, you take the work out of mobile video production. No traditional crew. No truckloads of equipment. You may want to round out your shoot with a few extras, like lighting, audio, and a tripod, but they’re minimal. 

The plan of action, of course, depends entirely on what kind of web series you want to make. A scripted series requires a story, a structure, and a lot of coordination. Most brands aren’t tapping that route because it’s more labor-intensive, requiring great writing, rehearsals, solid actors, multiple takes, and a reliance on specific people and locations that are essential to the continuity of the story. 

Instead, the smart move is to focus on a documentary-style web series. The work you put in up front is much less labor-intensive. You’re not spending weeks refining scripts and making edits. You don’t have to worry about casting people who can act. In fact, as authenticity is in such demand from consumers these days, the more raw and real your content is, the better the end product will be. Not to mention that when you’re capturing documentary footage using mobile videography, you’re getting those genuine reactions people on social love to consume. It’s not polished. It’s not slick. And it’s the reason an app like TikTok has become so huge. 

How do you start the whole process?

There’s nothing scarier than staring at a blank sheet of paper. It can be daunting to plan and produce a web series, but if you break it down into simple steps it really is a breeze. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Create a Series Outline.

So the big question here is, how many episodes do you want to produce? It could be five, it could be 25, or it may just be an ongoing web series that has no set number of episodes. Regardless, you need to know what you want to cover and plan it out.

Even if your series has no defined end, establish the content for the first five episodes, breaking each episode down to focus on one specific aspect of the larger story you want to tell.

Remember, as you’re creating a documentary web series, your outline should focus on the personal stories of your brand advocates and fans. Make it about them. Let their stories shine through. As long as what your fans capture is laddering up to the main theme of the episode, you can give them a lot of leeway to play around in that space.

2. Find Your Content Creators.

With that structure in place, you can then start looking for the people who will make the content come alive, and that’s the content-creators themselves. They’re out there, in the thousands (or millions, depending on the size and reach of your brand).

So, how do you tap into that group to find the two or three key people you want to be the stars of your web series? The easiest and most direct way is to take advantage of your social media accounts. Create a call to arms on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, asking for ambassadors and fans to come forward to take center stage in a web series.

You could give them a small submission task; maybe submit a 30-second video explaining why they’re the right person for the job. If you want to sweeten the pot you can incentivize them with free products, a stipend, free meals, trips, or event tickets. However, most of the time being personally involved in the story is more than enough.

3. Brief Your Creators With Their Assignments.

By the time you reach this point, you’ll have a solid outline in place and have selected the stars of your web series. Now it’s time to unleash those content creators. 

Brief each creator with specific assignments for each episode. This will be easy to do as you already know the theme of each episode, which matches the outline you put together in step one. You may want them all capturing the same kind of content, or you could have different tasks for each star. 

However you plan to do it, you’re going to need the help of an app that is designed specifically to capture User-Directed Content. Cinebody is ideal for this kind of content, distributing a shot list to each creator, and categorizing that footage as it rolls in. 

What about quality control, editing, and buy-in from key players?

Your content creators will see their assignments and capture footage using Cinebody. And with the introduction of lightning-fast 5G speeds, you can access it immediately after they film it. They could be five minutes from your head office or halfway around the world. As you watch the footage arrive in real-time, you can send immediate feedback to get additional content or anything else that you’re inspired to capture. 

Now, with traditional web series, getting approval on any of this footage could be an issue when your company’s brand managers, marketing consultants, social strategists and key decision-makers are spread far and wide. However, the “virtual video village” that Cinebody creates means that those people can all see the footage as it’s coming in, and channel feedback through a key decision maker. It’s another game changer that makes it the next big thing in web series video production.

And then there’s the editing process. With a typical production the bulk of the editing is done once shooting has wrapped. Often you’re waiting for a hard drive to arrive, or need to download some very hefty files. With Cinebody, you can download the footage as it’s captured and get to work on the editing.  You’re getting it in real-time, and when you’re happy with the content the editors can get to work. The turnaround is so fast, you can have your finished product ready to go weeks, or even months, before you would on a traditional shoot. 

The big question…Has this actually worked in practice?

In a word, yes. 

Many times, in fact. 

Cinebody has already been tapped by brands large and small around the globe to create web series and social footage that has helped them grow and spread the word. 

Case study one – The Outdoor Group

As well as producing the popular YouTube channels Respect The Game and Elite Archery, The Outdoor Group tapped Cinebody to create two different, but effective, web series. 

Homelife is a behind-the-scenes exploration of some of hunting television’s most recognizable names. It was so successful, and the process so straightforward and seamless, that The Outdoor Group doubled-down with a second web series to be produced concurrently – Elite Dealer. 

Paul Briggs, senior producer with The Outdoor Group, stressed the importance of a web series to brands everywhere. 

“Cinebody takes a lot of the logistics work out of the process,” Briggs said. “No more uploading footage and clips. No more mailing drives. All of that goes away. There’s much more instant gratification when we use Cinebody, because we get the footage right away. The software shines when it comes to keeping the footage from multiple producers organized.”

Not only have the two new Cinebody-produced web series helped grow the subscriber base, but the immediate and excited feedback from fans, including so many direct messages, cemented the home run The Outdoor Group had hit. 

Case study two – Yoga Journal

Yoga Tour | Houston | Monday Video

We go from the thrill of the hunt to the chill of some deep self-reflection with the Yoga Journal’s Cinebody experience. 

Their recent video series “Live Be Yoga Tour,” produced by Lumenati, left behind the traditional big budget production crew, and with it, the unsurmountable budget. 

Filmed using Cinebody, this new method of mobile video production was perfect for capturing the sights and sounds of this new-age retreat. 

“With Cinebody, the yogis became the film crew,” said Brad Conner, head of production for Lumenati. “Everything they filmed automatically uploaded to the cloud, where we could view it and start editing immediately. We could creatively direct them and even send push notifications to ensure we got everything needed to make a great piece of content.” 

The raw footage captured using Cinebody was then edited together professionally. And as the yogis were capturing multiple pieces of video at the same time, the time from inception to completion was drastically reduced.

Next up…Your own web series.

You know the importance of a web series. You know how to plan one. You know how to get the stars and set them loose with their own phones. 

All that’s left is for you to pull the trigger. 

If you’re a veteran familiar with production, you’ll be amazed by this new and intuitive way to capture authentic footage. By putting the camera in the hands of the real ambassadors and fans, you’re getting  shots that are genuine, fresh-eyed, and must-see viewing.

If you’re relatively new to mobile video production, the Cinebody experience sets the bar high for any traditional productions that follow (imagine going back to film cameras, dark rooms, and negatives after the digital photography experience). 

From capturing multiple pieces of video at the same time, to the time from inception to completion being drastically reduced, three words sum up the experience: Faster; Cheaper; Easier.

Cinebody is giving brands around the world the chance to make a great web series, and finally, budget is no longer part of the equation.