5 Easy Tips to shooting a Corporate Video.
Corporate video production is the staple of the business video production world. Almost every company you know of or have worked for has some type of corporate introduction or training video. From Fortune 500, companies to mom and pop businesses, all of them at one time or another have a need for corporate video to communicate the use of a new idea or product. Uses can include introducing policy or employee training, or even a special message from the CEO for event, or internal purposes. At Beverly Boy Productions, corporate video production become the bread and butter of our business. It is essential that we not only do them well, but efficiently, quickly, and with a unique flair that sets us apart from any other production company.
To Survive and Grow in Business, Corporate Video production is Essential .
Here are five simple and succinct tips to making effective corporate videos. Every film maker or production company is different, each with their own unique way of doing things. But these basic tips should help both the beginning production company, and the most seasoned of those in the business. Having a seamless, stress free production shoot on a corporate video speaks not only to the professionalism and effectiveness of your company, but the overall quality of the product you produce for your client.
FORBES hired us to film this corporate video featuring Warren Buffet celebrating the 100th anniversary
Tip 1. Preproduction:
As with every production, your preproduction is pivotal to the success of your shoot. See the 9 stages of preproduction here. The adage, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, couldn’t be more applicable and literal than in this case. A corporate video is especially sensitive in these situations because more than likely your client will have little to no knowledge of video production. Expectations and preconceived notions will be high, with patience and understanding low. Taking the time to form a bullet point plan of exactly what is going to happen and when, will really make the difference in your shoot.
Have a thorough interview with your client. Understand specifically what their needs are before you roll camera one. Secondly, your location scouting trip should be far more than just a courtesy once over. If your corporate video is shot at the client’s office, it is imperative that you create the best visual representation of said business. That will not happen day of, on the fly. Know what you want to do, plan how you’re going to get it done, execute.
Here is a Tampa corporate video production we produced for a series of customer interviews.
Tip 2: Tone and Purpose:
Your client knows exactly what they want to say, but they may not know how they want to say it, that part is up to you. As in Tip 1, having an in depth talk with your client about the tone and purpose of the video will really put you on the road to where you want to go. Some training video are as boring as watching paint dry, and some clients want them that way, but more than anything they want information dispersed that can be understood and retained. They want images and ideas that will be remembered and acted upon. Take your time getting a true understanding of what your client wants, then use your skills to bring that to life in a unique and visually pleasing way.
We filmed this corporate video production in St Louis, at the University of Missouri
Tip 3: Lighting:
Use texture and understand your depth of field. The composition of your shots, especially when you are doing interview/ talking head shots is important. You don’t want a flat, straight into camera interview, that’s boring and can get visually tiring really quickly. Employ the use of a key light and a hair light to shape the light around the subject.
We were hired to film this corporate video production in Washington D.C. and Maryland
Tip 4: Audio:
You can sometimes be forgiven if someone can’t see full what you are talking about, but you will never, and I mean never be forgiven if your viewer can’t hear what you are talking about. Bad audio is the video production kiss of death. Always, always, always make sure that your audio is clean and understandable. There is nothing more unprofessional than your client having to strain to hear the information they’ve asked you to relate. Lavaliere microphones in interview situations seem to work best in the signal to noise ratio really nice (in particular Sennheiser G 3). Lavaliere’s allow you to get a mic closest to your sound source, your subject of the interview. If nothing else, get the information, then focus on the rest.
We filmed this Medical corporate video for Lipoprotein
Tip 5: B-Roll and Cut Aways:
Your B-Roll and Cut Aways will give your shoot the necessary bells and whistles to create a complete picture of who your client is, what they offer, and why they are different and or better than any other company. Without directly telling them with words, your B-Roll creates the theme of your corporate video. A person may not always believe what they hear, but they will likely believe what they see. Your cut aways will be the visual tapestry to weave your corporate video production together.